Zikr, fikr and ashghal (practices) are the non-
\ncompulsory forms of worship (nafil ibadat). These are
\nthe best means to arouse awareness and to achieve
\nnearness to God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For zikr and fikr it is imperative to
\nhave outward and inward purity. The presence of good
\nfragrance is beneficial. There are several kinds of zikr
\nand ashghal, but here is a brief description of only a
\nfew of them:
\nAZKAAR (RECITATION, RECOLLECTION Plural of Zikr)
\nThe negating (nafi) and affirming (asbaat) zikr has
\ntwo forms -jali (aloud, with a voice) and khafi (secret).
\nThe zikr that combines both the negation and
\naffirmation is considered best by the sufis and that is:
\n“La ilaha illallah, Mohammad ur rasoolallah.”
\n(There is no God but God and Mohammad is the
\nProphet of God).
\nThis ‘kalma’ is the beginning of shariat (the religious
\nlaw) and the culmination of tariqat (the path of inner
\nknowledge i.e. sufism). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With patience and perseverance, it leads the seeker to his goal. It is
beneficial to recite this kalma in the solitude of the
night at least 101 times before going to bed or upon
arising at midnight. In this zikr, besides a negation of
all else, there is an affirmation of the existence of God.
The other wazaifa is:
Qul hu wallaahu Ahad, Allah hus-Samad
(Say, He is God, the One and Only; God, the Independent,
has no needs).
This wazaifa should be repeated every night, without
fail, 1100 times, before going to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ZIKR PAS-I-ANFAS<\/strong> A salik<\/em> (the one treading the spiritual path) should, in SHAGHL-I-SULTAN-UL-AZKAAR<\/strong> AFKAR<\/strong> (MEDITATION – Plural of fikr) This establishes that man, a trustee of the Almighty To the outward eye, the external parts of the human Sometimes, the vision of an arif arrives at the truth Thus, the entire creation is a combination of different These thoughts lead him towards the reality of human Zikr, fikr and ashghal (practices) are the non-compulsory forms of worship (nafil ibadat)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kgn-sanjari.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kgn-sanjari.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kgn-sanjari.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kgn-sanjari.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kgn-sanjari.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1986"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/kgn-sanjari.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2099,"href":"https:\/\/kgn-sanjari.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986\/revisions\/2099"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kgn-sanjari.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kgn-sanjari.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kgn-sanjari.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kgn-sanjari.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nI’SM (NAME)<\/strong>
\nThe name of Allah should be repeated under all circumstances, while standing,\nsitting or ambulating whether it is by tongue or in thought or in the heart
\n
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n(COMMEMORATIO CORDIS ZIKR BY BREATH CONTROL)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWith inhalation Allah’ should be recited and ‘Hu’
\nwith exhalation. Some people believe that ‘Allah’ should
\nbe recited in both instances. Visualisation of the image
\nof the murshid in the heart is the key to progress while
\npractising this shaghl..<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nASHGHAL (PRACTICES)<\/strong>
\nShaghl-i-Rab-ul-Arbab<\/em> involves\nconcentrating on the
\nattributes of God with body and soul. The real
\nperformer and the Master of the soul is Rab-ul-Arbab
\n(Master of the masters). He is the preserver of the
\nuniverse (Rab-ul-Alameen). Through Him all movements, actions, deeds and words\nreach the soul and from the soul reach and terminate in the physical body.
\n
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nhis thoughts, concentrate on the name of Allah, till
\nthat ultimate threshold is reached where he transcends
\nthe connection between the body and the soul and
\nhe perceives nothing but Rab-ul-Aala<\/em>\n(the mightiest
\nPreserver) both inwardly and outwardly<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nSHAGHL–AINA<\/strong>
\n(THE PRACTICE OF GAZING AT A MIRROR)
\nO Friend! Instructions on shaghl-i-aina are imparted
\nthus; the murshid instructs the murid to sit before a
\nmirror and look at the reflection of his face, and occupy
\nhimself with repeating the name of God. If the seeker
\nis blessed by the Almighty, he receives the joy he desires.
\nBecause this shaghl is subtle, the seeker who is of a
\nsubtle disposition will, in his meditation, soon have
\nexperiences of a truly subtle nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n(PRACTICE OF THE KING OF ALL ZIKRS)
\nThis zikr (remembrance) is also called the zikr of
\nthe soul (zikr-e-ruh). Late at night, one should lie down
\nin a quiet place and close the ears with thumbs or with
\na piece of cotton wool dipped in either jasmine oil or
\nattar (fragrant oil). Then, one should try to hear the
\nsubtle inner sound arising from within the head.
\nInitially this sound also comes from the heart hence
\none should try to hear it by bending the head towards
\nthe heart. This is the primordial sound, and the root
\nessence of all other sounds. The salik who has the
\nprivilege to hear this sound is ahale-sama (one entitled
\nto attend and understand sama).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nTo meditate upon the wonders of nature is fikr. Through
\nfikr one can, by obtaining the knowledge about one’s
\ninner-self, reach up to the knowledge of the Almighty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAllah says in the Holy Quran
\nEverything is within you, but you do not look.”
