““Each odd night, in the last ten nights of Ramadaan, offers us a “flight” to connect with Allah Ta’ala. Even if the entire month may have passed in negligence, Allah Ta’ala, in His Infinite Mercy, gives us these odd nights to make amends and connect with Him. If a person wants to make Hajj, there are many flights that leave for the Haramain Shareefain, but he will have to board one of them. Similarly, if we want to connect with Allah Ta’ala and gain His Forgiveness, we too have to board these flights on the odd nights 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th. Don’t miss out on the great bounties to be found in these Mubarak nights – of forgiveness, mercy and fulfilment of Duas.””
“Each odd night, in the last ten nights of Ramadaan, offers us a “flight” to connect with Allah Ta’ala. Even if the entire month may have passed in negligence, Allah Ta’ala, in His Infinite Mercy, gives us these odd nights to make amends and connect with Him. If a person wants to make Hajj, there are many flights that leave for the Haramain Shareefain, but he will have to board one of them.
Similarly, if we want to connect with Allah Ta’ala and gain His Forgiveness, we too have to board these flights on the odd nights 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th. Don’t miss out on the great bounties to be found in these Mubarak nights – of forgiveness, mercy and fulfilment of Duas.”
Du‘a
“May Allah Ta’ala grant us all the Tawfeeq of understanding and sincere practice, and grant Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saheb the highest stages in Jannatul Firdaus, Aameen.”
Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel
Rahmatullah Alayh (Durban, South Africa)
Khalifa of Hazrat Maulana Hakim Muhammad Akhtar Saheb (RA) and Hazrat Mufti Mahmood-ul-Hasan Gangohi (RA). Lectures, articles, and correspondence dedicated to spiritual rectification and the love of Allah and His Rasool.
The story of Hazrat Aadam (عليه السلام) is known to all of us. When Allah Ta’ala commanded the angels to bow down before Nabi Aadam (عليه السلام)– in honour and respect – it was Iblees who refused to do so. Allah Ta’ala asked him: قَالَ يٰۤإِبْلِيْسُ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَنْ تَسْجُدَ لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ ط أَسْتَكْبَرْتَ أَمْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الْعَالِيْنَ “He (Allah Ta’ala) said, ‘O Iblees, what did prevent you from prostrating before what I created with MY Hands? Did you wax proud or were you among the lofty ones?” Iblees proclaimed his arrogance before Allah Ta’ala, asserting the claim of being greater and better than Nabi Aadam (عليه السلام). أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ ج خَلَقْتَنِىْ مِنْ نَّارٍ وَّخَلَقْتَهٗ مِنْ طِيْنٍ ‘I am better than he. You created me from fire, and him from clay.’ [Surah Sad 38:75/76] On this refusal and rejection of the Command of Allah Ta’ala, Allah Ta’ala banished him from Jannah. Open the ears of the heart and listen. And listen carefully. Allah Ta’ala said : قَالَ فَاخْرُجْ مِنْهَا فَإِنَّكَ رَجِيْمٌ ۚ وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكَ لَعْنَتِيْۤ إِلٰى يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ ◌ “He (Allah Ta’ala) said, ‘Then, get out from here, for you are accursed. And on you shall remain My curse till the Day of Judgment.” [Surah Sad 38:77/78] This was because he refused ONE Sajdah – which was on the Command of Allah Ta’ala. Let us consider our condition: How many Salaah are missed? How many Sajdas are missed? On all of this negligence – and many a time, it is deliberate negligence, let us consider how many curses we are inviting into our lives and in our family life. What will our condition be on the Day of Qiyamah if Allah Ta’ala rejects us for the numerous Sajdahs we refused to make? Rasulullah Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam said that Allah Ta’ala said: “O Muhammad! I have made a covenant with Myself, that whosoever is regular in performing his Salaah at its fixed hour, he shall be admitted into Jannah. Those of your followers who do not guard their Salaah are not included in this covenant.” – Abu Dawood. May Allah Ta’ala grant us the Taufeeq of obedience to all of Allah Ta’ala’s Commandments.
Burma: A Lesson for Us by Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saheb (Rahimahullah) When Maulana Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (Rahimahullah) visited Burma in the early 1960s, he addressed the Muslims, who were living in great wealth, who were extravagant and lavish and were very negligent of Deen and the work of Deen. The gist of Hazrat Maulana’s (Rahimahullah) speech was: “If I have to see a pregnant woman and say that she will be delivering a child – then I am not making a claim of being a Nabi of Allah Ta’ala. The signs are there and it is evident that she will, Insha-Allah, deliver a baby. If I have to see dark clouds gathering and I say that rain is expected, this is not a prophecy that I am making. The signs are there. …Similarly, looking at your condition, I say: Make an effort on Deen; establish Deen. Allah Ta’ala will assist you and protect you. If you do not change and you do not establish Deen in your life and you do not do the work of Deen, then you will not be able to live in this country; very difficult times will visit and the Azaab (punishment) of Allah Ta’ala will descend upon you.” The advice given by Hazrat Maulana Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (Rahimahullah) relates to all Muslims, wherever they are in the world. …But how true are these words: I met a person in Madina Shareef. He was from Burma. He related his story to me, saying that they were extremely wealthy and lavish. If they had any function, one chicken would be provided for each guest – one entire chicken per person, and then the wastage! When the revolution took place, the soldiers said to them: “We are the owners now. If you wish, you can work for us or take 200 Rupees only and leave the country!” They were millionaires. They owned big factories and businesses. In one day, all was lost. The brother said that they had to gather all their money – all the notes – take a match and set it alight, and they watched their millions burn. And they had no choice. If they were caught with that kind of money, they would have been imprisoned. …All their hard work and they set fire to their money. What was the cause? …Negligence in practising Deen, negligence in propagating Deen and negligence in establishing Deen in their country, and then the lavishness and extravagance. …We should not sit content thinking that we are safe, because our extravagance and lavishness exceeds bounds. The consequences could be similar. May Allah Ta’ala protect us! We are seeing the Kuffaar uniting to destroy the Muslim Ummah. We were warned of this in the Hadīth. The enemy nations will invite each other to pounce upon and attack the Muslim Ummah as hungry people invite one another for food. Our downfall is due to Hubbud Dunya (Love for the world) and dislike for death. May Allah Ta’ala guide us and grant us the understanding and the Taufeeq of practising upon the teachings of the Qur’aan Shareef and Sunnah. In this lies our protection.
