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There are two types of Wilayat:
1)
Wilayat-e-Amma
(general closeness to Allah) – This is the closeness of Allah to
every believer, as Allah declares in the Holy Quran: “We are closer
to him, than his own jugular vein.” (Surah Al-Kaaf, Verse 16)
2)
Wilayat-e-Khaas
(special closeness to Allah) – This closeness is exclusive to the
Awliya. This is a speciality of those who have traveled on the path
of Tasawwuf, and attained nearness to Allah. This is declared in a
Hadith-e-Quddsi, where Allah says to the Holy Prophet Salallahu
Alaihi Wasallam, “Among the things that bring My servant close
to Me, the ones I love best, are the things that I have made fard
(compulsory). When My servant does nafil ibaadat (optional prayer),
he gets very close to Me. So much so, that I love him very much.
When I love Him, I become his hearing ear, seeing eye, holding hand,
and walking foot. I give him whatever he wishes. When he invokes
Me for help, I protect him.”
Allah’s closeness
is not like material closeness that can be understood by reason, or
perceived through the sense organs. It can only be comprehended
through the knowledge of Ma’rifa (gnosis) bestowed by Allah upon the
Awliya. From the Awliya of all the ummahs (of the previous
Prophets), the greatest Awliya are from the ummah of Sayidina
Rasoolallah (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam). There have been
Awliya Allah in every era and there will always be Awliya Allah in
every era. However, their recognition may be difficult.
The Quran divides those that are favoured by Allah
into 4 groups:
a)
The Prophets – This
cycle has ended after the appearance of Rasoolallah (Salallahu
Alaihi Wasallam).
b)
The Siddiques (The
Truthful) – This rank is next after the Prophets. The greatest
Siddique was Hazrat Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu). The meaning
of Siddique is Truth. Such a person recognizes truth in all its
manifestations.
c)
The Shuhada (Martyrs) –
One need not actually be killed in the battlefield to prove one’s
self as shaheed (martyr). One in this stage feels satisfied by
sacrificing everything that he has for the Creator.
d)
The Salih (Pious) – This
is the lower grade that one can attain by devotional activities. In
this stage, one cleanses himself from all spiritual impurities such
as jealousy, hatred, hypocrisy etc.
From the Awliya of the ummah of Sayidina Rasoolallah
(Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam), the most superior Awliya are the
four Khulafa-e-Rashideen (The Righteously guided Caliphs), namely
Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique Radi Allahu Anhu, Hazrat Umar Farooq
Radi Allahu Anhu, Hazrat Uthmaan Ghani Radi Allahu Anhu,
and Hazrat Ali Murtaza Radi Allahu Anhu, and then all the
other Sahaaba. All the Sahaaba were Awliya, BUT all Awliya are not
Sahaaba.
Amongst the Awliya are the following groups:
-
At any given time, there are 4000 Awliya living on
Earth. They are not recognized by the general public. In fact,
amongst them, one does not know the other, and they themselves are
not aware of the validity of their actions and devotion.
-
300 from this group are statesman, involved in the
administration of this world. They control all transactions that
take place. They are known as the “Akhyaar”.
-
Amongst these 300, 40 are known as “Abdaal”.
-
Amongst the 40, 7 are “Abraar”.
-
Amongst this 7, 4 are “Autaad”.
-
Amongst these 4, 3 are “Noqabah”.
-
From these 3, 1 is the “Ghaus” or “Qutub”. He is
the most senior of them all, and head of the spiritual assembly.
In reference to the Abdaals, Imam At-Tabarani Radi
Allahu Anhu quotes a Hadith Shareef in which the Holy Prophet (Salallahu
Alaihi Wasallam) declares, “There will always exist 40 persons
on the Earth, each of whom is blessed like Hazrat Ebrahim (Alaihis
Salaam). It rains because of their barakah. Allah appoints another
when one of them dies.”
