Sufism and spiritual exercices
Advice
“My dear son, your words and deeds should be according to the shari’ah since knowledge and action without observance of the shari’ah is nothing but deviation. Do not be deceived by ecstatic utterances and vehement cries of the Sufis because this path can be traversed by fighting one’s whims and selfish desires through spiritual exercises not through falsity and wrong practices. Do not be deceived by ecstatic utterances and vehement cries of the Sufis because this path can be traversed by fighting one’s whims and selfish desires through spiritual exercises not through falsity and wrong practices”.
The science of the tasawwuf
It is one area of sacred knowledge. The tasawwuf, which is a form of knowledge, but unfortunately this has become in our modern times, associated with things which has nothing to do with tasawwuf, because some of the practises and saying has been associated with wrong practises, however this does not distract from the reality of what tasawwuf is.
The true meaning of tasawwuf is the purification of one's soul, and everything that is required to purify ones soul. The essence of purification of the soul is to make all of your desires in-line with the desires of the Prophet Muhammad, and not to detract from that. People who claim to be Ahlu-tasawwuf or Sufi, they engage in such practices and they take some of these sayings and quotes and act as if they are Sufi's and behave in a particular manner and dress in a particular way, internally it doesn’t have anything to do with what the true meaning of tasawwuf is.
Tasawwuf requires a lot of hard work and effort and it's not just an outward appearance or a form of ritual. Even these people who have engaged in tasawwuf have actually engaged in rituals that perhaps transgress the shariah. This is why your journey must start with having a firm understanding in the shariah of fiqh.
It is known that the true people of tasawwuf- those who have truly embarked on this science and have implemented it properly in their lives, that when they speak, their speech has a sweetness and seems to strikes directly at the true meaning of life, and everyone single one of us can relate to the speech. When they speak, they easily make our hearts move and our souls want to hear more. Everyone can relate to this speech because these people only speak the realities of life, it strikes the heart with reality.
"Every speech is wrapped with the clothing of the heart that it came from". If the person's heart is illumined, then that which comes from his heart is also illumined with light.
The other people, those who act as Sufi's and act religious- these people who engage in these rituals, they like to listen to the true speech of the ahlu-tasawwuf and memorise, then with their ill intentions they go and mix with people within the government and business people etc, and use this speech to fool the people and make a way with money and try prove who they are.
Advice
“Do not be deceived by ecstatic utterances and vehement cries of the Sufis because this path can be traversed by fighting one’s whims and selfish desires through spiritual exercises not through falsity and wrong practices.”
Imam Ghazali warns us to be aware of the imposters which are everywhere. If there is something to gain, you will find imposters present. Even when you explain to people what is true tasawwuf, they are still taken in by the imposters, and they don’t want to engage in the search of the true knowledge of tasawwuf. The true knowledge of tasawwuf is innocent just as Yusuf is innocent from the blood of the wolf. So some of these people may attend a hadrah or gathering of dhikr and the true sheikh utters words which are put on his tongue given to him by Allah (know that none of us do anything except by the will of Allah) and two types of people are present :
- One person is over-taken by the sweetness of the words
- The other person is over-taken by the secrets of the words or its meaning.
The two of them are both overcome but the experience which they both experience is like the difference between the heaven and the earth. Habib Hussain explains by saying that if you see a 3 year-old child who's sitting down and saying 'Allah Allah' and then compare this to a man in his 40's who is sitting down also saying 'Allah Allah' – his repetition of the word Allah has an effect on his soul and the souls around him, because he's saying it with a spiritual condition and with a spiritual presence, whereas a child is just repeating the word, so there is a difference between the repetition of a name and actually uttering a word and actually knowing the meaning behind the name or word.
L’imam ibn Hanbal and the story of the Djinn
During the time of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, there was a man who was possessed by a Jinn. So he went to Imam Ahmad for a cure, and he read over him some verses of the Quran , and the Jinn came out of the man and the man was cured. In the town, someone heard of this story and what had happened and asked about which verses were read, he then memorised them and announced to the people 'Oh people if you are ever possessed by a Jinn, come to me and I will read some verses and rid you of the Jinn' – he was trying to make money out of this. So as time went on, the same man who was originally possessed became possessed again and he went to the man who was claiming to exorcise Jinn from the body's for a cure. As the man started to read the verses, the Jinn started to laugh and was making fun of him. The man then asked the Jinn- 'Oh Jinn! Am I not reciting the same verses that were recited upon you by Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal?', the Jinn replied 'Yes you are reciting the same verses from the Holy Quran but Imam Ahmad is in a different spiritual condition than you and was reciting the verses in a completely different spiritual state to what you are in now.' This shows that even though the same verses are being recited from two different tongues, the spiritual state makes a difference.
