Introduction

Usually people undertake journeys at physical level, but I covert my travel into an intellectual and  spiritual experience. Travelling becomes  a great  form of learning for me as it provides opportunities for new experiences, new observations and new interactions. Journey therefore, becomes a study done in a live study room.

Unfortunately, most people are not able to convert their physical journey into a spiritual one because of lack of sound thinking. Unaware of the correct way of thinking, most undertake a journey  into  the  material  world  full  of  distraction,  which  deprives  them  from  spiritual experiences. For  example, these  days,  as  a  part  of  the in-flight  entertainment,  a  television screen is placed in front of each seat. A healthy man seated next to me in the flight picked up a quarrel with the flight attendant because the television in front of his seat was not working.

I was astonished by this incident and realized that distraction indeed is the biggest barrier in man’s quest for  realization of truth.

In  this  world,  every  occurrence  is  a  potential  point  of  reference.  Being  unaware  of  this wisdom,  people  waste  their  time  in  shopping,  outing  and  entertainment.  For  instance,  my journey from home till the alighting point at the airport became in symbolic sense, a journey of life and death. I thought likewise, when the journey of my life comes to an end, angels will arrive to take my soul away in the flight of death.

God created  nature with potential  and human mind with an ability  to convert potential  into actual.  For  example,  man’s  journey  began  on  foot.  He  discovered  wheel  and  inventing different  forms  of  transportation  reached  the  invention  of  a  ship  and  an  aircraft.  One  can become  far  more  grateful  to  God,  if  one  personalizes  the  objects  of  thankfulness.  For example, if I think that the bicycle, the car and the airplane were created for me, it would lead me to a feeling of universal gratefulness (shukr.)

Unfortunately,  people only  see what they  have.  If you have one car and someone  has two, you would think you have nothing. I once visited Morocco and came to know that the King possessed 500 cars. Someone will even have a car factory so whatever you have, will always be  perceived less.  But if you personalize what the entire humanity is benefitting from,  you will be able to do big shukr. When we think on these lines, we become grateful for what the entire  civilization  possesses.  If  man  would  then  want  to  give  words  to  his  emotions,  a complete knowledge of vocabulary would also fail him!

A different world

When I alighted at the impressive Dubai airport, a wheelchair was ready to ferry me till the point  of  exit.  I  was  brought  until  where  a  luxurious  car  stood,  which  then  drove  me  to  a splendid place of  stay.  This  became a point  of reference  for  me  and  I  prayed  to  God that when the life of this world ends, He may grant me much more than what I have received here.

The life before the Airport symbolized the pre-death period and the life after Airport became symbolic of the post-death period. It was then that I understood the meaning of the following verse,

Our Lord, grant us good in this world as well as good in the world to come, and protect us from the torment of the Fire. (2:201)

In the above verse man prays to God, the Giver of blessings to grant him greater blessings in the world hereafter. Such  thinking  stems  only if man leads his life  away from distractions.

Instead of making an event a point of reference for dua, you instead make the dua a point of reference. Such a dua then assumes the form of worship. According to a verse in the Quran,

Say your prayers in My remembrance (20:14)

According to another verse in the Quran, Believers, remember God often. (33:41)

Remembrance (Zikr) therefore, is an intellectual phenomenon and not a physical one. It is an intellectual exercise, pre-condition for which is saving self from distraction.

Saving self from distraction

Saving  man  from  distraction  is  so  important  that  God  established  its  illustrative  example through the first man and the first Prophet, Adam. God placed Adam in paradise and allowed him freedom to relish all bounties and blessings  available; with the only  restriction  that he must refrain f rom approaching the Forbidden Tree. Adam was therefore allowed to partake of more than 99  percent blessings  and  was  only to  abstain from  approaching the  Tree, which was less than 1  percent of what he already possessed. But Satan enticed Adam to  approach the Tree and made it appear more alluring than all that he possessed. Eventually, Adam gave in to the temptation and ate the fruit of the Forbidden Tree. As a result, he was expelled from paradise. The lesson to be learnt is that man already has in possession 99 items of blessings, however one item will always remain amiss. In order to save him from distraction, man must shift  his  focus  from  the  “less  than  one  percent,”  which  is  as  disastrous  as  may  lead  to expulsion from paradise.

