Pearls of Wisdom by Hazrat Ali RA

Pearls of Wisdom by Hazrat Ali (R.A.)

1) Fear God and you will have no cause to fear any one. 

2) Resignation to the Will of God is the cure of the disease of the heart. 
3) The word of God is the medicine of the heart. 
4) Lead such a life, that, when you die, the people may mourn you, and while you are alive they long for your company. 
5) The days of life pass away like clouds, so do good while you are alive. 
6) Of all the follies the greatest is to love the world. 
7) Opportunity is swift of flight but slow to return. 
8) Pride, cowardice, and miserliness are bad for me but good for women. 
9) The most happy is he to whom God has given a good wife. 
10) He who knows himself knows God. 
11) Do not soil your conscience for anything but heaven 
12) The disease of the heart is worse than the disease of the body. 
13) To fight against one's desires is the greatest of all fights. 
14) The strongest amongst you is he who subdues his self. 
15) Wealth and greed are the roots of all evils. 
16) Riches without faith are the greatest poverty. 
17) A man's worth depends upon the nobility of his aspirations. 
18) Knowledge enlivens the soul. 
19) The learned lives, although he dies. 
20) The sum total of excellence is knowledge. 
21) To respect the learned is to respect God. 
22) Generosity hides shortcomings. 
23) The wealth of a miser is as useless as a pebble. 
24) Desire is one's most inveterate enemy. 
25) Those who walk on the surface of the earth shall one day be interred in it. 
26) Every breath of man brings him nearer to death. 
27) People are asleep as long as they are alive, they are awakened when they die. 
28) Patience is the fruit of faith. 
29) Virtue never dies. 
30) A man's glory from his virtue is greater than the glory of his pedigree. 
31) No shelter is safer than piety. 
32) A man's behavior is the index of his mind. 
33) Courtesy costs nothing but buys everything. 
34) Clemency graces power. 
35) Jealousy devours virtue as fire devours fuel 
36) He that lends a listening ear to reproach is one of those that deserve reproach. 
37) Forgiveness is she crown of greatness. 
38) Carnal appetites are nets spread by the devil. 
39) Every arrow does not hit the mark, nor every prayer granted. 
40) Ostentatiousness spoils prayers. 
41) Fear none but your sins. 
42) He who praises you murders you. 
43) A man who praises himself displays his deficiency of intellect. 
44) Honor your parents and your sons will honor you. 
45) A man is hid under his tongue. 
46) The tongue of a wise man lies behind his heart. 
47) The tongue pierces deeper than the spear. 
48) He who purifies his heart from doubt is a believer. 
49) The opinion of a wise man is an oracle. 
50) To seek counsel is to go to the fountain of guidance. 
51) Association with a fool is tyrannical to the soul. 
52) God hastens the fall of tyrants. 
53) Tyranny leads to moral cowardice. 
54) A tyrant's success is his moral defeat. 
55) It is better to die than to beg. 
56) When a man begs he loses his faith. 
57) Hajj is the Jihad of every believer in faith. 
58) A wise enemy is better than a foolish friend. 
59) Silence is the best reply to a fool. 
60) The best speech is one that is short and reasonable. 
61) Speech is like a medicine, a small dose of which cures but an excess of which kills. 
62) He that has no courage has no religion. 
63) His grief is long whose hope is short. 
64) The right of freedom of speech consists in speaking the truth. 
65) Repentance washes away sins. 
66) Folly is an incurable disease. 
67) To assist the wrong is to oppress the right. 
68) Sinning is a disease, repentance is its medicine, and abstinence from it a sure cure. 
69) Sorrow makes a man old before his time. 
70) Pride impedes progress and mars greatness. 
71) To forgive is the crown of greatness. 
72) He who understands humanity seeks solitude. 
73) Right is the best argument. 
74) Misrepresentation spoils narration. 
75) As a man's wisdom increases, so his desire to speak decreases. 
76) He who seeks to do justice with men, let him desire for them what he desires for himself. 
77) The greatest sin is the sin that the sinner considers to be ordinary. 
78) Contentment is the asset which is never exhausted. 
79) Governments are a trial for men. 
80) He who fights against the truth, the truth will defeat him. 
81) Finding fault in others is one's greatest fault. 
82) Haste is a species of madness. 
83) Greed is perpetual enslavement. 
84) He who does not know his own worth is doomed to destruction. 