Advice
"Because this path can be traversed through fighting ones whims and selfish desirers through spiritual exercises."
What is intended by the sacred knowledge of tasawwuf is to remove all barriers between you and Allah.
It is to understand that the number one barrier between you and Allah is your nafs, your own soul. Allah is nearer and clearer than your own self. Allah is so apparent, clear and every present that the eyes don’t see Him and your soul is the number one barrier between you and Allah. Allah likes for his servant to be a servant of Allah and not of your own wishes and desires. One of the ways in which you can overcome this barrier of your own soul is through constant striving, hard work, effort, and going against your own nafs, and to make your nafs inline with the desires of the Prophet Muhammad. He is the best of creation that Allah sent down and he is our living example of what it is to have the most perfect soul. "If you strive, then you will witness the divine peace."
If the servant/the human being, was on their death bed and was about to die, and if at that moment Allah was to reveal His Greatness and His Magnificence to them (at the time of death you see reality) then such a person would look at the whole of his life and the time he spent in the dunya and belittle his own life as if it was nothing compared to this greatness in which he is preserving in Allah and he will realise he lived his whole life as a fool and wasted his time and all of his opportunities that he had. When you are on your death bed, know that what is revealed to you is the reality of Allah the Creator. This tiny thing that Allah may reveal to you is enough to make your life seem worthless. Like a child who puts so much value in a toy, and when he goes to sleep at night he puts the toy next to him and love it's so much, then when he becomes older he looks back at this act and he laughs as he now understands the reality of this toy. Likewise, the person who is on his death bed, realising many years have passed and then Allah reveals just a small portion of His Magnificence, the human being then realises he's wasted so much of his life in small things. Imam Ghazali teaches us that every breath is a jewel, a jewel that you cannot even value. Every breath that leaves your body, you will never get it back.
Each and every breath carries value
The wayfarers on the path of tasawwuf- those who are engaged in purifying their nafs are so careful as to how they spend each and every breath. How do they do this? The person who calls himself servant or a Sufi, who is not worried about how he spends his breaths will not taste any of the spiritual state which we are talking about.
In terms of being careful of how we spend each and every breath that we take, we seem to be very heedless of this. So how is it that we can be sure to value each breath we take? We are required to structure our time, have a fixed schedule and appoint activities at different times of the day. Each time and moment consists of breaths- each minute, each hour, each day. So we should divide our day into portions of an hour, and have a specific activity which is beneficial. For example- each one of us needs to sleep, whether its 8 hours, or 6 hours etc. Do you know how many breaths a human being takes per minute while sleeping? We can assume its 60 breaths a minute, and we all know there are 60 minutes in an hour, so that's approximately 3600 breaths. Imagine when we are sleeping 8 hours a night- that's a lot of breaths!
Now is sleeping a waste of time? It can be a time of benefit or a waste of time. How can we benefit from sleep? First we implement the etiquette of sleeping according to the Prophet Muhammad, and we must purify and make good intentions, such as 'Oh Allah I intend to wake up in the middle of the night and do some form of qiyyaam, or serve my parents, or gain rest so that I can get up tomorrow and serve the community' etc, all these good intentions can make your sleep beneficial and turn your sleep into a form of worship.
Each and every breath carries value, and when someone is on their death bed, it is then that they truly understand that one breath and they will seek but just one breath from the angel of death this one breath, but they will not be granted it. It is at this point that a human being understands the true value of a single breath. If you can imagine this on your death bed then take heed during your life while you are not on your death bed and value your breaths. One single breath could be the very reason of saving you on the Day of Judgment, especially if this breath came out while you are in a stake of remembering Allah (dhikrullah).
The dhikr
We should start of making dhikr of the tongue, and there are some people that even though they make dhikr without their tongues, their heart is engaged in the dhikr. This is something we should teach our hearts, the dhikr that no-one else can see- only Allah, and that our hearts will always be engaged in pondering over the true meaning of La ilaaha ila Allah- There is nobody worthy of worship but Allah, there's no-one that witnesses except Allah, and there is no other goal or aim but Allah. So the tongue can be moving, but at the same time your heart can be in dhikrullah. These are very powerful breaths from the heart, and a person who is close to Allah and has knowledge of Allah, usually his dhikr comes from his heart and his breaths come from his heart, and his breaths are intermingled with the breaths of Allah. This type of dhikr and these breaths which come from the heart burns any thought of Shaytan and any ability of the Shaytan coming close to you.