Distraction  deprives  man  from  getting  spiritual  nourishment.  But  there  is  no  technical formula for saving mind from getting distracted except for regular introspection.

While in Dubai, I met  many  who  had learnt no lesson from Adam’s example and  were re- living the same mistake by focusing energies on the missing one percent. Despite having all material comforts, they were so distressed that most even broke down before me.

Changing times

The journey  to  UAE  in  April  2011  was  very different from  my  previous  journeys. Thirty years  ago,  I  visited  UAE  to  participate  in  a  meeting,  which  had  both  Arab  and  non- Arab attendees. During my speech, I clearly denounced the actions of Muslims in the name of jihad because indulging in violence had distr acted the Muslims from availing the umpteen dawah opportunities  that  were  opening  up  in  the  modern  world.  Unfortunately,  the  audience’s reaction to my words was very violent so much so that they wanted to kill me.

During  my  visit  this  time,  I  spoke  about  the  evils  that  stemmed  as  a  result  of the  violent activism  of  Muslims  over  the  last  so  many  years  and  unlike  my  pr evious  experience, everyone was in agreement with me and accepted the wrongs that were committed. Even the questions that were posed before me reflected their inclination towards dawah work.

This  event made  me  realize how much the times  had changed.  The  unmatched  devastation wreaked by terrorism has made man r ealize the importance of peace. Having seen the damage with  their  own  eyes,  has  made  the  present-day  Muslims  undergo  re-thinking.  They  are beginning to understand the importance of dawah work and have been able to recognize the opportunities that galore for its accomplishment.

Dubai is said to be a junction of cultures from the East  and West.  It is a place where every day  is  an  opportunity;  a  fact  we  experienced  during  our  stay  in  the  Hotel.  As  our  team members  approached  the  Hotel  Manager,  he  agreed  to  place  the  Quran  at  the  reception. Within  the  same  day, people  of various  nationalities  took  away many copies of the  Quran.

Ironically, the maximum number of  the  Quran were taken by  Danish  citizens; even though present-day  Muslims  hold  Denmark  as  a  conspirator.  This  event  was  a  glad  tiding  and indicated that  Denmark  is a fertile ground for  Dawah work. Muslims  must  become mature enough to understand  that cartoon is an aspect of modern journalism and defamation is not the intent. This attitude will help them to remain undistracted and realize the available dawah opportunities.

I was  in-discussion  with  some  learned  Muslims  who  said  that  while  they  found  my explanation understandable they failed to understand why it was different from the message propagated by the earlier clerics. I  said that the yardstick to measure the correctness of what is being said is Quran and Hadith. When I asked them if my literature met this criteria, they gave an affirmative response.  I  quoted  a  tr adition  from  Bukhari  according  to which, three periods  are  considered  to  be  the  most  authentic  periods  in  Islam  - Mash-hood Laha bil khair,

Qurun (Prophet Muhammad),

(Companions)

(Tabaiyeen).

However, it must be understood  that  the  Islamic  literature  was  put  together  by  the  Mutaqaddameen  who  came after these thr ee periods. Hence the later-day interpretations need to be deliberated upon with much forethought.

For example, according to a principle in Fiqh The  retribution  prescribed  for Shatm-  e  Rasool (blasphemy)  is  capital  punishment  (even without justification.)  But because this principle was instituted after these three periods, its authenticity cannot be established. The ultimate yardstick is therefore to judge it in the light of the Quran and the Hadith.

Dawah work

Advances  in modern-day civilization have  ushered in a  new era  where people  are mentally prepared to accept rational thinking and logic. This gives renewed courage to man to believe that confrontation is now a thing of past.

The literature of this mission has spread far and wide through multimedia and various forms of communication. Through internet, readers are able to read Al-Risala magazine even before its  physical  copy is  posted to them. During  one of my  interview sessions in  Dubai, a well-known scholar from Pakistan was being parallely interviewed. As he spoke, he sounded like an Al Risala mission representative. Upon enquiring, I  came to know that his familiarity with the  Al  Risala  mission  was  a  result  of  his  having  read  all  the  available  literature.  Such occurrences give us a new hope.

