What is the Difference of Deeds Before & After Tawbah
These days of forgiveness are kept in the middle of Ramadan because Repentance is the soul of our deeds. The message is, that our success in Ramadan is dependant upon these days of forgiveness because Tawbah is what makes our deeds genuine. If we pray without repenting whilst our sins are attached to us, then our deed will be recorded, Allah ta'ala may accept it and reward the worshipper, however a believer never suffices on this. Although we should hold good hopes in Allah that He will accept our worship, we should transcend through our worship.
If a person prays without committing sins alongside, then his prayer elevates him. These ranks are dependent upon repentance as repentance purifies a person.
Nabi ﷺ said: "There are two joys for the fasting person: the joy when he breaks his fast, and the joy of when he meets his Lord." [Tirmidhi]
When we break our fast with food, we experience pleasure. Even those who have the bare minimum, bread and lentils, feel happiness at Iftar time. This is because there is also a spiritual happiness a person experiences alongside. One's soul becomes happy because the good deed of fasting penetrates his soul.
Fasting gives us the joy of Iftar in this world, but when a person keeps a genuine fast whereby he abstains from sins alongside and he has repented, then he receives the true joy in the Hereafter which is when he meets Allah. Consequently, genuine fasting takes a person directly to Allah ta'ala.
Hadhrat Bayazeed Bastami رحمة الله عليه is the 6th Sheikh in our Naqshbandi order. He was a great wali Allah. It is written that at the time of his death, he felt an emotion through which Allah ta'ala spoke to him. Allah ta'ala asked, "Bayazeed, you are about to return to me. Will you come to the throne? He replied, "No, that's for the Muqarrabeen." Allah ta'ala asked, "Do you want Jannah?" He replied, "No that's for the Muttaqeen, how will I attain that?" Allah ta'ala asked, "Do you want the skies?" He replied, "No, the angels live there." Allah ta'ala asked, "Do you want Hellfire?" He replied, "No, that's the place for the negligent. Why will I go there?" Then Allah ta'ala asked him, "Do you want Allah?" As soon as this was asked, he passed away. We should also aim for the heights in such a way.
Despite worshipping and praying, we find it difficult to bear calamities, we become depressed, we worry, we lose conviction in Allah ta'ala. This is because we are physically worshipping, but our deeds must be transformed to reality by repenting at the hand of a Wali Allah. This is the method of genuine repentance through a teacher who is assigned to you by Allah ta'ala. The Sheikh will protect you from drowning, he will assist you in all circumstances, he will shade you from every difficulty and make things easy for you. When you repent at the hands of a Sheikh, then the effects of your deed will change and improve. The effects won't be visible but they are changes which are benefiting the soul.
After sincere repentance, a person remains unsatisfied with his prayers. He worries about his prayers not being perfect. He begins reflecting and assessing himself as he has now become self-aware.
Without repentance, a person's deeds cannot reach the reality. They do not ascend. Our aim should be to come away from the physical worship and attain the reality of worship. So likewise, we should strive to attain the reality of fasting and prayer through repentance.
There are 8 doors of paradise and Hellfire only has 7 doors, so it means that more people will enter into paradise. This is due to Allah ta'ala's Mercy that He wishes to forgive everyone.
Tazkiyah is a great thing because the journey of Tazkiyah begins with repentance. Repentance makes a person tender and gentle, it cools down the fire of revenge, it eliminates enmity, it creates mercy inside a person and it makes him graceful. It creates peace and wipes away dissatisfaction and strengthens one's belief in Allah ta'ala.
We must crush our desires and not become the reason of our own destruction. Therefore, we shouldn't delay repentance, nor should we delay changing ourselves. When Allah ta'ala delivers these messages to us, we should take heed and not be stubborn.
The students of a Sheikh are selected people from Allah ta'ala because they have accepted a special invitation. They will have a special illuminated door. There are classifications in Paradise and those who work hard in the world, will earn the highest stages.