Story of the Salihin, the Shaytan and the man sleeping
One of the Saliheen (righteous people) got up late at night and he wanted to go to the masjid to do some qiyyaam al layl. As he walked in the street and approached the masjid, he saw the Shaytan by the door, (know that the Saliheen can recognise the Shaytan). So he said to him 'You are the Shaytan, what is it that you want?' The Shaytan replied 'So you recognise me? I want to go inside the masjid and whisper into the ear of that person that is praying. So the righteous man looked inside the masjid and saw that there was a man there who was praying, and also a man sleeping. He said to the Shaytan ' What about the man sleeping? You only want to whisper into the ear of the man whose praying?' The Shaytan replied 'I cannot enter the masjid because the very breath of this sleeping man burns me- it's not allowing me to enter'.
So know that this person probably went to sleep with the right etiquettes of sleeping and intentions, so each of his breath burns the Shaytan, and does not allow him to come close. Therefore our breaths emanate from our hearts; every breath that exhales from us should carry the dhikr of Allah. Know that the heart is nothing but a container that is only filled with the dhikr of Allah, and any breath that comes out should be intermingled with the love of Allah and the name of Allah. We should teach ourselves that when we take a breath, we should exhale with Allah, and repeat this over and over so it becomes more than just a habit, but a lifeline. Even if you do not physical say 'Allah', you will reach a point where your heart, your internal secret is always saying Allah. The dhikr of the tongue is 'la ilaaha il Allah' and the dhikr of the heart is 'Allah'.
How to do proper dhikr
So whoever wishes to take the deeper meanings of what's being said, then take some free time and sit alone, close your eyes, and with your heart think of Allah without using your tongue. You will then find that your tongue, your nafs, your breaths that come out will be shrouded with the magnificence of Allah and you will feel a sense of tranquillity that will overcome you and also effect those around you. This is just a few moments of thinking of Allah within your hearts; each breath that comes out should come out with the greatest of names- Allah. This is something that requires continuous training, and push yourself to do it until it becomes a regular activity in your life, it should become so continuous that Insha'Allah you will be of those that make dhikrullah within your sleep.
How to go to sleep
Also if you do this, you will not need to worry about bad dreams. When you go to sleep at night you should say the 'athkar an-nawm' (prayers/remembrance of night time) and have your dhikr beads in your hands, and engage in some form of dhikrullah and think of all the creations of Allah, the different dimensions that He has created, until you are overcome with sleep. When you fall asleep in this state, your breaths will continue with the dhikr of Allah. What you will find is that these breaths will burn the Shaytan. Imagine with every breath that you take, you are raised in rank. What if each and every one of our breaths were intermingled with the name of Allah, how would Allah think of you? Unfortunately too many of our long nights have passed where we have not taken advantage of such secrets.
Habib Hussain takes us through a way of dhikr.
- Sit closer together
- Close your eyes, the eyes of your head and the eyes of your heart
- Lower your gazes
- Imagine yourself as a servant running towards Allah and knocking on His door and waiting for Him to open it for you
- Intend with this dhikr to plug into the secrets of Allah and that they will be plugged into our hearts
- We dedicate this dhikr to a moment in our graves
- We intend to purify our breaths
- We hope Allah forgives all of our sins with this gathering
- Lower your head, and imagine it's the moment your lowering your head into the grave
- Know that the remembrance of Allah is the foundation of the entire universe, anything outside of this is nothing but play and futility.
- Know that you are now participating in an action which is also carried out by those who carry the throne of Allah, the Angels and the Prophets
- Present yourself to Allah, what do you want from Him?
- If Allah has allowed you to make dhikr of Him, then know He has opened all the doors between you and Him- that's if you know the meaning of dhikrullah.
If you want to know, then imagine that it is Him who is remembering you. Your dhikr becomes intermingled with His dhikr of you. He is the One who makes dhikr and He is the One who is made dhikr of. You were at one point something that was not even mentioned or remembered. The servant who's dhikr has been raised up is the dhikr of Prophet Muhammad. If you want to be raised in rank of the One who is being made dhikr of, then make dhikr in the same way as the Prophet Muhammad, to the extent that Allah raises your dhikr. If He raises your dhikr, then you are being raised because you are the one who's being remembered. So you will live with Allah.
If you're making dhikr of Allah, do not think of anyone but Him. This is absolute.