85) The best investment is one with which duties are performed. 
86) Anger is a fire kindled, he who restrains anger extinguishes the fire; he who gives vent to it is the first to be consumed by such fire. 
87) Jihad is the highway of prosperity. 
88) None is more solitary than a miser. 
89) Knowledge is the ornament of the rich, and the riches of the poor. 
90) Knowledge is the sum total of excellence. 
91) He who teaches you a letter binds you with a fetter of gratitude. 
92) As long as we do not hope, we do not fret. 
93) He who indulges in jokes and loose fall, loses a part of his wisdom. 
94) Truth is bitter, but its result is sweet; falsehood appears to be sweet but it is poisonous in its effect. 
95) Miserliness is the root of many evils. 
96) Knowledge and practice are twins, and both go together. There is no knowledge without practice, and no practice without knowledge. 
97) He who dissembles plays with his honor. 
98) When God wants to humiliate a person He deprives him of knowledge. 
99) When your power increases, decrease your desires accordingly. 
100) He who listens to a backbiter loses a friend. 
101) It is no justice to decide a case on mere conjecture. 
102) He who does not know his own worth is deemed to ignominy. 
103) He who practices thrift would never be in want. 
104) He who does not know should not be ashamed to learn. 
105) Patience is to faith, what head is to the body. When patience goes, faith goes, when head goes, the body goes. 
106) The grace of God is the best guide. 
107) A good disposition is the best companion. 
108) Wisdom is the best friend. 
109) Good breeding is the best inheritance. 
110) There is nothing more hateful than pride. 
111) Be among men like bee among birds. 
112) Mix with the people with your tongue, but be separate from them in your deeds. 
113) Be generous but do not be a spendthrift. 
114) Do not run after the world, let the world run after you. 
115) A wise man is he who does not despair of the bounty and mercy of God. 
116) He who is aware of his own faults is oblivious of the faults of others. 
117) What the eye sees the heart preserves. 
118) The vision of the eye is limited; the vision of the heart transcends all barriers of time and space. 
119) Do not be misled by appearances for these are apt to be deceptive. 
120) Do not have too many irons in the fire; concentrate on one thing at a time. 
121) What you do not like for your self, do not like it for others. 
122) Contentment is the treasure which is never exhausted. 
123) The advice of old men is dearer than the bravery of young men. 
124) That knowledge is superficial which is merely on the tongue. That knowledge is real which demonstrates itself in your practice. 
125) Waste of time is one's greatest loss. 
126) He who knows to keep his secret knows the way to success. 
127) Foresight is the way to safety. 
128) No relationship is stronger than the relationship that exists between man and God. 
129) Enlighten the heart with prayers. 
130) Strengthen your heart with faith. 
131) Suppress all lust with piety. 
132) Do not sell the Hereafter for the world. 
133) Do not speak in a state of ignorance. 
134) Refrain from unnecessary talk. 
135) Do not tread the path from which you can apprehend the danger of running astray. 
136) In the affairs of God, do not be afraid of the accusations of the evil mongers. 
137) In all that you do seek the protection of God. 
138) Do not covet what is undesirable. 
139) If you seek the truth neither stray from the right path, nor be assailed by doubts. 
140) Do not become a slave of your desires. 
141) That wealth is no wealth which brings dishonor. 
142) Whatever harm accrues of silence can be remedied but whatever harm is done because of speech cannot be remedied. 
143) It is better to restrain your desires than to stretch your hand before others. 
144) A little that is earned because of honest labor is better than a larger amount gained through dishonest means. 
145) Guard well your secret. 
146) He who seeks more than what is necessary indulges in error. 
147) To oppress the weak is the worst tyranny. 
148) Do not bank on false hopes for that is the capital of the dead. 
149) A wise man takes a lesson even from a minor lapse. 
150) Overpower desires and suspicions by patience and faith. 
151) He who does not take the middle course strays. 
152) A stranger is he who has no friends. 
153) When hopes are frustrated despair becomes the way of life. 
154) He who trusts the world, the world betrays him.

