In one of his lesser-known Traditions, Nabi Muhammad (ﷺ) speaks of the inmates of Paradise, who have serious concerns over the periods on the Dunya during which they had not remembered their Lord. They are in Paradise, in an indescribable condition of pleasure, but they have periods of worry; those periods in which they had not celebrated their Lord’s praises. They are in Paradise, experiencing what their Lord had promised them but they still have periods of concern, those periods on this planet when they were in states of forgetfulness. Many of the intensely pious people consider forgetting Allah (ﷻ) as sinful, at least for them. Can we imagine, that we are engaged in so much dhikr every day, that despite the time spent in these celebrations, there are still periods in our lives during which we forget our Lord. It pains one to think that one’s faith and religious

One does not think that there are any murids who are not concerned about their spiritual status, or, if I can put it in another way, who do not feel deeply about their piety. All of us, perhaps without exception, want to be pious individuals, now or sometime in the future. To many of us, this is a passion, and so we will carry out all instructions with regard to our work. These murids also, spend long periods of time on the prayer mats, especially at night, and with their rosaries. They know that to attain a high spiritual station, one must intensify one’s worship to a maximum degree. They spend whatever time they have counting their beads, reading the Divine scripture, working in the Cause of Allah, or being in prostration. They will eventually become the achievers. And they will eventually be called ‘brother” or “sister” by other sufi

A few weeks ago [2012] I went to a very enjoyable 70th birthday celebration of one of our murids. While we were eating, somebody mentioned the game “Dumm”. There was much excitement around the table as names and moves were mentioned associated with this game; names of those who have come down in our history as major players of the game, and highly sophisticated moves in this game that have also come down in history. I tried to enter the conversation although I did not know what they were talking about. I felt I was not part of the group or part of its culture. I know that in the recording of our history there are also recordings of major time wasting activities by people who should have been in the forefront of our communities’ spiritual and intellectual growth. Many of the first generation of Muslims gave their lives to

In the history of Islam, there have been many occasions when individuals or groups faced major challenges. When one thinks back to the time when the Prophet (ﷺ) received the first revelation and was instructed to deliver the message, this must have been an incomparable challenge to him (ﷺ). He was living in a society that was primarily polytheistic and a society characterized by different forms of decadence. He could not reject his Lord’s commands. He had been informed that he was his Lord’s Messenger and he (ﷺ) had certain tasks to perform; the most important of which was to deliver the Divine Words to all of humanity. When I think back today, I ask myself, how did he (ﷺ) manage it at the initial stages? Of course, his Lord was with him and he (ﷺ) later had a number of Companions (r.a.) that gave him substantial support. Despite this,

To a certain degree we understand little of our relationship with Allah (ﷻ), because the actual relationship and how the benefits work for us, are all clouded in mystery. We know of the Lord-servant relationship but its nature and how it operates and the periods of maximum spiritual benefit within that relationship are only known by our Lord. We have little bits and pieces of information which we assume are of major importance. But the actual important aspect of this relationship, we are totally unaware of. Perhaps we only know, more or less, what we have to do as servants. But even this, or rather its impact on this relationship, we do not know. One is sometimes amazed at how easily this relationship is spoken about, but how little we know of it. We only try to stress certain aspects hoping that there would be some understanding by us, and

Sometimes when I assess our work or rather our incomes from debit orders, I am told that a debit order has been cancelled, because things are not going so well financially with the donor. I have always been surprised by this and I get the impression that when it comes to our budgeting what is given to Allah (ﷻ) for His work comes last on the list. This means that if there is any problem in the family income, the donation towards His Work, is the first to be scrapped. Perhaps at one time I was also thinking like this and perhaps doing this. To me also, at one time, I would give to God’s work if I could manage it, of course after first of all seeing to all my other commitments. The commitment to Allah (ﷻ) was always last and if there was nothing else to be seen

Some time, “at the beginning of time”, Allah (ﷻ) decreed where He wants each one of us to be in our relationship with Him (ﷻ) and His Messenger (ﷺ). We do not understand this. We do not understand how Divine Guidance works, and although we feel free, as we say, it is Allah’s (ﷻ) decision with regard to us that takes us where we must be. Although this applies to all human beings, there are certain human beings, who are favoured by Him (ﷻ), who are special by Him (ﷻ) and who are given certain important positions in relation to Him (ﷻ). Often one examines the lives of the Messengers (a.s.), for example, whom Allah (ﷻ) appointed for each nation, each one of whom Allah (ﷻ) made to travel a certain path and to gain certain experiences for the Divine task they had to carry and put into operation. They

On Sunday 13th March 2011, we held a dhikr in Nkaneni Ark, Khayelisha. Most of us sat outside in the sun. This was the way we used to operate, and this form of operation was very successful. We then became “respectable”, and functioned in small mosques in the townships. We then had very little growth. Most of our growth occurred when we were sitting uncomfortably in the heat of the sun with all the noises of the shacks around us. When we had to eat, we sat in the sun. The heat was unbearable, but we called on Allah (ﷻ) by His different Names despite the poor condition around us. We have to start to understand that the responsibility that we have taken on our shoulders, or the responsibilities that Mawlana Shaykh Nazim has given us, has to be carried out irrespective of the physical conditions around. I have told

Most days I open the daily newspapers with considerable trepidation. As a former student of Geography, I understand or have some understanding of what we call the “natural” disasters that have been happening in the world over the last year [2012]. Almost every day when one opens the newspaper, the news is about a new disaster. Perhaps if I had not studied Geography and History, I would not be so concerned, and perhaps if the path we are walking together has not given us so much sensitivity to human suffering, I would also not have been so concerned. The knowledge of Geography and sensitivity to human suffering do not make a good combination in certain ways. In other ways, it is an excellent combination for assessing the extent to which these disasters have damaged many of the urban and rural environments, and one’s heart goes out to those people who

Sometimes, or rather many times, we leave the affairs of the Hereafter for the affairs of this world. I am not asking all of you to decide to give up everything that you are doing every day. All of you must continue to work, to look after members of your family, and others, to do all those activities related to your life according to the position in your family and your position in the community. Those of you who are studying must work hard to achieve skills that are needed for you to earn your living. I want each one of you, that when it comes to these activities, to set very high standards of performance and achievement. When you study, you must do well. When you work, you must give of your best in your relationships that you establish with others, and you must demonstrate the best of human