“Those who desire for the (things of) the Hereafter, and strive therefore with all due striving, and have Faith, - they are the ones whose striving is acceptable (to Allah...” (Holy Qur’an 17:19)

There are many levels of Irada or ‘will’ or ‘desire’. It is the desire to get that which you like and that which you love. How you go about it is to focus the heart so that you seek that which He seeks and to abandon comfort. For when you become comfortable, you go to sleep.

Shaykh Abu Muhammad al Irta’ish says that “Irada is controlling the ego self regarding her desires and accepting the Divine Commands and accepting what Allah wants and implementing it in your life”.

Shaykh al Shirazi says that Irada is: ‘The exaltation of the heart in seeking what He (Allah) desires and the true reality of irada.

Abu Ali al Darqaq says that Irada is the intensity of the desire in the heart of the heart and the intensity of the grip on the heart, intoxication in the consciousness, bewilderment in the inward, and a fire is released in the heart to purify it.

This talk explains the Sufi concept of Desire from the point of view of several different eminent Sufi Shaykhs and the means to achieve that which is the object of the Desire.


Irada

Shahadah – the Testimony of faith
Ahsh-hadu an La ilaha il Allah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasul Allah’. I bear witness that there is no god other than Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”.
This formula of witnessing is the key to Islam. Everyone who enters Islam bears witness to the oneness of God and the confirmation of this comes from within the heart. 
God is not in need of our confirmation of His Divinity, but we are the ones who require it. “Allah bears witness that “There is no god but He: (so do) His angels, and those endued with knowledge, standing firm on justice. There is no god but He, the Exalted in Power, the Wise” (Holy Qur’an 3:18). This is an important point of the witnessing – knowledge. The Angels bear witness from a point of divinely transmitted knowledge and the human bears witness from a point of acquired knowledge, which in turn strengthens his belief and brings him to a state of felicity. 


Shahada Testimony Of Faith

There are 5 qualities that the serious murid or seeker of Allah must inculcate in himself to progress upon the Path and these are called the Mothers of Goodness, Ummahat al khayr.  Truthfulness, Trust in Allah, Patience, Determination and Certainty on Allah.

Further to these are the qualities of the Abdaal – to take little sleep and to occupy oneself with spiritual practices at night; to eat only enough to satisfy the body’s need for food, detachment from socialising with people and silence, both inward and outward.

These 9 qualities contain all of the goodness and the Path of Allah cannot be travelled without them. If you travel under the guidance of a Shaykh, then he will assist you in obtaining these qualities. If you do not have a Shaykh, then you must struggle to inculcate these qualities in yourself, and then your Shaykh will come.

This talk concentrates mainly on one of the most difficult qualities to obtain – Patience. Most people run away from taking on the weight of patience because it is particularly difficult when you are in a situation where you are the one who is correct. The Holy Prophet (may the salutations of Allah be upon him and peace), said  ‘If two people have a disagreement and the one who is right has patience and leaves the one who is wrong thinking he has won the case, there is great blessing in this’.


Necessary Qualities Of A Murid Patience

Circle of Remembrance (Halqah Dhikr) calling on the Supreme Name - Allah. The concluding phrase of the remembrance - Altuf bina, Ya Wadud is another supplication to God - "Be gentle and kind to us, Oh, Most Generous and Loving Kind".

“O you who have attained to faith! Remember Allah with unceasing remembrance” (Holy Qur'an 33:14). And The Holy Prophet, said “Practice dhikr so excessively that people may say that you are crazy (majnun)” (Ahmad 3:68, 71).
After a period of continuous training the heart becomes activated, the higher intelligence gets activated and you can’t stop it from remembering Allah - the remembrance becomes perpetual. The possessor of an active heart may look like an ordinary man or woman, going about their business in the world and speaking with its inhabitants, but inwardly, they are always in a state of remembrance. Remembrance of God by the heart which is activated brings tremendous benefit – suffering will be removed because the Remembrance of Allah surrounds the practitioner and removes all of the negative forces around them, regardless of what it is – whether it is sickness, problems and difficulties or other people. The dhikr (remembrance) will rotate in and around the dhaakir (the one who remembers) to protect him for Allah has made remembrance a canopy for the believer.


Remembrance Of Allah By The Supreme Name

There are many things in today's world, which are designed specifically to distract us and keep us away from finding that which is Real. The aim of Almiraj Sufi and Islamic Study Centre is to provide an environment where true seekers of knowledge can come and be filled with the pure, spiritual food of Islam, without superstition, fairy tales or artificial teachings.
Almiraj Sufi and Islamic Study Centre and Sufi Books of Broken Hill are connected to the Burhaniyya - Dasuqiyya - Shadhiliyya Tariqa of North Africa, and the table that is set encompasses all of the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. There are many books available for study, written by saintly teachers throughout the history of Islam. The most important foundation to build upon is that of the Holy Qur'an, the verified hadiths and the science of Prophethood (what the Holy Prophet(peace be upon him) implemented upon his own self).
The spiritual director of the Study Centre is Murshid F. A. Ali ElSenosi and it is under his guidance and supervision that we travel this Path to Allah.
Almiraj Sufi & Islamic Study Centre was established in Australia in 1983. It provides all those who want to know - and who really want to know - with a large range of books on the Sufi traditions and their original sources and other traditions as well. So, I hope this introduction helps to give you some idea, but if you want more than the menu - the kitchen and the Cook are here on the Web. May your search bring you success in this life and the next.

And may Allah fill our hearts and yours with Peace, Love and Knowledge and Guide us all to Him, by Him. Ameen.

Wa ma tawfiq illa Billah. 
Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi- Spiritual Director, Almiraj Sufi & Islamic Study Centre.


Irada

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