 

What Should We Really Fear?

Written on 5th December, 2006

What Should We Really Fear?

What we should fear, we fear not.  What we should not fear, we fear off.

In reality we should fear what will happen after we die and will be raised on the Day of Judgment.  We should fear that we could die any second.   We have absolutely no control over the timing of our death.  It will overwhelm you and you will not even realize it.   Even at the anointed time of death, you hope against hope of living one more second, one more minute, one more hour, one more day, one more year and so and so forth.  The reason is your fear of the unknown.    The fear of moving into a previously unchartered territory, a place from where no one has ever come back and told the tale.  This territory is terrifying only for those who do not believe in the Youm-e-Aakhirat.  Who do not have Imaan over the fact that there is life after death.   Who do not believe in the Rahmat of Allah, the Merciful and Benevolent.   And this gift or knowledge is acquired only by believing in the mortality of this world and all the desires and attractions, which come attached as a package with it.

Yes, we fear the loss of our desires, our habits, our taste of materialistic lifestyle, and our way of life, our enjoyments, and our comfortability factor and the numerous attractions of this world.   And this fear is so deep and strong that we completely ignore the fact that all these may just vanish in a fraction of a second.   This is precisely why we postpone doing things.  We have become prisoners of our habits, our desires, our comforts and our joys of this world.   Can we go ahead and do Tark-e-Duniya when we are in the midst of enjoying the best the life has to offer.   The more we get used to the comforts of life, the more difficult it will be for us to divorce that lifestyle.   Therefore, we force ourselves into an illusion, that we will do it later; we still have time; what’s the hurry; we are still young; when we get old we will do it.  We talk as if we are in control of our life and not Allah, The Supreme Power.   We immerse ourselves to practicing rites (rasumat), torturing our brothers and sisters, demanding dowries, black magic, conducting marriages and other functions in great style, pomp and naked exhibition of wealth.  Even if we are not doing any of these, we believe we are not mentally prepared to undertake this tough and arduous path of complete Taqwa and Tawakkal.   We pamper our desires.  We give it the wings to fly and soar high.  We let our desires fly so high that we forget that the higher we fly, the greater will be the danger of falling.  The greater the height, the disastrous will be the result of such a fall.

Outside we preach and inside we breach.  We believe in marketing ourselves; in presenting ourselves in the best possible manner.   Our exteriors look magnificent, beautiful, strong and highly desirable.   But unfortunately our interiors are in a dilapidated condition, breaking apart, highly afflicted and corroding. Our concentration is sadly on the Hole (the earth which is like a deep bottomless pit) and not on the Soul.  We believe in inhaling that entire world has to offer.  We make, willingly or unwittingly, pacts of friendship with everything, which is a sure passport to hell.  But sadly we forget to exhale our ego, our desires, our existence and our enjoyments.

In the end, my brothers and sisters, let us shake off this cloak of darkness and bask in the brilliant illumination of the Divine Light.  Let us realize that we all have become past masters in living in illusion; in deceiving ourselves.  Let us remove the cobwebs from our eyes and make it possible to have the Vision, which we should desperately seek.   Let us wake up from the deep sleep and discard the thought that we will just not be dying right now.  We desire, we hope, we believe that we will just be living a little bit more.  Nothing can be so far removed from the truth. 

So fear DEATH and HEREAFTER.  And do not fear the loss of this world and its package of comforts and desires. 

Travel Light to Reach Faster!!!

A journey is always a beautiful experience as it enjoins that we are going to discover some new things, meet new people, renew old associations and reach a new destination. The whole thought is so exciting and exhilarating that it enthralls the whole existence in the process.

It is always advisable to travel light in order to encounter lesser obstacles in reaching the desired destination. Less baggage means less hassle and also that much less worry. If such travel advisory is applicable to the  multiple journeys we undertake during our lifetime in this mortal world then will it not be highly recommended or absolutely must for our journey which takes us to Union with Allah? This is one journey which is on going as well as continuous. Sadly we forget that we are perpetually traveling every minute and every second. Our every action and word is altering the course of our journey - either they take us faster, through a shortcut, to Allah or make us wander aimlessly in a labyrinth.

