Practical steps for spiritual advancement
It’s easy to know spiritual quotes, Quranic verses and sufi practices, but to live our lives putting these into practice is another story. We must be honest and look at our daily lives to see whether we are making the world a better place.
Are we kind people? Are we eager to serve others? Do we readily smile and give love to others? Are we waiting for a grand spiritual enlightenment to be a better person, or are we consciously working on it every minute of the day?
Start today by contemplating these spiritual practices and seeing how you can apply them to your life.
Hadith to Live By
“Honor your children and cultivate in them good manners.”
— Sunan Ibn Majah (Book 33, Hadith 3671)
“Backbiting is worse than adultery, for Allah may forgive adultery if one repents, but He will not forgive backbiting until the wronged person forgives.”
— Al-Bayhaqi, Shu‘ab al-Imān (Hadith 6315)
“Whoever does not thank people has not thanked Allah.”
— Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi (Book 27, Hadith 1954)
“Greet those you know and those you do not know.”
— Sahih al-Bukhari (Book 79, Hadith 4); Sahih Muslim (Book 1, Hadith 96)
“The best among you is he who is best to his family.”
— Sunan al-Tirmidhi (Book 46, Hadith 3895)
“Islam is purity of speech and hospitality.”
— Musnad Ahmad (Book 5, Hadith 23733)
Characteristics of the True Believer
Shaykh Yahyā Ibn Mu’ādh ar-Rāzī (may Allāh bless his soul) has described in his writings the noble characteristics of a true believer.
“The strong man is not the one who can overpower others, but the one who controls himself when angry.” — Sahih al-Bukhari (Book 78, Hadith 141); Sahih Muslim (Book 32, Hadith 6313)
Among them, he/she:
Is very bashful.
Is harmless.
Is very beneficial to others.
Is unproblematic.
Is truthful.
Is hardworking.
Is brave.
Stays away from useless people and vain talk.
Builds understanding and brotherhood.
Is thankful.
Is compassionate to all.
Is generous.
And he/she stays away from:
Cursing.
Swearing.
Backbiting.
Looking for faults in others.
Acting in haste (without proper thought).
Jealousy.
Envy.
Stinginess.
Pride.
Arrogance.
Love of the world.
Excessive sleep.
Hypocrisy.
Make Silence Obligatory
Take recourse to self-imposed silence (mulāzimat al-şamt). Keeping quiet will kindle the light of joy in your heart and immerse you in happy tranquility, just as Abu Madyan points out.
Make silence obligatory
Unless you are questioned, then say:
‘No knowledge have I’
And conceal yourself with ignorance.
Sufis who take to the spiritual way consider that there are great benefits to be gained by those who make silence obligatory upon themselves. Doing so raises their foundations high and plants firmly their roots. Silence is of two types. There is silence of the tongue (şamt bi’l-lisān) and then there is silence of the heart (şamt bi’l-janān). Both of there are necessary on the path. Whoever is silent in the heart yet speaks with the tongue speaks with wisdom. Whoever is silent with the tongue and silent in the heart perceives the manifestation (tajallī) of the inner conscience (sirr) and is addressed by the Lord.
This is the ultimate goal of silence, as made comprehensible through the discourse of the Shaykh [Abu Madyan]. So make silence obligatory upon yourself, my dear seeker, unless you are questioned. If you are questioned, return to your roots and reach your goal and answer simply, ‘No knowledge have I.’ Conceal yourself with ignorance, so that you might be enlightened by the rays of intimate knowledge that comes directly from the divine source (‘ilm ladunī). Whenever you acknowledge your ignorance and return to your roots [weakness and incapacity], the glimmers of intimate knowledge of your true self dawn to your sight. And if you know your true self you know your Lord, as it is recorded in a saying of the Prophet [hadīth]: “He who knows himself knows his Lord” (man ‘arifa nafsahu ‘arifa rabba-hu).
