For the People of Determination
For the People of Determination
(l) Getting up one hour or at least one hour before Fajr, since it is at this time that the Gate Of the Mercy of Allah (Who is Powerful and ‘Sublime!) is opened and the time when the Great Shaikhs look at their Murids. One should get up and make wudu’, and then perform two rak’ats of Tahiyyatu’l-Wudu’ and then stand up facing the Qiblah and ask that Allah (Who is self-exalting) purify oneself from the anger of one’s Nafs. And with this intention one should then say: Ya Halim! one hundred times. And then one should seek protection from one’s external and internal enemies, and from both heavenly and earthly misfortunes, saying: Ya Hafiz! one hundred times.
Whoever wishes to reach the Station of the People of Determination (Ahlu’l-‘aza’im) must keep up these practices. And our Sheikh tells us about the importance of this time and its virtue, saying : If a person gets up one hour before Fajr and does nothing, not even praying, not even making Tasbih, but gets up to drink something such as coffee or tea, or to eat a more sel of food, then he must also be raised with the Ahlu’s-sahr (the Vigilant People.)
(2) Then he should stand and pray two Rak’ats Of Salatu’n-Najat (Prayer of Salvation). Reciting in the first Rak’ah: Al-Fatihah, then:
Bismillahi’r-Rahmani’r-Rahim.
Shahidallahu annahu la ilaha illa bu. Wa’l-Mala•ikatu wa ulu’l-‘ilmi qa’imam bi-l-Qist. La ilaha illa huwa’l-‘azizu’l-Hakim. Inna ‘d-Dina ‘indallahi’l-lslam.
Bismillahi’r-Rahmani’r-Rahim.
Quli’llahumma malika’l-Mulki tu’ti’l-Mulka man tasha•u wa tanzi’u’l-Mulka mimman tasha’u, wa tuizzu man tasha’u wa tudhillu man tasha’. Bi-Yadika’l-Khairu innaka ‘ala kulli shay’in qadir. Tuliju’l-Laila fi’nNahari wa tuliiu•n-Nahara fi’l-lail. Wa tukhriju’l-Hayya mina’l-Mayyiti wa tukhriju’l-Mayyita mina’l-Hayy.
Wa tarzuqu man tashau bi-ghairi hisab.
And in the second Rak’ah, recite al-Fatihah.
Then : 11 Ikhlas Sharif. (Surah Number 112)
And then after making salams one should make sajdah to Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla with the intention of burying the arfger •of your Nafs and killing the child of the blameful Nafs, and changing reproachable manners into praiseworthy ones.
All the angels of the Heavens and the earth gaze down at the One doing sajda, and he is one who confides in His Lord. The angels do not lift up this sadja to Allah (Who is without fault and is Self-Exalting) , rather Allah takes it up to Himself without any intermediary. The Murid speaks to his Lord in the sadja, saying : Ya rabbi kamå ta’kulu’n-nåru’l-hataba häkadhå’l-hasadu’l-muta’silu fiyya ya’kulu jami’a a’mäli khallisni ya rabbi minhu wa khallisni aidan mina’lghadabi in-nafsäni wa min nafsi’t-tifli’l-madhmümah. Wa mina’l-akhlaqi’dh-dhamimah. Wav ya rabbi baddil kulla akhlaqi ilä akhläqin hamidah. Wa aralin hasanah.
(Oh my Lord! Just as fire consumes firewood, in the same way the •envy which is rooted in me consumes all my actions. Purify me, Oh my Lord from it and Purify me too from the anger of my Nafs. Rid me as well, Oh my Lord of the blameworthy Nafs of the child and from reprehensible manners. And Oh my Lord change all my manners to laudable manners and into good actions.)
He should ask Allah ( VA/ho is powerful and sublime) for everything which is of importance to him in this world and the next, since supplication of this degree is accepted and it is not possible that it might be rejected.
And if the Murid should happen to leave this night vigil he will have lost a large portion of the tajalli since it is a part of the tajalli of the entire Waza’if. Should any part of the spiritual practices be deficient, then he shall be manifesting the quality which we already spoke about at the beginning of our discourse, where the water goes outside without being used at all, when there is a small hole or some such thing in the pipes. But really this tajalli is not wasted, and if it is not given us in this world, and we do not see it as a result of our negligence, then it remains for us to receive in the next-world.
Our guide (Murshid) says: “He who makes a regular practice of the Adab and the Awräd shall obtain the water of true life and with it he will perform wudü;’ he will bathe in it and drink it, and by means of it shall he reach his goal. There is such a person who claims that he has been in the Order for thirty years and as yet has not seen anything and has not attained anything. The answer for this person is to search and look at what his actions were throughout these years• How many deficient actions has he performed? When you know the deficiency you should avoid it, and then you will quickly reach Alläh (Who is Powerful and Sublime). When the Murid forsakes that which the Sheikhs have told him about the Waza’if, then he will remain absolutely incapable of making further progress, and he will be unable to return to any previous stage.
Whoever keeps to these Wazå’if is promised that he will reach the exalted stations and great levels.
And if the Murid still has time before the morning prayer, then he can also perform the following:
(3) Eight Raka’ats : Salätu’t-Tahajjud.
(4) Salatu’t-Tasäbih: four Raka’ats, if he cannot do it every night, then he should do it once a week.
When the Adhän is called for the morning prayer then he should attend the congregational at home, if a congregation is there assembled, or else go to the mosque to attend the congregational prayer there. And he should wait for the prayer of Ishräq if sleep does not evercome him.
No Prophet ever obtained Prophethood, nor did any Saint ever obtain Sainthood, and no Believer ever attained the stage of faith without utilizing this period of time between the morning prayer and Ishråq (sunrise), keeping to these Wazä’if.
(5) He should pray two Raka’ats of Salätu’l-lshraq. And if he has some important job to do and isn’t able to pray the prayer of Duha at its appointed time, then he should pray it immediately after Ishraq.
(6) Eight Raka’ats of Salätu’d-Duhä.
The best time for the prayer of.Duhä is two hours before Zuhr.
The Waza’if of the People of Determination is that they should not •leave the Sunnah prayers at all, and they must be performed like the Fard prayers.
Muhammad. (on whom be the best of prayers and pence’). said : “A man’s safety lies in keeping his tongue.” He who keeps this Adab and does not look at the defects of others and works at his Wazå’if, taking care to perform them. and does not get involved in other things, he is the one who gets the blessings of this Hadith.
Whoever looks down on the Sons of Adam who have been honoured in the sight of Allåh, (who is powerful and sublime), when he said: “And We have honoured the Sons of Adam”; Allah will dishonour him and he will exemplify the Hadith:
We have honoured the Sons of Adam, and whoever honours them. Allah, (Who is Powerful and Sublime), will honour him and will set him over such people who will, in their turn, honour him. (But who honours them not will experience terrible things at their hands).
The Waz’ifah of the People of Determination is completed with Allah’s praise.