Our perpetual journey started with our birth and will continue even after our death. Only difference will be that some will reach the desired destination and some will get derailed and fall in a deep pit where they will burn till eternity.

Boarding card for this journey was taken even before we were born and  is only valid for our flight to the city of Death . Once the Death Station is passed the onward journey is totally dependent on what we have carried with us. The customs and checking starts at the Death Station. Immigration is very strict and our credentials are thoroughly checked. Nothing escapes sharper-than-laser scans as everything is pre-recorded during our journey. Every movement and every utterance is religiously noted and entered. So meticulously organized is this whole process that there is no room for any error. A well-oiled process which is highly impressive and awe-inducing.

The baggage are the associations which we form during our life - our parents, our siblings, our friends, our well-wishers, our enemies, our relatives, our society, our various acquaintances, our teachers, our religious and spiritual guides, our children and even our pets, if any. We need to understand that whichever of these associations are helpful and necessary we should keep them; we should know whom to give more importance; we should be aware of what should be our attitude towards them and also how we allow ourselves to be perceived by them.

Imagine we are at an airport or at a railway station. Our capacity to carry easily is only one suitcase or one handbag but we are carrying more than that. What will happen? We will stumble, halter, maybe fall or knock ourselves over.

Thus we are able to travel faster, without getting tired and inviting unwanted aches and pains, if we carry only what is absolutely necessary. To the contrary,if we carry 4-5 pieces of luggage then we will be in deep discomfort and will be dragging ourselves. We probably may fall down sometimes or stumble at the least. Instead of enjoying the journey we will be cursing, fuming and fretting under our breath. We will shout if anyone pushes us by mistake. We will abuse and create a scene.

Just ponder at our life's journey. How many unwanted baggage are we carrying? Are all of them necessary? The more baggage we carry the more excess baggage charges we end up paying. Is it wise?

So my dear friends, travel light as it allows us to reach our destination faster and in a manner befitting the only journey we are supposed to plan well. Let us discard the unnecessary baggage. Why burden our mind and body unnecessarily. Let us only carry the baggage called Zikrullah and see where we reach. Let us follow the Faraiz-e-Shariath and the Faraiz-e-Vilayath scrupulously and we will see many beautiful sceneries on our way, each inviting, attractive and mesmerizing.

Here it may be right to remember what Mahdi Maoud AS has said about our eventual stepping into afterlife: "Banda ye haath sey deta hai aur Allah woh haath sey leta hai".

True import of that powerful statement lies in the fact that those who follow, in letter and spirit, the life of Afzal-ul-Anbia, the last Prophet of Allah, Prophet Mohammed SAWS and Khaleefatullah Syed Mohammed Jaunpuri Imamuna Mahdi Maoud AS will not have to give any account and Allah will accept them with open arms. The more money and other baggages we carry, the longer it will take for auditing of our accounts.

According to a Hadith of Prophet Mohammed SAWS Prophet Suleiman AS will have to wait for 500 years to enter Paradise as he needs to present account of his massive wealth bestowed by Allah SWT.

A Faqeer, a Tarik-ud-Duniya who follows the dictum of Imamuna AS that "Momin Zaqeera Na Kunad" i.e. he does not hoard anything and is totally dependent on Allah SWT, will have nothing to show or get audited off. His immigration will be faster and he will be allowed to enter absolutely fast.

Let us stop and think for a minute. Those who achieve Deedar (Vision) of Allah SWT would have reached their destination even before the "supposed" destination has arrived. How? Will it not be right to say that, that  is in fact "the" destination? Answer is simple and enlightening.

May Allah allow all of us to live and die a death befitting a Momin. Ameen Summameen. Ya Rabb ul Aalameen.

Khudahafiz O Nasir

It's the Preparation That Counts for a Proper Salat

As Salam Alaikum!

Continuing on the topic of how best to make our Ibadat KHALIS (pure) for Allah SWT,  through this article I would like to briefly present how preparation is the most important aspect. 