“My dear son, your words and deeds should be according to the shari’ah since knowledge and action without observance of the shari’ah is nothing but deviation. Do not be deceived by ecstatic utterances and vehement cries of the Sufis because this path can be traversed by fighting one’s whims and selfish desires through spiritual exercises not through falsity and wrong practices. Do not be deceived by ecstatic utterances and vehement cries of the Sufis because this path can be traversed by fighting one’s whims and selfish desires through spiritual exercises not through falsity and wrong practices”.
The science of the tasawwuf
It is one area of sacred knowledge. The tasawwuf, which is a form of knowledge, but unfortunately this has become in our modern times, associated with things which has nothing to do with tasawwuf, because some of the practises and saying has been associated with wrong practises, however this does not distract from the reality of what tasawwuf is.
The true meaning of tasawwuf is the purification of one's soul, and everything that is required to purify ones soul. The essence of purification of the soul is to make all of your desires in-line with the desires of the Prophet Muhammad, and not to detract from that. People who claim to be Ahlu-tasawwuf or Sufi, they engage in such practices and they take some of these sayings and quotes and act as if they are Sufi's and behave in a particular manner and dress in a particular way, internally it doesn’t have anything to do with what the true meaning of tasawwuf is.
Tasawwuf requires a lot of hard work and effort and it's not just an outward appearance or a form of ritual. Even these people who have engaged in tasawwuf have actually engaged in rituals that perhaps transgress the shariah. This is why your journey must start with having a firm understanding in the shariah of fiqh.
It is known that the true people of tasawwuf- those who have truly embarked on this science and have implemented it properly in their lives, that when they speak, their speech has a sweetness and seems to strikes directly at the true meaning of life, and everyone single one of us can relate to the speech. When they speak, they easily make our hearts move and our souls want to hear more. Everyone can relate to this speech because these people only speak the realities of life, it strikes the heart with reality.
"Every speech is wrapped with the clothing of the heart that it came from". If the person's heart is illumined, then that which comes from his heart is also illumined with light.
The other people, those who act as Sufi's and act religious- these people who engage in these rituals, they like to listen to the true speech of the ahlu-tasawwuf and memorise, then with their ill intentions they go and mix with people within the government and business people etc, and use this speech to fool the people and make a way with money and try prove who they are.
Advice
“Do not be deceived by ecstatic utterances and vehement cries of the Sufis because this path can be traversed by fighting one’s whims and selfish desires through spiritual exercises not through falsity and wrong practices.”
Imam Ghazali warns us to be aware of the imposters which are everywhere. If there is something to gain, you will find imposters present. Even when you explain to people what is true tasawwuf, they are still taken in by the imposters, and they don’t want to engage in the search of the true knowledge of tasawwuf. The true knowledge of tasawwuf is innocent just as Yusuf is innocent from the blood of the wolf. So some of these people may attend a hadrah or gathering of dhikr and the true sheikh utters words which are put on his tongue given to him by Allah (know that none of us do anything except by the will of Allah) and two types of people are present :
- One person is over-taken by the sweetness of the words
- The other person is over-taken by the secrets of the words or its meaning.
The two of them are both overcome but the experience which they both experience is like the difference between the heaven and the earth. Habib Hussain explains by saying that if you see a 3 year-old child who's sitting down and saying 'Allah Allah' and then compare this to a man in his 40's who is sitting down also saying 'Allah Allah' – his repetition of the word Allah has an effect on his soul and the souls around him, because he's saying it with a spiritual condition and with a spiritual presence, whereas a child is just repeating the word, so there is a difference between the repetition of a name and actually uttering a word and actually knowing the meaning behind the name or word.
L’imam ibn Hanbal and the story of the Djinn
During the time of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, there was a man who was possessed by a Jinn. So he went to Imam Ahmad for a cure, and he read over him some verses of the Quran , and the Jinn came out of the man and the man was cured. In the town, someone heard of this story and what had happened and asked about which verses were read, he then memorised them and announced to the people 'Oh people if you are ever possessed by a Jinn, come to me and I will read some verses and rid you of the Jinn' – he was trying to make money out of this. So as time went on, the same man who was originally possessed became possessed again and he went to the man who was claiming to exorcise Jinn from the body's for a cure. As the man started to read the verses, the Jinn started to laugh and was making fun of him. The man then asked the Jinn- 'Oh Jinn! Am I not reciting the same verses that were recited upon you by Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal?', the Jinn replied 'Yes you are reciting the same verses from the Holy Quran but Imam Ahmad is in a different spiritual condition than you and was reciting the verses in a completely different spiritual state to what you are in now.' This shows that even though the same verses are being recited from two different tongues, the spiritual state makes a difference.