A person who repents at the hands of his Sheikh and follow his instructions, even if he doesn't reach a high level, Allah ta'ala will grant him that high status because he had a connection with his Sheikh. Thereafter, his Sheikh will intercede for him and embrace him. These are the scenes of Jannah.
The door of Jannah will be so huge that even if you travel for 40 years via a Concorde, one cannot cover the width of that door.
The groups of the Mashaikh will be so huge that the door of Jannah will not be wide enough even for 10 million people to pass through. This is the glory of dhikr.
Those who have already repented should be remorseful that they haven't been faithful with their Sheikh. They have taken shortcuts and fallen short in their love and connection with their Sheikh. The Sheikh never forces anyone to love him, nor take Bay'ah with him. Love is instilled naturally and when a person truly loves someone, it breaks all shackles.
The one who breaks the laws of his Sheikh and does not have love for him, is not a true mureed.
Shaytan will play games with him. Hence, all mashaikh of Tasawwuf say that ensure your connection with your Sheikh is strong in 4 things. Serving your Sheikh, loving him, obeying him and respecting him. Keep assessing yourself to see if you are lacking in these qualities or if there is a weaknes and aim to keep strengthening these qualities.
My Hadhrat Sahib said to me,
"If you do not have these 4 bonds with your teacher, then your dhikr will be futile and useless because this is the real path to Allah and this path is unique."
The glory of the Naqshbandi's is that you will be able to identify them via the crowns on their head through masses of people. This is because they emulate the Sunnah and they are cautious in every aspect of their lives.
The Minbar is made out of wood. This wood used to be upon the tree and dry, then it was cut down. This same wood was picked up and placed into the hands of a carpenter. Then it was polished and varnished, so it's value increased. This is due to the achievement of the carpenter and not the wood. Similarly, we should give our hand to a fabricator. Join with the wali Allah and stick with him.
The Quran brings it's effect upon a person when he is purified through repentance. This is when he begins to understand the realities of the Quran and it becomes the cure to every sickness for him.
These days of forgiveness are kept in the middle of Ramadan because Repentance is the soul of our deeds. The message is, that our success in Ramadan is dependant upon these days of forgiveness because Tawbah is what makes our deeds genuine. If we pray without repenting whilst our sins are attached to us, then our deed will be recorded, Allah ta'ala may accept it and reward the worshipper, however a believer never suffices on this. Although we should hold good hopes in Allah that He will accept our worship, we should transcend through our worship.
If a person prays without committing sins alongside, then his prayer elevates him. These ranks are dependent upon repentance as repentance purifies a person.
Nabi ﷺ said: "There are two joys for the fasting person: the joy when he breaks his fast, and the joy of when he meets his Lord." [Tirmidhi]
When we break our fast with food, we experience pleasure. Even those who have the bare minimum, bread and lentils, feel happiness at Iftar time. This is because there is also a spiritual happiness a person experiences alongside. One's soul becomes happy because the good deed of fasting penetrates his soul.
Fasting gives us the joy of Iftar in this world, but when a person keeps a genuine fast whereby he abstains from sins alongside and he has repented, then he receives the true joy in the Hereafter which is when he meets Allah. Consequently, genuine fasting takes a person directly to Allah ta'ala.
Hadhrat Bayazeed Bastami رحمة الله عليه is the 6th Sheikh in our Naqshbandi order. He was a great wali Allah. It is written that at the time of his death, he felt an emotion through which Allah ta'ala spoke to him. Allah ta'ala asked, "Bayazeed, you are about to return to me. Will you come to the throne? He replied, "No, that's for the Muqarrabeen." Allah ta'ala asked, "Do you want Jannah?" He replied, "No that's for the Muttaqeen, how will I attain that?" Allah ta'ala asked, "Do you want the skies?" He replied, "No, the angels live there." Allah ta'ala asked, "Do you want Hellfire?" He replied, "No, that's the place for the negligent. Why will I go there?" Then Allah ta'ala asked him, "Do you want Allah?" As soon as this was asked, he passed away. We should also aim for the heights in such a way.