In our day to day life, we always try to be at our best behavior but we are more particular when we have to meet someone really important. We try and prepare ourselves as best as possible. We try to ensure that we are thorough with our answers and are aware of whom we are meeting. We remind ourselves again and again that we need to be careful with how we are going to behave, how we are going to perform and how and what we are going to say. We know that our small mistake can be really questioned and carry the potential of spoiling our chances of recognition or reward or whatever we are expecting. Similar is the case when we are going to face any interview. This is how we behave when we have to present ourselves in front of a mortal boss, dignitary, potential employer or some VVIP. 

Now observe, ponder and reflect how we behave when we go before Allah SWT - He Who is the Supreme Power, the Sustainer, Giver, Benevolent and Merciful. We, at least most of us, are very casual in our attitude, action, behavior and our presentation of our own self. We go before Him 5 times a day {according to Prophet Mohammed SAWS Salat is the Momin's Mairaj (Mairaj is the blessed night when our beloved Prophet SAWS was able to meet Allah and see Him i.e. he had His Deedar)} and we are not at the best of our behavior or presentation or preparation. 

Proper prayer of a Momin is that prayer where he is able to see Allah SWT and if that is not possible then at least he has to be aware that Allah is watching him. Here again the kind of Salat which will give us the sweetness, satisfaction and is counted as our vehicle for redemption is only possible once we have done Tark e Duniya the way Prophet Mohammed SAWS and Imam Mahdi Maoud AS has shown us through their own personal example and taught us to do. But we, even before we do Tark e Duniya, can try and perform Salat in the best possible way. And that is to prepare properly whenever we are going to perform our Salat. How?

As discussed in my previous article we need to avoid overcrowding our mind with issues which have no bearing on us and to do that we need to ensure that we avoid spending our time in frivolous, useless and silly activities. Practice the following method and you will feel the difference in your concentration levels during Salat and will taste the unique taste which only comes when we feel satisfied with our Salat. That experience is ethereal and addictive. The method is (are):

If possible, 30 minutes before you are supposed to pray start getting into the prayer mode and mood. Do proper ablution (wudu), wear proper clothes, and keep on doing Zikrullah (one can even recite the Holy Quran). Try to reach the mosque at least 10-15 minutes in advance if you are not doing the ablution in the mosque. The best is to do Zikrullah. So when call for prayer is given you will be standing before Allah for Salat in the state of mind which is already conditioned with the remembrance of Allah and that frame of mind is best. This way when we go before Allah SWT we are prepared to do so. We will  only then truly appreciate the value of every chance we get to present ourselves before Him. And whence our heart is so conditioned and our mind is attuned to Allah SWT we will taste the beauty of Allah's benevolence, mercy and vision. Therefore, preparation does matter. And is the key to proper Salat. 

May Allah make all of us live a life of a Momin and make us all die a life of a Momin. Ameen Summameen Ya Rabb ul Aalameen.

Khudahafiz O Nasir

The Way to Live.

As Salam Alaikum!

The simpler we live the easier it is to reach the spiritual heights which ensures our life is lived the way it is desired by Allah SWT. Ourbeloved Prophet Mohammed SAWS used to live a life which was devoid of any frills and ostentation and his conduct was above reproach or vile comments or which had the potential of creating trouble for others or that of hurting others. In this regard there are some beautiful lines penned by a Allah loving person about 70-80 years ago. His name was Peer O Murshid Hzt. Syed Abdul Kareem Noor RH, great grandfather of Peer O Murshid Syed Ejaz Miyan Sahab, resident of Kachiguda, Hyderabad. 

Aye dil tu chahta hai bhali zindagi agar

Shikwa kisi ka sun na shikayat kisi ki kar

Achcha agar tu hai to buron ko bura na jaan

Tujhko agar bura kahe to tu hargiz bura na maan

Rahey apni kartabon ki nadamat mein raat din

Kho umar ghair e haq ki chahat mein na raat din

Badley buraiyon key burai sey tu na ley

Pesh aa mudaraton sey dua nek usko dey

Mudarat means and comes from the common term we use "Khatir O Mudarat" i. e. how we entertain and welcome those we love and whoever comes to meet us. 

Now if we try to live a life the way it is expressed above then we will have lesser enemies, lesser issues to trouble our mind, higher satisfaction level and greater chance to perform our prayers with a highly focused mind. 