In another Hadith Shareef, Abu Naeem Radi Allahu
Anhu reports that the Holy Prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam)
said, “There always exist 40 persons among my ummah. Their hearts
are like that of Hazrat Ebrahim (Alaihis Salaam). Allah Ta’aala
redeems His human servants from disasters for their sake. They are
called Abdaal. They do not attain to that degree by performing
salaah, fasting, or giving zakaah.”
Ibn Mas’ud Radi Allahu Anhu asked, “Ya
Rasoolallah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam, by what means do they
attain that degree?”
“They attain it by being generous, and by advising
muslims,” said the Prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam).
Do remember that although all the Awliya Allah are
equal as far as Wilayah is concerned, they differ as far as status
is concerned.
THE
KARAAMAT OF THE AWLIYA
A supernatural
act, or miracle, performed by a Wali, is known as karaamat. One
must understand that the performing of miracles, is not a necessary
condition of sainthood. There are some people, when they read or
hear about the Awliya, he/she immediately looks for miracles. They
think that since they have not heard of any miracle, that person
cannot be a Wali. This is totally incorrect. To deny the karaamat
of a Wali is a sign of ignorance and misguidance, as this is proven
in the Holy Qur’an. The Holy Qur’an relates that karaamat of Hazrat
Asif Radi Allahu Anhu, who was a Wali from the ummah of
Hazrat Sulaiman (Alaihis Salaam). Before a blinking of an eye,
Hazrat Asif Radi Allahu Anhu presented the throne of Bilqees,
which was in a very distant place, before Hazrat Sulaiman (Alaihis
Salaam). (Surah 27, Verse 10) Another narration is when Hazrat
Zakariya (Alaihis Salaam) questioned Hazrat Bibi Maryam (Radi
Allahu Anhaa), the mother of Hazrat Isa (Alaihis Salaam), about
the fruit which were out of season, that he saw in her place of
worship. She said that they had come from Allah. (Surah 3, Verse
37).
The mothers of the prophets are Waliyas.
HOW TO
RECOGNISE A WALI
The method of recognizing a Wali and a non-Wali is to
rectify one’s heart and mind, and to adopt his company. Thereafter
if you find that his company generates the thought and love of Allah
in your heart, then he is a Wali. On the contrary, if the heart
indulges in worldly thought, then he is not a Wali, because it is
said, “The heart is a mirror of another heart”.
Imam Nawawi Radi Allahu Anhu, and also Ibn
Maja Radi Allahu Anhu report that when Rasoolallah (Salallahu
Alaihi Wasallam) was asked about the characteristics of the
Awliya, he declared, “Allah is remembered when they are seen.”
ALLAH
DECLARES WAR ON THE ENEMIES OF THE AWLIYA
In Bukhari Shareef, Hazrat Abu Huraira Radi Allahu
Anhu reports the following Hadith-e-Quddsi:
The Holy Prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam)
has said that Allah said, “Whoever shows enmity to a friend of mine,
I shall be at war with him.”
Who has the courage to be at war with Allah?
Certainly, they will be destroyed! Therefore, it is important that
the Awliya should be respected and honoured. Whoever disrespects,
and insults the Awliya, will without a doubt, receive Allah’s wrath.
Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaaz Mu’inuddin Chisti Radi
Allahu Anhu narrated:
“There was a man who hated the Awliya. When he died,
and was placed in the grave, the people tried to turn his face
toward the Qibla, but it would always turn away from that
direction. The people were astonished at this action. There was a
voice from nowhere announcing, ‘It would be a futile exercise to try
to turn his face toward the Qibla, because he used to turn his face
away at seeing the Awliya, and that he who would turn his face in
disgust from My friends, I will turn My face on him. He is a
condemned soul, and on the day of judgement, such people will appear
with faces of donkeys.’”
IMPORTANCE
OF LOVING THE AWLIYA
Allah revealed to
Musa (Alaihis Salaam), “What actions have you done for my
pleasure?” He said, “O Allah, I have prayed to you, kept fast, and
paid charity.” Allah said, “Prayer is a clear proof for you,
fast is a shield for you, and charity is your shade.