Advice
"Because this path can be traversed through fighting ones whims and selfish desirers through spiritual exercises."
What is intended by the sacred knowledge of tasawwuf is to remove all barriers between you and Allah.
It is to understand that the number one barrier between you and Allah is your nafs, your own soul. Allah is nearer and clearer than your own self. Allah is so apparent, clear and every present that the eyes don’t see Him and your soul is the number one barrier between you and Allah. Allah likes for his servant to be a servant of Allah and not of your own wishes and desires. One of the ways in which you can overcome this barrier of your own soul is through constant striving, hard work, effort, and going against your own nafs, and to make your nafs inline with the desires of the Prophet Muhammad. He is the best of creation that Allah sent down and he is our living example of what it is to have the most perfect soul. "If you strive, then you will witness the divine peace."
If the servant/the human being, was on their death bed and was about to die, and if at that moment Allah was to reveal His Greatness and His Magnificence to them (at the time of death you see reality) then such a person would look at the whole of his life and the time he spent in the dunya and belittle his own life as if it was nothing compared to this greatness in which he is preserving in Allah and he will realise he lived his whole life as a fool and wasted his time and all of his opportunities that he had. When you are on your death bed, know that what is revealed to you is the reality of Allah the Creator. This tiny thing that Allah may reveal to you is enough to make your life seem worthless. Like a child who puts so much value in a toy, and when he goes to sleep at night he puts the toy next to him and love it's so much, then when he becomes older he looks back at this act and he laughs as he now understands the reality of this toy. Likewise, the person who is on his death bed, realising many years have passed and then Allah reveals just a small portion of His Magnificence, the human being then realises he's wasted so much of his life in small things. Imam Ghazali teaches us that every breath is a jewel, a jewel that you cannot even value. Every breath that leaves your body, you will never get it back.
Each and every breath carries value
The wayfarers on the path of tasawwuf- those who are engaged in purifying their nafs are so careful as to how they spend each and every breath. How do they do this? The person who calls himself servant or a Sufi, who is not worried about how he spends his breaths will not taste any of the spiritual state which we are talking about.
In terms of being careful of how we spend each and every breath that we take, we seem to be very heedless of this. So how is it that we can be sure to value each breath we take? We are required to structure our time, have a fixed schedule and appoint activities at different times of the day. Each time and moment consists of breaths- each minute, each hour, each day. So we should divide our day into portions of an hour, and have a specific activity which is beneficial. For example- each one of us needs to sleep, whether its 8 hours, or 6 hours etc. Do you know how many breaths a human being takes per minute while sleeping? We can assume its 60 breaths a minute, and we all know there are 60 minutes in an hour, so that's approximately 3600 breaths. Imagine when we are sleeping 8 hours a night- that's a lot of breaths!
Now is sleeping a waste of time? It can be a time of benefit or a waste of time. How can we benefit from sleep? First we implement the etiquette of sleeping according to the Prophet Muhammad, and we must purify and make good intentions, such as 'Oh Allah I intend to wake up in the middle of the night and do some form of qiyyaam, or serve my parents, or gain rest so that I can get up tomorrow and serve the community' etc, all these good intentions can make your sleep beneficial and turn your sleep into a form of worship.
Each and every breath carries value, and when someone is on their death bed, it is then that they truly understand that one breath and they will seek but just one breath from the angel of death this one breath, but they will not be granted it. It is at this point that a human being understands the true value of a single breath. If you can imagine this on your death bed then take heed during your life while you are not on your death bed and value your breaths. One single breath could be the very reason of saving you on the Day of Judgment, especially if this breath came out while you are in a stake of remembering Allah (dhikrullah).
The dhikr
We should start of making dhikr of the tongue, and there are some people that even though they make dhikr without their tongues, their heart is engaged in the dhikr. This is something we should teach our hearts, the dhikr that no-one else can see- only Allah, and that our hearts will always be engaged in pondering over the true meaning of La ilaaha ila Allah- There is nobody worthy of worship but Allah, there's no-one that witnesses except Allah, and there is no other goal or aim but Allah. So the tongue can be moving, but at the same time your heart can be in dhikrullah. These are very powerful breaths from the heart, and a person who is close to Allah and has knowledge of Allah, usually his dhikr comes from his heart and his breaths come from his heart, and his breaths are intermingled with the breaths of Allah. This type of dhikr and these breaths which come from the heart burns any thought of Shaytan and any ability of the Shaytan coming close to you.