May Allah make all of us live a life of a Momin and make us all die a life of a Momin. Ameen Summameen Ya Rabb ul Aalameen.

 

Khudahafiz O Nasir.

What Disturbs Ibadat!!!

As Salam Alaikum!!!

All of us desire and intend to do prayers with utmost concentration but find it difficult to really concentrate and do full justice to our prayers or Ibadat. There are many factors which create nuisance in our mind and always have the potential to harm our Ibadat. And so it becomes imperative on us to avoid all those things which have such nuisance value. Because we cannot get the proper concentration unless and until we do Tark e Duniya and do it the way it is meant to be done.

Getting back to the point of discussion or the topic of my article - what are the factors which have the potential of disturbing our Ibadat. Today I will try and discuss only one aspect and which I feel is pretty common and is the one of the factors with most disturbing value. Plus it has the potential to create Fitna, if spread and appears as a rumour,  which again is a highly reprehensible act in the eyes of Allah SWT. 

Many of us are very interested in knowing things which does not have any bearing on our own self - whether good or bad. Suppose there is a conversation among two persons or among a group which is absolutely private in nature but many of us would still want to know what has transpired there? We are interested in knowing the salary of others, about what a person is doing, about what kind of relationship a husband and wife are having or discussing about someone else when it has no bearing on our worldly or spiritual life. 

We forget that if a private affair is private then there is absolutely no point in making it public. How can one - who is not present when a particular conversation has taken place or is unaware of what transpired between 2 persons - understand the true import of the whole conversation. and therefore, how can he or she be in a position to do justice to the whole thing. Neither he/she can add any positive to it or reduce if there is negativity in it. 

And everyone is aware that all of us have many issues which disturb our concentration in remembering Allah (either during Zikr or Salat) so it really does not make any sense that we try to get involved or spending useful time in find out what happened even though that particular incident has no bearing (good or bad) on us. If  we have nothing to gain or lose from a particular information then it is better not to be curious (intentionally or unintentionally) to find out and add more disturbing factors to our already overburdened mind and further disturb our Ibadat. 

Ibadat requires ultimate concentration. It is already difficult to attain that level  and bring the kind of Khushu and Khuzu that is enjoined upon us by Allah without doing Tark-e-Duniya. So why unnecessary add up issues which have the  potential of disturbing our mind and consequently our Ibadat. Ibadat is supreme to everything else. So we should always try to minimize our involvement in the worldly affairs in order to make it easier to do our prayers that much more peacefully and beautifully. 

The best preparation for the life after Tark e Duniya is to practice Uzlat uz Khalq in our Kasabi life. We should try and minimize, as much as possible, our involvement in worldly affairs and keep it to bare minimum and to the point where it is absolutely necessary. That way we will be able to practice the kind of lifestyle which Allah SWT loves and appreciates.  We should avoid Kaifiyat-e-Izterab, Confusion, and develop Qana'at Pasandi, Taqwa, Abstinence and Shukr  in each and every action plus in every situation we come across and not question Allah SWT why He did this or cry about our fate. We should try to have total faith in Allah SWT.

May Allah make all of us live a life of a Momin and make us all die a life of a Momin. 

Ameen Summameen Ya Rabb ul Aalameen.

Khudahafiz O Nasir.

Iqlas-Fid-Deen

What do we need to do to keep fighting evil forces, what should be our reaction to attacks on our faith and spiritual stability? As we all know this monster will keep raising its head every now and then. And this will keep happening till the Doomsday. So what should be our Amal that can keep us on the Sirat-e-Mustaqeem and allow us to die a death befetting a Momin?

Whatever little I have heard from my Murshid, from my elders and whatever I keep reading and gaining through the articles and notes which are printed and published online, I have realised that the answer is in only one word - IQLAS-FID-DEEN i.e. PURITY IN FAITH or better still EXCLUSIVITY IN FAITH; in other words, your practices are exclusively for Allah e.g. when you pray then prayer only for Allah and not for any material gain or even to get Jannat. Pray so that you can have His Deedar.