But what have you done for me?” Hazrat Musa (Alaihis Salaam)
then asked, “O Allah, show me as action which is only for you.”
Allah said, “O Musa, have you loved someone for My sake, and hated
anyone for My sake?”
(Ihya al-uloom id-deen, Vol II)
From this, we can say that although we have never
seen many of the great Awliya, but we only love them, because they
love Allah, and Allah loves them. Therefore, we love them for the
sake of Allah, and we should distance ourselves from those who
dislike the friends of Allah, as we will be hating them for Allah’s
sake.
Hazrat Baba Farid Ganje Shakar Radi Allahu Anhu)
has narrated:
“A sinful young man died in Multan. Someone asked
him in a dream as to what was his condition. He replied that Allah
had pardoned him. He explained that one day, when Khwaja
Baha-ul-Haq Zakarriya Multani Radi Allahu Anhu was walking,
he had kissed his hand with utmost respect. Because of this
respect, he had been pardoned.”
THE AWLIYA ALLAH ARE ALIVE IN
THEIR GRAVES
Allah says in the Holy Quran “Do not even think of
those who are martyred in the way of Allah as dead, BUT THEY ARE
ALIVE near their lord and given provision. They are joyous of
what Allah bestowed upon them of his favour and they give good news
to those who have not as yet reached them.” (Surah Al-Imraan, Verse
170).
As we have explained earlier that the Awliya are
those who have attained nearness to Allah. Attaining this nearness
is not easy because there are certain obstacles. One of the
greatest obstacles is bringing one’s carnal desires (nafs-ul-ammarah)
under control. In this regard, the struggle with one’s carnal soul
has been regarded as a Jihad-e-Akbar (Great battle), in contrast to
Jihad-e-Asghar (Smaller Battle, which is fought on the actual
battlefield). This concept is derived from the popular Hadith of
the Holy Prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam), in which he
said to his companions returning from a battle:
“You have returned from a smaller battle to a greater
battle.”
He was then asked by the companions, “What can be a
greater battle that that we have just fought?”
He Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam answered, “The
battle against one’s nafs.”
Imam Ghazzali (Radi Allahu Anhu) says in Ihya al
Uloom Vol. IV:
“Death cannot destroy the soul, which is the place of
Allah’s Ma’rifat, because it is something spiritual. Death causes
the change of the condition of soul, and relieves it from the prison
of it’s bodily cage. It does not end as Allah says
“Do not even think of those who are martyred in the
way of Allah as dead, BUT THEY ARE ALIVE near their lord and
given provision. They are joyous of what Allah bestowed upon them
of his favour and they give good news to those who have not as yet
reached them.” (Surah Al-Imraan, Verse 170).”
One should not think that this position is acquired
only by those that are martyred on the battlefield, because every
breath of an Arif (one who has recognized his creator) is a martyr.”
From the above quotations we can deduce that if those
that fight the smaller battle are alive, then surely, without any
doubt, those that fight the greater battle are ALIVE!!!
Imam Abu Naeem Radi Allahu Anhu, in his book “Hilyaat-ul-Awliya”,
narrates from Hazrat Saeed Radi Allahu Anhu, that:
“By Allah, Hameed Taweel, and myself were burying
Hazrat Thabit Nibhaani Radi Allahu Anhu. As we were setting
the final rocks, one rock accidentally fell into the grave. As I
peeped into the grave, I saw Hazrat Thabit Nibhaani Radi Allahu
Anhu was about to perform salaah, and he was imploring to Allah
in the following manner:
‘O Allah! You have given certain of your creation
the permission to perform their salaah within the grave. Give me
also this same permission.’
It was indeed beyond the mercy of Allah to refuse
him.”
Hazrat Thabit Nibhaani Radi Allahu Anhu was a
Taba’ee (Ones that saw the Sahaaba after the demise of the Holy
Prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam)).
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