All of this knowledge is the fruit of silence and observing its proper bounds with respect. So keep silent, bear yourself respectfully and stand humbly at the doorway so that you might be recognized as a beloved friend of the master of the house. How beautifully this has been said by a poet:
I won’t leave the doorway
till they set right my deficiency
Lest they greet me while I’m bent
with my shameful incapacity
If you are satisfied with me
imagine my honor and my nobility!
Yet if you reject me, is there any hope
for my impertinent rigidity?
Get Rid of Doubts
Shaykh Ibn ‘Atā’illāh al-Iskandarī (may Allāh bless his soul) said:
Shaykh Abū al-‘Abbās al-Mursī (may Allāh be pleased with him) had a profound dislike for obsessive doubts concerning one’s ritual purity and the validity of one’s canonical prayers. He found it burdensome to be in the company of those preoccupied with such doubts.
One day, when I was with him, someone said: “Master, so-and-so is a man of knowledge and integrity, but he is prone to obsessive doubts.”
The Shaykh replied, “Where is his knowledge and integrity, then? [True] knowledge is imprinted on the heart just as whiteness inheres in that which is white, and blackness inheres in that which is black.”
Hadith To Live By
“You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I tell you something that will make you love one another? Spread the greeting of peace among you.”
— Sahih Muslim (Book 1, Hadith 96)
Beware of Conceit
Beware of conceit, for it invalidates good deeds. The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said:
“Conceit eats good works just as fire consumes firewood.”
And he said:
“Three things are ruinous: avarice that one obeys, passion that one follows, and admiration that one has for himself.”
Conceit is when a person sees himself as important and his behavior as excellent. From this arises showing off one’s works, feeling superior to others, and being self-satisfied.
Conceit is when a person sees himself as important and his behavior as excellent. From this arises showing off one’s works, feeling superior to others, and being self-satisfied.
As Ibn ‘Atā’illah (may God’s mercy be upon him) said:
“The root of every sin, distraction, or lust is self-satisfaction.”
He who is satisfied with himself does not see his shortcomings. And he who is unaware of his shortcomings — how can he ever succeed?
— Imām ‘Abdallāh ibn ‘Alawī al-Ḥaddād, Two Treatises of Imām al-Ḥaddād
Reflection [Fikr]
Reflection is the roaming of the heart through the meanings of things in order to reach its goal. It is through reflection that one dives for the pearls of ḥaqīqa (truth). If one’s reflection is free from flaws, it will attain the sources of realization (taḥqīq).
It is said that reflection is “the lamp of the heart, which renders visible the good and evil it contains, and what may benefit it or bring it harm,” for a heart devoid of reflection is as devoid of light as a dark house. A heart without light contains nothing but ignorance, pride, and beguilement.
Ibn ‘Abbās and Abū al-Dardā’ (may God be pleased with them) said:
“An hour’s reflection is better than a whole night spent in worship.”
Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī al-Ḥasan said:
“Reflection is the mirror of the believer, in which he looks at his evil and good works.”
Ibn ‘Aṭiyya wrote in his Qur’ānic commentary that his father had been told the following story by one of the ‘ulamā’ of the eastern regions:
“I once spent the night in a mosque in Egypt. After I had performed the night prayer, I noticed a man lying down, wrapped in his mantle. The rest of us remained awake and prayed through the night.
When the adhān was given for the morning prayer, the man stood up and prayed with the others. I was disturbed by his audacity in praying without having performed ablution.
When the prayer was finished and the man went out, I followed him to admonish him. However, when I drew near, I overheard him reciting:A body full up, both absent and present,
A heart that’s alert, silent in dhikr;
Constricted to others, expanded within—
Thus is the state of gnosis and fikr.
Reflecting all night for the Wise Maker’s sake,
Ever asleep, and always awake.So I left him alone, thinking, ‘He must be one of those who worship God through reflection.’”
— Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad, Key to the Garden