Our compulsory duty (farz) is to practice our RELIGION only for ALLAH and our each and every action should be in conformity with IQLAS-FID-DEEN. In other words, our every single action has to be measured against it. This is the LITMUS TEST of SPIRITUALITY. We can test and understand each and every action of ours against this. If we pass then we are on the RIGHT track.

Differences do happen because our EGO blinds us to the REALITY as well as to the ALLAH'S CHOSEN PATH. It is very simple to understand -  our chosen RELIGION is Islam, the final BOOK from Allah is the Holy Quran and our main guides are KHATAMAIN AS i.e. Prophet Mohammed SAWS and Khaleefatullah Syed Mohammed Jaunpuri Mahdi Al Maoud AS. It is we who are confused because we deliberately do not want to see and accept the reality. Our Desires, Our Nafs, Our Ego make us believe in things which are disruptive, disrespecting and digressing. Allah's beloved Prophet Mohammed SAWS and Khalifatullah Imamuna Mahdi Maoud AS have clearly explained to us how we should be conducting our lives and what is the MOST PREFERRED WAY then why are we so confused. Why do we have divisions? Why! Why! Why!

The root of all the problems faced by a Momin can be explained by only one thing - LACK of IQLAS in our SPIRITUAL PRACTICES. Our every action, which also includes our IBADAT, is supposed to be based on IQLAS. We are so deeply entrenched in world - most of us have king-size egos, we are deeply enamoured of the worldly life and its comforts and almost everyone has forgotten or is unaware of Hudood-e-Kasab. When our Ibadat lacks Iqlas, when our conduct of day-to-day life lacks Iqlas, when our conduct of our relationships lacks Iqlas, when our overall life lacks Iqlas then deterioration and degradation is bound to occur. When purity of action and intention is not there then how can we expect that more and more persons may not go astray or the problem of Nifaq and re-emergence of Murtids and Munafiqeens may not arise. We cannot just wish it all away. It will keep hurting us where it hurts the most. And we have only ourselves to blame for this sorry state of affairs.

It will be a classic case of running away from the reality if we blame all our problems on the Murtids and Munafiqeens. It is indeed a very easy thing to do. And if we do this and reach this conclusion then it will only reflect our collective cowardice. Its human to blame others than our own self. So before I tell my brothers and sisters, I am trying to follow this principle as best as I can. It is really a tough act to follow if we are not ready to sacrifice our NAFS. And every single moment I fight with my conscience. One's Zameer is always alive and kicking. Its we who try to suppress it and gag it. Once try to let it loose and see the changes you will see inside yourself. Weeding out does hurt but the pain that one endures is only temporary. Imagine our fear of this pain will lead us astray and we have to endure far greater pain of burning in Hell forever and ever. The choice is clear. It has been clear from the time Allah made this KAYNAT. Its we who ignore it.

All of us are comfortable in the thought that we are not going to die the next moment. We still have time to do what Allah has asked us to do. Plus Allah is Most Merciful so he will pardon our indiscretions, transgressions, misdemeanours, mistakes and gross violations of Shariat and Vilayat hudoods. The paradox is: we expect Allah to do what He has promised and we also believe that Allah's Benevolence and Mercy will always score over His Punishment; but how easily we forget our Duties and Responsibilites. Isn't that beautiful? It is this complacency and arrogance that we have to seriously guard against if we do not want ourselves to be counted among the unfaithful.

Let us do INTROSPECTION and see where we actually stand today in our lives. Are we at the Crossroads? Which Path should we take? What Advice should we follow? Who should be our Guide? And this INTROSPECTION needs to be constant and continuous. If we do it then we will avoid making mistakes. Yes I agree, we are not Masoom-anil-Khata but atleast we can try not to follow the Route to Disaster willfully with both our eyes open.

The TIME is NOW. Act NOW to safeguard your AAKHIRAT. Bring IQLAS in everything you do. Our every action should be for and only for ALLAH. Once we follow this simple rule in everything we do or attempt to do or even think of doing then we have taken a very big step forward. Indeed then, and only then, can we truly call ourselves a MAHDAVI.

May Allah make us Live like a MOMIN and make us Die like a MOMIN.

Ameen Summameen Ya Rabb ul Aalameen.