\nProphet Mohammad (Peace be upon them )says
\n“He who has recognized himself, has recognized God
\n(Bukhari)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nGod, is the essence of the entire creation and an
\nembodiment of all the Divine Attributes and the Divine
\nessence. Hence, by knowing one’s own self, one can
\nobtain the knowledge of the entire creation and the
\nknowledge of the Almighty God, whether it be hidden
\nin the Realm of the Invisible (alam-e-ghaib<\/em>)\nor apparent in the Realm of Physical Existence (alam-e-wujud<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAlliance of Grace (nisbat-e-ehsan) is the key to this
\ntreasure. At this stage, the various parts of the body
\nacquire the Divine qualities, as the Holy Prophet quotes God in the Hadith:
\n“I become my servant’s ears, eyes, hands and feet.”
\n
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nbody (hands, feet, eyes and ears) are visible. A doctor
\nor a hakim feels the pulse and uses instruments and by
\na close examination ascertains the condition of the
\ninternal organs (stomach, heart, brain etc.) of the
\nhuman body. A doctor’s vision goes as far as the form,
\norder and working of the various parts of the body.
\nHence they say that man is formed of four basic
\nelements (air, water, fire and earth) and his life depends
\non the orderly arrangement of these elements. And
\nthat death is the name for the disarrangement of these
\nelements.
\nThe spiritually enlightened vision of an arif can reach
\nfurther and question the source of intellect, intelligence,
\ndiscernment, skill, awareness, and percent
\nhuman body. It seeks the ‘soul’ which empowers the
\nbody surrounding the soul with the ability to walk, see
\nand hear, and the One empowering the soul, the real
\nPerformer or the Soul of the souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nthat the man in reality is made of one element
\nearth, and that the other three elements are derived from
\nearth itself. The warm particles of the earth are fire, the
\nsoft particles are water and the subtle particles are air.
\nThus, it is the different particles of earth that manifest in
\nvarious forms in the entire creation, and it is for our
\nconvenience that we have given them distinct names<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ntypes of earth particles and each independent minute
\nparticle of earth, holds within itself, the essence of the
\nentire creation. The ultimate limit of its minuteness is
\nthis that, while in the world of physical existence (alam-
\ne-maujoodat), it is hidden from sight, it continues to
\nexist in perception and thoughts in the invisible world
\n(alam-e-ghaib). In other words, the invisible world is
\nnot apparently visible [to the eyes] but it is not non-
\nexistent. That is to say, this invisible yet existent world
\nlies in the intermediate space between it is and it is
\nnot! This implies, that it is only by the means of
\nknowledge [of subsistence] that [one can perceive] its
\nattributes [which] are both existent and apparently non-
\nexistent [simultaneously].
\nWhat we know as the atomic bomb, radium or the
\nsun and moon are, in fact, particles of this earth and
\nare called thus due to their radiance, speed and other attributes and powers.
\nAt times the vision of an arif goes as far as to
\nunderstand the origin and beginning of his own
\nmanifestation, to find the world in which he was hidden before birth and where he will reach\nafter his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nlife and finally, up to the ultimate Truth.
\nSometimes an arif reaches a point, where he knows
\nfrom where the first man came and how he came. And
\nwho gave the power to the ‘jewel of his seed’ to produce another human being.\nIn fact, in a drop of the human seed, a complete man is hidden, just like a tree
\nin a seed. In fertile soil, a seed unfolds itself in the
\nform of a tree. But who is the cause for its manifestation? Who is the Real\nPerformer? Who is that Omnipotent by whose nature and work the very first
\nseed has come into existence? This truth makes it
\nevident that the final result of the flowering and fruition
\nof a tree is again the seed. Hence, the seed is beginning and the seed is the\nend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes an arif, while seeking the knowledge of
God, reaches the realization that, the entity which he
has so addressed as the Eternal or the Absolute Being,
is in fact, the ultimate limit of this very realization. The
Real truth, is, in fact, far beyond the limits of human
realization, feelings and perception. [The arif realizes]
that he is helpless because of human perception and
wisdom. There is Truth and only Truth. For this reason,
the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon them) has said:
“Do not Meditate on the embodiment of the Almighty, Meditate on the signs and signals.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the knowledge of an arif proceeds towards the
realization that everything is contained within man
himself, then the vegetative kingdom (hair etc.), the
mineral kingdom (bones) and the animal kingdom
(microbes etc.) contained within his body testify this
fact. Mountains and rivers are visible within his body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The light of the sun and the moon, which makes the apparent world visible, seems to manifest itself in his eyes and heart. He can see the sky and the earth within
himself. The hidden secrets are found within man
himself and this testifies that man himself is the secret<\/strong>
of the Almighty<\/strong>. The destructible world (alam-e-nasut<\/em>)
lies in the human body. The Realm of Angels (alam-e-
malkut<\/em>) is hidden in man’s conduct. The seat of God
(alam-e-Jabrut) is manifest in the heart of man. And
the realm where only God exists and none else (alam-
e-Lahut) is the hidden secret, in fact, it is the most
hidden mystery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nMan is limited within bounds and the name of the
\nAlmighty (Allah) has its fixed position. But in true
\nreality both are limitless. Neither is there a limit to the
\ndevotion of the servant, nor is there a limit to the
\nbenevolence and sustaining qualities of the Almighty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"