Despite worshipping and praying, we find it difficult to bear calamities, we become depressed, we worry, we lose conviction in Allah ta'ala. This is because we are physically worshipping, but our deeds must be transformed to reality by repenting at the hand of a Wali Allah. This is the method of genuine repentance through a teacher who is assigned to you by Allah ta'ala. The Sheikh will protect you from drowning, he will assist you in all circumstances, he will shade you from every difficulty and make things easy for you. When you repent at the hands of a Sheikh, then the effects of your deed will change and improve. The effects won't be visible but they are changes which are benefiting the soul.
After sincere repentance, a person remains unsatisfied with his prayers. He worries about his prayers not being perfect. He begins reflecting and assessing himself as he has now become self-aware.
Without repentance, a person's deeds cannot reach the reality. They do not ascend. Our aim should be to come away from the physical worship and attain the reality of worship. So likewise, we should strive to attain the reality of fasting and prayer through repentance.
There are 8 doors of paradise and Hellfire only has 7 doors, so it means that more people will enter into paradise. This is due to Allah ta'ala's Mercy that He wishes to forgive everyone.
Tazkiyah is a great thing because the journey of Tazkiyah begins with repentance. Repentance makes a person tender and gentle, it cools down the fire of revenge, it eliminates enmity, it creates mercy inside a person and it makes him graceful. It creates peace and wipes away dissatisfaction and strengthens one's belief in Allah ta'ala.
We must crush our desires and not become the reason of our own destruction. Therefore, we shouldn't delay repentance, nor should we delay changing ourselves. When Allah ta'ala delivers these messages to us, we should take heed and not be stubborn.
The students of a Sheikh are selected people from Allah ta'ala because they have accepted a special invitation. They will have a special illuminated door. There are classifications in Paradise and those who work hard in the world, will earn the highest stages.
A person who repents at the hands of his Sheikh and follow his instructions, even if he doesn't reach a high level, Allah ta'ala will grant him that high status because he had a connection with his Sheikh. Thereafter, his Sheikh will intercede for him and embrace him. These are the scenes of Jannah.
The door of Jannah will be so huge that even if you travel for 40 years via a Concorde, one cannot cover the width of that door.
The groups of the Mashaikh will be so huge that the door of Jannah will not be wide enough even for 10 million people to pass through. This is the glory of dhikr.
Those who have already repented should be remorseful that they haven't been faithful with their Sheikh. They have taken shortcuts and fallen short in their love and connection with their Sheikh. The Sheikh never forces anyone to love him, nor take Bay'ah with him. Love is instilled naturally and when a person truly loves someone, it breaks all shackles.
The one who breaks the laws of his Sheikh and does not have love for him, is not a true mureed.
Shaytan will play games with him. Hence, all mashaikh of Tasawwuf say that ensure your connection with your Sheikh is strong in 4 things. Serving your Sheikh, loving him, obeying him and respecting him. Keep assessing yourself to see if you are lacking in these qualities or if there is a weaknes and aim to keep strengthening these qualities.
My Hadhrat Sahib said to me,
"If you do not have these 4 bonds with your teacher, then your dhikr will be futile and useless because this is the real path to Allah and this path is unique."
The glory of the Naqshbandi's is that you will be able to identify them via the crowns on their head through masses of people. This is because they emulate the Sunnah and they are cautious in every aspect of their lives.
The Minbar is made out of wood. This wood used to be upon the tree and dry, then it was cut down. This same wood was picked up and placed into the hands of a carpenter. Then it was polished and varnished, so it's value increased. This is due to the achievement of the carpenter and not the wood. Similarly, we should give our hand to a fabricator. Join with the wali Allah and stick with him.
The Quran brings it's effect upon a person when he is purified through repentance. This is when he begins to understand the realities of the Quran and it becomes the cure to every sickness for him.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement.