Can a heart with ailments, or with anything other than Allah in it, come to know Him?

The ghair, the other, is anything and everything except Allah. Tasawwuf is complete submission to Allah: for the heart it lies in His cognizance, which cannot be achieved in a heart with ailments or with the ghair in it, and for the body in acts of obedience in accordance with the Shariah. Complete submission of the body demands the right Aqida and following Islamic jurisprudence, and with an error in Aqida, no matter how many good deeds one performs, Allah's cognizance and pleasure cannot be attained.

Are there haram states of the heart, as there are haram acts?

The Shariah, which in many Qur'anic verses and Hadith commands states of the heart such as fear of Allah and sincerity toward Him, likewise forbids inward states such as envy, malice, pride, arrogance, love of this world and anger for the sake of one's ego. The causes and remedies for the forbidden states are discussed by scholars such as Imam al-Ghazali, Imam al-Rabbani and al-Suhrawardi, in books of Islamic jurisprudence, which deal with the inner state of a Muslim according to the Prophetic Sunnah.

Who purified the Companions, and how did purification continue after the Prophet?

The Companions, we believe, were purified by the Beloved Prophet himself and reached a level of excellence which no other human can achieve till the end of time; even after he left this world, they continued his mission till the end of their lives. Just as the Qur'an was taught by the Companions to the Tabi'een and by the Tabi'een to the Taba Tabi'een, the Companions also took over the tasks of teaching wisdom and purification, and the process continued.

What does Yuzakkihim (purify them) mean?

Muslims believe that all four objectives of the Prophetic mission are important, so purification, the objective named Yuzakkihim ("to purify them"), holds a strong significance in it. In the literal term that purification means following the Shariah, leading the life according to the Sunnah, getting rid of the evils and attaining the true state of heart.

What were the four tasks of the Prophet’s mission?

When Abraham built the Ka'ba, he supplicated and asked Allah to send a Messenger amongst them, who would teach them the Book and purify them, and Allah answered his prayers by sending His Last Prophet with that mission. Its four tasks, reciting the Qur'an, teaching the Book, wisdom and purifying, form the foundation on which Islamic law, the code of conduct and governance are based.

Can a seeker benefit from reading his shaykh’s words?

The letters Mujaddid Alf Thani wrote to disciples who lived away from him are still read and used as a great reference to Tasawwuf, and the intent can be gathered from a shaykh's words whether they are heard or read, though his company has profound benefits of its own and the traditional way of listening to him and keeping him informed of one's states remains the best way prescribed. Books are the great source of information, but it is when they are combined with tálluq, the connection with a shaykh, that information becomes knowledge, and great scholars known for their works, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Gilani and Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi among them, maintained tálluq with a shaykh.

What does ‘Radhi Allah’ mean, and who holds that station?

The station of Radhi Allah, meaning that Allah is pleased with them, belongs only to the Companions of the Prophet, even those who spent a few moments in his company, and no one besides them can attain it. Purifying is the Prophet's Sunnah, which the Companions carried on, and being purified is the Sunnah of the Companions.

Why can no one reach the station of the Prophet’s Companions?

A letter of Mujaddid Alf Thani records Khawja Naqshband's saying that the path is through company, that due to their company with the Prophet the Companions are superior over the friends of Allah, and that no friend of Allah can reach the rank of any Companion, even Owais Qarni. Whatever great deeds other pious and truthful men may have performed, the Companions' status was awarded to them only for that blessed company and not for their deeds, and the station of Radhi Allah belongs to them alone.

How does a woman seeker stay connected to her shaykh?

Female seekers can write to their shaykh and seek guidance, and technology has made it easier to communicate with him. Where women cannot attend the shaykh's gatherings because there is no separate arrangement, they can still get the same benefit as men by listening to their shaykh in their own homes, and those who sincerely listen to his words and keep him informed of their states are not deprived.

What does the life of a true shaykh look like?

In over thirty years as a disciple of Mowlana Shamsur Rehman and in his company, I never witnessed anything in him except adherence to the Sunnah. He stays in the state of ablution at all times, renewed his ablution in Madinah to have the view of the Masjid al-Nabwi, had never missed his tahajjud even as a child, and performed his isha prayers on the evening of major heart surgery as soon as he regained some consciousness. What each one of those before him in the chain possessed and passed on to the next is love and absolute surrender to the Lord.