Expectations By Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Sahib (Rahimahullah) Most of our arguments arise because we entertain a lot of expectations in people. If we look into our lives, we will gauge how extensive this weakness is in us. There are, of course, exceptions but on a general note, we find that parents have great expectations: When my son grows up, he will qualify from some college and will then be earning plenty of money. He will then provide for me, take care of my needs and requirements. The son grows up, obtains his degrees, goes into some profession and forgets that he even has parents. …We are living in such a time, where many children don’t care about their parents. Despite the parents making so many sacrifices, there is no mercy and no compassion from the children. Many children live for themselves, with no thought of those who brought them to this stage in their lives, where they are successful. This then creates a deep sense of disappointment, ill feelings and bitterness within the parents. Arguments arise and sometimes relationships are severed. Children, too, have a lot of expectations: My father has many properties. He is multi-rich, so he should be giving me plentiful. Whatever I ask for, he should give it to me. …More expectations. Sometimes, the mother-in-law has many expectations. She thinks: My daughter-in-law will come into the family and she will do this for me and do that for me. I will retire from my chores. I will relax. My daughter-in-law will take over these responsibilities of mine. …When the daughter-in-law arrives, the expectation is not fulfilled and fights and quarrels ensue. The daughter-in-lw also has expectations: When I am going to go there, to my in-laws, I will be treated like a queen in that house. …When she is not treated like one, she harbours bitter and bad feelings, complains and demands because she was expecting and feels that she is entitled to some kind of special treatment. This naturally leads to a strain in her marriage because the complaint is against the husband’s parents and family. Friends also have expectations: He is my friend. He will do whatever I ask him to do. …Or a person has been kind and generous to someone and entertains the expectation: I did many favours for him, so if I need to contact him and request anything, he will accommodate me – any time of day or night. …But the person does not care to reciprocate the kindness or the favours; instead he has a string of excuses. Sometimes the so-called Peer or the Shaykh has got great expectations in his Mureed. He has the hope that the Mureed will be presenting an envelope or a gift. …There are so many bogus peers. They even have a register of the names of their Mureeds and they send their Mureeds, monthly bills. They charge fees and they will go so far as to inform their Mureeds that the last month’s installment is overdue. (Na-uzu Billahi min zaalik) There is an incident about a Mureed who was very sincere in his Ta-alluq (relationship) with his Shaykh, whereas the Shaykh was a Dunya-daar person and had expectations that his Mureeds should be giving him wealth and gifts in abundance. On one occasion, the Mureed said to the Shaykh: “Hazrat, I had a dream. Your hand was in a bottle of honey and my hand was in a bottle of faeces.” The Shaykh immediately and happily said: ‘This is true! This is the reality! I am involved in Deen – honey, and you are involved in Dunya – faeces.’ The Mureed said: ‘But that was not the end of the dream. In the dream, I am sucking your finger and you are sucking my finger!’ So there are those Peers who are more interested in what material gains they can get from their Mureeds. May Allah Ta’ala protect us. Nonetheless, we want others to do for us, and when they don’t, we start blaming: My brother didn’t do this for me. My uncle didn’t do this for me. My nephew didn’t do this for me. I went to my sister and she did not listen to me. I went to my father and he did not listen to me. …This is what happens. We feel a sense of entitlement and when our expectations are not met, that inevitably leads to disappointment, depression, anger, complaints, arguments, disunity and many other problems. Therefore, we should not have expectations and hopes in any person. If we can only learn this lesson: Have hope and trust solely in Allah Ta’ala. He is the only One who can do for us. If we turn away from Allah Ta’ala and cast our attention and hopes on any other, we will meet with disappointment. …Even if the person is a millionaire or billionaire; a king or tycoon, or the owner of the oil wells of the world, his trust must be fully in Allah Ta’ala as well. It happens sometimes that a person meets someone on a journey. That person makes mention that he owns oil wells or he is the director of some big corporation or owner of some huge business. The person immediately thinks: ‘I now have got a friend. If I have any problem, all I will have to do is just contact this person and he will sort out my problems.’ …The gaze turns away from Allah Ta’ala and falls on creation. Allah Ta’ala does not like that our expectation is in people. Often, the person is humiliated and disgraced when he seeks out favours from people. Our expectation is in Allah Ta’ala because we believe that everything lies in the Control of Allah Ta’ala; all treasures are with Allah Ta’ala; there is no shortage in His treasures. If we are in need, we seek from Allah Ta’ala first. After turning to Allah
