Topic
The Company of the Righteous
keeping good company
39 entries
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Are gatherings of dhikr (halaqah) in the Sunnah?
The hadith of the angels who go about looking for the people of dhikr endorses the significance of the gatherings of dhikr: Allah forgives those gathered, and also the one who happened to pass by and sat with them, though he only came for something he needed. In another narration, Allah's Messenger went out to a circle of his Companions sitting to remember Allah and told them that Jibril had informed him that Allah was talking to the angels about their magnificence. The special peace and tranquillity that settles upon the heart in an assembly of dhikr is explained by the hadith on the sakina that descends on a group gathered in a house of Allah to recite Allah's Book or study it among themselves.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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What is khilafah, and how is a successor appointed in a Sufi order?
The basis for a shaykh nominating a successor, khilafah, can be authenticated by the hadith in which the Prophet told a woman who asked, 'And if I do not find you?', to go to Abu Bakr. As it is important to nominate a successor, it is equally important that the person be qualified for the role, and where a son, a brother or a close relative is chosen because of the relation rather than the qualifications, it jeopardises the sanctity of the order.
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Why was Abu Bakr’s affinity with the Prophet the strongest?
Abu Bakr, whose quality was Sadiq, the truthful, wept when the Prophet told the people of a slave who had been given a choice, as he understood what the Prophet meant, and when Umar asked a question at al-Hudaibiya, Abu Bakr responded just as the Prophet did. This shows that he had the strongest affiliation with the Prophet, and the affinity he had is the fourth stage, called associative affinity.
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Why is bad company worse than a disbeliever’s company?
The disbelief of a disbeliever is obvious, whereas the heedless will corrupt the heart of those who keep his company, and a seeker has to make sure to find the company of the righteous. Following a heedless man whose heart is indulged in worldly desires arouses the same in the heart of his follower, and the Prophet taught that a man's religion is like that of his close friend.