Story of the Salihin, the Shaytan and the man sleeping
One of the Saliheen (righteous people) got up late at night and he wanted to go to the masjid to do some qiyyaam al layl. As he walked in the street and approached the masjid, he saw the Shaytan by the door, (know that the Saliheen can recognise the Shaytan). So he said to him 'You are the Shaytan, what is it that you want?' The Shaytan replied 'So you recognise me? I want to go inside the masjid and whisper into the ear of that person that is praying. So the righteous man looked inside the masjid and saw that there was a man there who was praying, and also a man sleeping. He said to the Shaytan ' What about the man sleeping? You only want to whisper into the ear of the man whose praying?' The Shaytan replied 'I cannot enter the masjid because the very breath of this sleeping man burns me- it's not allowing me to enter'.
So know that this person probably went to sleep with the right etiquettes of sleeping and intentions, so each of his breath burns the Shaytan, and does not allow him to come close. Therefore our breaths emanate from our hearts; every breath that exhales from us should carry the dhikr of Allah. Know that the heart is nothing but a container that is only filled with the dhikr of Allah, and any breath that comes out should be intermingled with the love of Allah and the name of Allah. We should teach ourselves that when we take a breath, we should exhale with Allah, and repeat this over and over so it becomes more than just a habit, but a lifeline. Even if you do not physical say 'Allah', you will reach a point where your heart, your internal secret is always saying Allah. The dhikr of the tongue is 'la ilaaha il Allah' and the dhikr of the heart is 'Allah'.
How to do proper dhikr
So whoever wishes to take the deeper meanings of what's being said, then take some free time and sit alone, close your eyes, and with your heart think of Allah without using your tongue. You will then find that your tongue, your nafs, your breaths that come out will be shrouded with the magnificence of Allah and you will feel a sense of tranquillity that will overcome you and also effect those around you. This is just a few moments of thinking of Allah within your hearts; each breath that comes out should come out with the greatest of names- Allah. This is something that requires continuous training, and push yourself to do it until it becomes a regular activity in your life, it should become so continuous that Insha'Allah you will be of those that make dhikrullah within your sleep.
How to go to sleep
Also if you do this, you will not need to worry about bad dreams. When you go to sleep at night you should say the 'athkar an-nawm' (prayers/remembrance of night time) and have your dhikr beads in your hands, and engage in some form of dhikrullah and think of all the creations of Allah, the different dimensions that He has created, until you are overcome with sleep. When you fall asleep in this state, your breaths will continue with the dhikr of Allah. What you will find is that these breaths will burn the Shaytan. Imagine with every breath that you take, you are raised in rank. What if each and every one of our breaths were intermingled with the name of Allah, how would Allah think of you? Unfortunately too many of our long nights have passed where we have not taken advantage of such secrets.
Habib Hussain takes us through a way of dhikr.
- Sit closer together
- Close your eyes, the eyes of your head and the eyes of your heart
- Lower your gazes
- Imagine yourself as a servant running towards Allah and knocking on His door and waiting for Him to open it for you
- Intend with this dhikr to plug into the secrets of Allah and that they will be plugged into our hearts
- We dedicate this dhikr to a moment in our graves
- We intend to purify our breaths
- We hope Allah forgives all of our sins with this gathering
- Lower your head, and imagine it's the moment your lowering your head into the grave
- Know that the remembrance of Allah is the foundation of the entire universe, anything outside of this is nothing but play and futility.
- Know that you are now participating in an action which is also carried out by those who carry the throne of Allah, the Angels and the Prophets
- Present yourself to Allah, what do you want from Him?
- If Allah has allowed you to make dhikr of Him, then know He has opened all the doors between you and Him- that's if you know the meaning of dhikrullah.
If you want to know, then imagine that it is Him who is remembering you. Your dhikr becomes intermingled with His dhikr of you. He is the One who makes dhikr and He is the One who is made dhikr of. You were at one point something that was not even mentioned or remembered. The servant who's dhikr has been raised up is the dhikr of Prophet Muhammad. If you want to be raised in rank of the One who is being made dhikr of, then make dhikr in the same way as the Prophet Muhammad, to the extent that Allah raises your dhikr. If He raises your dhikr, then you are being raised because you are the one who's being remembered. So you will live with Allah.
If you're making dhikr of Allah, do not think of anyone but Him. This is absolute.