باسمه سبحانه و تعالى

Preface

It is narrated in a Hadith that once a person offered himself for cure to his ailment before the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and complained about his hard-heartedness. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) (who is the ‘loving spiritual doctor’ of this Ummah) said:

امسح رأس اليتيم و أطعم المساكين

“Caress the head of an orphan and feed the poor”

This highly skilled and the most loving savant of Ummah treated all the spiritual ailments (about which the Sahaaba (RA) asked from time to time) of the faithful and chaste Sahaaba. So to say that it was established that a slave of Allah should never become unmindful towards his physical and spiritual ailments until the day of Qiyamah, but should always think about his treatment and get advice and suggestions from a skilled spiritual doctor and then work on them, so that Allah cures him. This has been termed by some as Tazkiyah while by others as Ahsaan and Sulook or Tasawwuf. Since it is a constituent of Deen (the religion of Islam), it will, like other constituents, continue to persist until the day of Qiyaamah and it has been stressed upon the Ummah to remain in touch with the experts of this field so that they might get reformed in this world and thus obtain the treasure of Sidq (truth) and Purity. It is this eloquent truth that has been stated by the Mufassireen of the Holy Qur’an under the verse:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ

You who believe! be careful of (your duty to) Allah and be with the true ones. (9:119)

In the present era, the grand Ulema of Deoband (may Allah elevate their status) have been bestowed upon by Allah with the great treasure that on one hand they have the honour to teach the book (al-Qur’an) and wisdom and on the other hand carry out the job of Tazkiyaah and Ahsaan, and this is still continuing.

Hadhrat Faqeehul Ummat Ja’mai Shariat and Tareeqat Mawlana Mufti Mahmood Hasan Gangohi (RA) was once while sitting in Chattah Masjid, Deoband after the Asr prayer Majlis (assembly), replying to the letters that he had received. At that time Hadhrat was of very frail age, so Khadim (attendant) was narrating these letters to him and Hadhrat after listening to them used to dictate the reply. In these letters, on one hand, the questions related to Fiqh (since Hadhrat was of the status of grand Mufti and his high level of comprehension was an admitted fact) were asked and on the other hand a good number of queries were related to the reformation of exterior as well as interior-self.

In one of the letters received, a person while expressing extreme uneasiness and impatience had written that he usually gets indulged in the acts of immodesty. Hadhrat advised him to perform Tawbah and from among other treatments, he was also advised to go through the warnings and chastisements that have been mentioned in the Qur’an and Hadith regarding these issues that such and such chastisement has been mentioned for such sins. He was also advised to repeatedly read these until they get engraved in his memory. It was expected that by doing so it will become easy for him to save himself.

While writing the reply to this letter, all of a sudden it came to my mind that this disease is rampant nowadays and how good and beneficial it would have been for those in need to have all the material available in a single booklet comprising Aayaat and Ahaadith on this issue. It would have been easy to publish such a booklet if available and make it widespread. When a disease spreads, it becomes necessary to formulate its widespread treatment. I looked for such a booklet but couldn't find one and finally it came to my mind that I should personally compile a concise booklet of chosen Aayaat and Ahaadith on this issue. Therefore, on reaching Darul Uloom Raheemiya, I requested dear Hafiz Sajjad (may Allah keep him safe) to collect Aayaat from the Holy Qur’an related to the subject, he did it in a single day and handed them over to me on a sheet of paper. Now, as I started to follow the exegesis and commentary of these Aayaat as well as the related Ahaadith, I was able to pen down only a few pages in a year or so due to numerous engagements, but the job had started. The time kept passing by and this manuscript always remained with me in my bag and sometimes during journeys I could only add up few lines to it. At that time I had the idea that when this booklet gets completed, it would be brought before Hadhrat Mufti Mahmmod Hasan Gangohi (RA) and I will try to reorganize it in a better and more beneficial shape as per his valuable directions. But due to my own laziness, inadequacy and innumerable engagements it didn’t happen like that until Hadhrat Mufti Sahib (RA) became the traveler of eternal abode.
إنا لله و إنا إليه راجعون . In gone past years, I was able to get some free time during few of my journeys and somehow I completed the booklet and handed it over to Mufti Farhat Ahmad (may Allah keep him safe) for final drafting. After proof-reading, by the will of Allah, the corrected version was lost from the computer and this way another year passed by. Then dear Mufti Sajjad Husain, who is undergoing the course on specialization of Hadith at Mazaahirul Uloom, Saharanpur, and who had come to his home on vacations, made efforts to get this manuscript computerized again by the help of Almighty Allah. After that, without waiting for any kind of addition, the booklet was sent for publication.

May Allah (SWT) safely guide it through different stages of publication and make it beneficial and a source of salvation for the Ummah especially to this sinful believer.
و ما ذالك على الله بعزيز.

Muhammad Rahmatullah.
Darul Uloom Raheemiya.
13 Safarul Muzaffar, 1423.