We must bear in mind that Doom is fast approaching and each one of us has a responsibility to fulfill. It is the will of God that before the life of this world comes to an end; each person is made aware of the Creation Plan of God. It seems  that God  has hastened the speed of the dawah journey  so that  His Will may come to pass. To match pace with the developments, we will have to recognize these opportunities and avail them. Opportunities will remain in a potential state  and  it will  be  upon  us  to convert  them  into actual.  A  deer  in  the  forest does  not  go towards its predator to become its food. The hungry animal has to locate food on its own.

According  to  a  Hadith  tradition,  there  existed  a  group  of  people  before  the  Prophet Muhammad, called Hunafa, who knew not how to pray. (Seerat ibn Hisham)

Today, the whole world has turned into “hunafa.”  Some are active seekers while  others are passive seekers. As the civilizations progressed, man attained all material comforts but there was one thing, the desire for which was lodged in his heart but he could not attain it. This was the desire to know another version of the truth. If he is actively aware of this longing within him, he is an active seeker; else he is a passive seeker.

Dubai  is  a  very  well  developed  country.  Despite  its  excellent  infrastructure  and  unlimited opportunities  to  earn  money,  I  found  that  its  inhabitants  were  dissatisfied  from  within.  A wealthy  Arab  businessman  came  to  meet  me  but  during  our  conversation,  I  felt  that  he wanted more than what he possessed – he wanted to discover truth or reality. The day when I was checking  out  of  the  hotel,  the  manager  came  and  bent  his head  for blessings.   As we alighted at the Airport, the airline cab driver also came and bent his head forward. This is the case of every man. Each person is a seeker, either potentially or actively.

May God keep us engaged in Dawah work and shroud us in His blessings!

Question – Answers

Q1: I have learnt many things from you. While many in Pakistan, speak your language but you are different from everyone else. Who is your teacher?

A: My teacher is God, Himself. I pray to God day in and day out and seek Divine inspiration.

Books  are  a  secondary  source  of  knowledge  for  me  and  divine  inspiration  is  my  primary

source. There are two pre-requisites to become the recipient of divine wisdom. These are – to indulge in prayer and save self from distraction.  Any person can experience this by seeking true  guidance  through  prayers;  he  will  be  showered  with  Divine  pearls  of  wisdom.  The problem is that neither people pray (do dua) nor they save themselves from distraction.

Q2: What is distraction?

A: Distraction cannot be explained in mathematical terms. Once man embarks on the journey to Truth, he must see the obstructions that lie ahead and cast them out of his way.

According to a tradition of Hz. Ayesha, Prophet Muhammad used to make every occasion a point  of  reference  to  remember  God.  This  is  possible  only  when  the  mind  of  man  has awakened to the degree such that in each passing moment, he is able to realize the greatness of  God.  For  instance,  if  a  person  realizes  that  the  biggest  form  of  worship  is  shukr  or acknowledgement, he will instantly kill any instance that inculcates negativity or unpleasant experiences.

Let me  give you an example of how I extract items of thankfulness from daily occurrences. Water is supplied in Dubai from sea. Despite this, the tap in my suite had sweet water all the time.  I  was overwhelmed to  think  how God empowered man to  create a  technology to de-salinate the sea water. I also encountered a potentially negative item when I got to know that in order to have my bath in the hotel, I will have to use a bath tub as there was no provision for a bucket. In order to save myself from negativity, I ignored this occurrence and rather did not have a bath for all this while. Developing the art of thinking therefore is the only way to save oneself from distraction.

Q3: Your speeches revolve around a central idea – that man must raise his intellect by saving himself from negativity. All clerics talk about form but you give them a start from spirit, why can’t people see this?

A: For  years, I  strove to understand the central theme of  the  Quran. After  a  long search, I have  realized  that  the  first  verse  of  the  Quran  is  its  central  theme.  In  other  words, acknowledging  God and  expressing  gratitude  before Him is  most  desired  by  Him.  But the question arises on how will this happen in a world where we live in unpleasant situations and keep experiencing negative events?

Hamd or expressing gratitude is a positive response and if man lives in a negative world, how will he remain positive? Thinking over this, I realized that to recite “Al hamd” or Praise God is actually to learn the art of negativity management. A true Alhamdulillah can be recited by one  whose  heart  is  free  from  all  forms  of  negativity.  It  is  implicit  in  this  expression  of gratitude, that to say it truthfully, man will have to forget unpleasant exper iences so that he is capable of giving a  positive response. I got a clue of this from the following instance where Prophet advised a person to not be angry. I wondered if anger is in our control. Even Prophet used to get angry but the right thing to do is to not become negative when you become angry. Anger may come and go without leaving negative stains.

