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Constancy in the company of one’s spiritual guide


To be constant in maintaining a bond (of the heart) with one’s spiritual guide is a very important condition on the path of tazkiyah (spiritual purification). In Islam, there is a spiritual dimension and knowledge passes from heart to heart. Spirituality is gained through the relationship one has with one’s spiritual guide; the more clean and transparent this relationship is, the more a person will benefit spiritually. This relationship is like a water-funnel; if it is clean and pure the emerging water will be clean and pure, whereas if it is contaminated the emerging water will be impure i.e. he will not be able to benefit spiritually. Furthermore, actions in the physical world have a reaction in the spiritual world. This can be best understood by the following incident:
Once Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم led salaah, however he became confused in his recitation. After salaah, he turned to the companions and explained that the reason he became confused in his recitation was because some members of the congregation had not performed their wudhu properly.

This incident illustrates that people who do not perform their wudhu properly adversely affect the Imam’s recitation – this is the spiritual dimension. Similarly, the manner in which a person behaves and conducts himself with his spiritual guide affects his relationship with him and thus determines how much he will benefit spiritually.


Constancy in Silence

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in the Holy Qu’ran:

مَا يَلْفِظُ مِن قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ
Not a word he utters but there is a watcher ready.
[Surah Qaaf 50:18]

For every word that we utter, an angel is ever-eager to record it. We should act on everything that we learn, especially with regard to remaining silent.

The less a person exposes his eyes and ears to the dunya, the more that his heart will eventually follow suit. Similarly, the impact of the tongue upon the heart is such that when the tongue speaks the heart has no choice but to listen, but if the tongue remains silent, the heart will then “speak” , i.e. when the activities of the outer organs like the tongue are curbed and stopped the heart will remain free for its activities such as remembrance of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and contemplation.


Constancy in Solitude

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said in a hadeeth ,”Solitude is better than bad company but good company is better than solitude.” [Bayhaqi – Shu’ab al Imaan]

In this day and age especially, we should endeavour to stay away from bad company and remain in an environment of piety, purity and the remembrance of Allah سبحانه وتعالى as much as possible. However, a person who mixes with people and tolerates their inconvenience, abuse and misbehaviour is far better than he who does not associate with people and does not tolerate their misbehaviour. This is not contrary to the desirability of solitude however, because even though he may be with people physically, he will still be in a state of seclusion since his heart will be in the remembrance of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. As a result even if they misbehave towards him, he will tolerate it because his heart will be with Allah سبحانه وتعالى.