The Environment and more...

وَالْعَصْرِ

إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ

By time
Indeed man is in a great and constant state of loss
[Surah al Asr 103:1-2]

We learn from the Qur’an and hadeeth that man is in a constant state of spiritual decline. You do not have to do anything wrong to be in decline. This is because even if you do not commit a sin, the environment around you will have an effect on your level of spirituality. It is for this reason that religious gathering such as daroos and majalis are vital to arrest our spiritual decline.

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[This short excerpt is based on a brothers' majlis (gathering held for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq on 13th January 2013].

    

Gratitude for a gift is not something that is expressed verbally, rather it is expressed in attitude and deed, i.e. it is appreciated and utilised it in a beneficial manner. We have the opportunity to learn, educate and reform ourselves, yet despite this gift of ilm available to us, we lack desire and motivation. We do not appreciate this opportunity since we have become involved in a rat race and rivalry has distracted us.

[This short excerpt is based on a brothers' majlis (gathering held for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq on 13th April 2004].

    

People never forget any wrong done to them by others and any good done to them is easily forgotten. However a believer should overlook any wrong done to him and engrave in his heart and mind any good done to him no matter how small. Unfortunately, nowadays the tables are turned and people are fickle in friendship and loyalty, and are willing to overlook many years of good done to them, yet are unforgiving even for a single mistake.

[This short excerpt is based on a brothers' majlis (gathering held for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 20th March 2004].

    

The whole purpose of tazkiyah is to reform one’s fitrah (core character). A person may adopt a facade for a certain time, however when he is tested, his true fitrah emerges. On the path of spiritual purification, a person must strive and work hard in order to eradicate bad character.A spiritual guide can only help and advise, however the onus, effort and struggle is upon the individual.

[This short excerpt is based on a brothers' majlis (gathering held for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 12th March 2003].

    

Many of us wander at our lack of spiritual progress yet we fail to avoid the basic sins. For example, sins of the tongue such as swearing, backbiting, rumour mongering and slander.

Silence is the hallmark of a believer and one of the goals of tazkiyah is to cut down on one’s speech. Most people tend to talk excessively and this in itself is a curse. We have to train ourselves to remain silent and true silence is when a person has the ability and desire to speak yet remains silent, for example when angry. We should be conscious that we will be accountable for every word we utter on the Day of Judgement.

[This short excerpt is based on a brothers' majlis (gathering held for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 5th February 2003].