In the Name of Allah the all Merciful, the very Merciful, His immense blessings be on His Prophet, seal

of His Prophets, his sacred Companions, and all his followers till the Day of Judgment. One of my intelligent students has asked a question, and I feel for the benefit of all our students, friends and companions treading on the holy spiritual path and striving to attain the absolute Affection of Allah and purify their inner cores, this would be of a great benefit. The original question and answer is in Urdu, but for the benefit of our foreign friends or locals not good in their native language I have tried to translate in English. May Allah Tala do well to us all. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx```````````````xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx`````````````````xxxxxxxxxxxxx x Question: What are the attributes of a good Mureed (spiritual student) or what a Spiritual guide would like to see his student to be like? Answer: In my humble opinion, three attributes are essential for a Mureed to have: 1) Sincerity 2) Loyalty 3) Obedience A brief explanation of each is as under:

SINCERITY
To be sincere, I mean, is to be sincere to the cause. The sole intention to entre the bond of subjugation (Bait) should be to seek the pleasure of Allah Almighty. The intention should be to establish a link with the Creator, which would refrain him from His waywardness. The other purpose would be to attain His divine affection which would willfully attract him towards His obedience, following the Islamic way of life, adhering to the sacred path of His Holy Prophet (Eleh salat vas Salam). And more so, developing a clear understanding that his salvation lies in adherence to the Islamic Principles. Nothing worldly, other than aforesaid aims should be the cause of entering this school. Moreover, being a spiritual student, the objective in no way should be to gain some super natural powers, or ecstatic feelings, or being in raptures etc. As already stated, the sole intention should be, to be able to adhere firmly to the 1

Sunnah of the Holy Prophet(Eleh salat vas Salam) willfully and with enthusiasm. Adhering to the Quranic injunctions and Islamic way of life. The role model should be the holy companions of the Holy Prophet (Eleh salat vas Salam), the Sehaba e Karam (May Allah bestow His immense blessings on them). This is the Primary and foremost objective, to entre the bond of subjugation only for the sake of Allah, or attain inner purity and to get rid of all filthy inner desires.

2) LOYALTY
In the terminology of the Muslim Sufi saints it is called Tauheed e Mutlab Unity of the Cause. The spiritual students firm commitment to the Guide should be unshaken . It should be his strong conviction that all the blessing which descend from the Skies reach him through his guide, and non else. It may not be so, that his guide is the most pious and God fearing, but for him he should be everything. He should only seek his advice and guidance on all spiritual matters. The guide should be judged well before entering the bond of subjugation, on the criterion of his devotion to Sunnah and Islamic Shariat. But once a decision has been made, a pledge has been established, it must be resolutely held. If some human error is seen in the Sheikh or the guide it should be interpreted positively, without shuddering his conviction. The behavior of the Mureed should be, like a cadaver in the hands of the one who gives him bath before funeral. As he moves the corpse it obeys without any objection, reaction or question, he purifies him to present him before the Lord neat and pure.

3. OBEDIENCE
In addition to the first two, this is also a very important faculty. The mureed or spiritual student should retire his worldly desires to the pleasure of his Shaikh. He should give up his wit and intelligence before the instructions he receives. Whatever acumen and wisdom has been bestowed upon him, should be utilized for the completion of the tasks assigned. He should take serving of his guide being fortunate , an opportunity to grow and establish a bond of affection with the tutor, so that his dua and tawjjoh clean his inner self the nafas. His admonition should be taken as an antidote to the inner hidden evils and satanic desires. A renowned Muslim Saint Hazrat Ba Tazid Bastami (May Allah bestow His immense blessing on him) attained a spiritual elevation due to his piety and fear of God, and found the path to divine revelation blocked. To his question, it was told to him by unseen divine powers, Daa nafasaka va taal bade good bye to your inner evil desires and attain the divine propinquity. 2

The reason for demanding absolute obedience to the Murshid is to train the inner core an ability to leave ones desire and obey Allah Subhan a hu Tala, without remote reluctance. The student should in addition to these be in constant communication with the teacher, and establish a heart to heart connection with him. So that his dua and tawajjoh, clean his inner core of all evil influences, and he readily treads on the sacred path of Shariat e Islamia. The mureed should develop the habit of itla aur ittiba informing the Shaikh and obeying whatever guidance he receives. It is thus hoped, the Rahama of Allah Subhano hu va Tala would purify and open his heart to follow the sunnah of Holy Prophet (Eleh salat vas Salam), which is the sole straight path to salvation in the world here and hereafter. I pray to Allah Subhan a hu Va tala to grant us the courage and wisdom to understands the intricacies of this Spiritual School and be able to attain fulfillment, and resoluteness on the path of shrait muttahira. Ameen