Q4: Tazkiya –e afraad, aehyaye dawat aur taamir e millat – are all similarly required?

A: Tazkia and Dawah are both religious works. Taamir e millat is a community work. Tazkia is to purify your mind of the unpleasant experiences that take place in the world; Dawah work is to make  man  aware  of the creation plan of  God. Dawah is  not  connected  to community pride.

Q5: What is the reality of – kashf and elhaam?

A: No where do Quran and Hadith say that kashf happens; formulated at the time of Sufis, it is a baseless idea. Ther e are two ways through which God communicates with man – Wahy (or revelation),  which is received by  the  Prophets and Ilqa and Ilham,  which  is inspiration that can come from God to any purified soul. The veracity of Wahy (revelation) is established as it is directly received from God.

Q6: We  are living in a  society  occupied by the Quranists.  These are  people who  deny  the authenticity of Hadith and are gradually gaining wide acceptance. How must we “cope” with his situation?

A: The perspective of “  ” is not right. If you come across any such person, then out of coping well wishing, you must give him books and interact if possible or else do dua. Such people are  actually  a  case  of  deviation  from  the  right  path  and  must  not  be  looked  upon  as conspirators. You can help them only if your heart has a spirit of well-wishing for them. You must  therefore, strive to make them understand that theirs  is a case of deviation. Once they understand this, they will be able to embark upon the corrective course of action.

Q7: Reading Al risala magazine answered all my questions. Is it correct to think so?

A: Marefat (God-realisation) is a subjective occurrence and man must become grateful for it. There is nothing right or wrong about it.

Q8: How have people become positive about dawah work?

A: The world has changed and so has the mindset of people for doing dawah work. While on one  hand,  our  literature  has  spread  to  places  like  an  intellectual  campaign;  the  present situation in the world has taught man the importance of ensuring that peace prevails.

Q9:  Some  people  talk  much  but  deliver  very  little.  What  is  the  disadvantage  of  such  an approach and what can be done for rectifying such behaviour?

A:

Aap duniya  ke daroga nahin ban sakte – we cannot do anything save counsel  and pray.

Changing the  situation was not even in the  purview of a  Prophet, so how can  we  expect to accomplish it?

Q10: Sleeping habits in most of the people are such that they sleep late in the night and get up even later in the morning. How can such a behavior be corrected?

A:  One  should  sleep  after  the ishaah prayer.  Prophet  did  not  like  if  people  struck conversations and sat up till late in the night. This is because only if one sleeps early will one be  able  to  get  up  early.  The  refreshing  mornings  make  nature  come  alive  and  such atmosphere is completely conducive to seek inspiration from God. Since it is the best time of the day, walking in the morning can also be called walking tahajjud.

Q11: How can we convert the negative experience into positivity?

A: Negative experience is inevitable but such instances account for “1” percent and not “99” percent of the total incidents. For example, the upsurge in the Arab countries was being led by people who were healthy and well off, yet they rebel because a single item may be amiss.

In paradise, Adam had more than 99 opportunities but he focused on less than 1 (Forbidden Tree) and it resulted in his expulsion from paradise. This was the lesson established by God.

Q12: Hadith has that in later times, the Muhaddas will become a guide. Please explain.

A: “Muhaddas”  means “someone with  whom  you  can  talk;” clerics  believe that  Muhaddas would be the one to mysteriously r eceive guidance through the angels of God. According to my study, God sent Prophets to guide mankind and Muhammad was the final in this long series of Prophets. Without guidance from God, man cannot attain realization. Even science claims that it gives but only a partial knowledge of reality. In absence of a Prophet, God chooses a person  who may be  referred  to as the “Muhaddas” – for receiving guidance from God and transmitting it to man. There are two methods through which God inspires man – One is “ Wahy e Matloo,” which is received by  a  Prophet  alone  and  the  other is  “Wahy  e gair  matloo.”

The  second  form  of inspiration is received by man so that he is guided out of the jungle of infor mation and is able to correctly differentiate truth from falsehood.