One time, during combat, an arrow got stuck in Moula Ali’s leg.
Later when they tried to remove it, it was soo deep that the pain was unbearable and they couldn’t remove it.
So Prophet Mohammad told the companions to remove it when Moula Ali was in Salat.
So when Moula Ali was standing in Salat, the companions went and pulled out the arrow and he didn’t even realise it.
So when a man is in Salat, he is with God and completely unaware of the world and the surroundings,
and not only that but he is also unaware of his own self because he is in presence of God.
Why Salat does not stop you from wrongdoings?
In this verse God is advising the devout believers:
‘Wasta’eenoo bissabri was Salaah; (And in times of adversity, seek help through patience and Salat)'
When you adopt patience then it becomes easier.
Then it is advised to seek help from Salat as well.
When you are in Salat, you are in the presence of God and you feel like God is with you and everything will be alright.
It also says, ‘wa innahaa lakabee ratun illaa alal khaashi’een'
'But seeking help from Salat is not for a commoner, only Khuasheen can seek help from it.’
Alright?
What happens if we stand in Salat during adversity?
The entire time we are thinking about the problems.
But where is the help?
One time, during combat, an arrow got stuck in Moula Ali’s leg.
Later when they tried to remove it, it was so deep that the pain was unbearable and they couldn’t remove it.
So Prophet Mohammad told the companions to remove it when Moula Ali was in Salat.
So when Moula Ali was standing in Salat, the companions went and pulled out the arrow and he didn’t even realise it.
So when a man is in Salat, he is with God and completely unaware of the world and the surroundings,
and not only that but he is also unaware of his own self because he is in presence of God.
Imam Zain Ul Abideen was the son of Imam Hussain.
When Imam Zain Ul Abideen would go for ablution, he would get goosebumps
and when he would stand in Salat, he would start shivering.
People asked him, ‘Why do you go into this state at the time of Salat?’
He said, ‘Because I am going in the presence of God and his majesty and grandness overtakes me.’
Now the question is: if it happened to him, then why doesn’t it happen to us?
Why did it happen to him?
Because [according to a Prophetic Tradition]: ‘Salat is the Mehraj (culmination) for a devout believer.’
Prophet Mohammad went to Mehraj physically with his body and a devout believer reaches Mehraj (culmination) by Salat.
What happened during Mehraj?
Prophet Mohammad witnessed the divine splendour.
Similarly, when a devout believer goes into Salat, he too sees God.
A Prophetic Tradition states, ‘The quality of your worship should be that you witness the divine splendour.’
This is a Prophetic Tradition written in Hadees e Jibreel about the rank of Ehsaan,
‘The quality of your worship should be that you witness the divine splendour.’
Just as Prophet Mohammad witnessed the divine splendour during Mehraj,
but God will not call a devout believer to the higher realms,
thus it is said ‘Salat is the culmination for a devout believer.’
Mehraj is a custom of the Prophet Mohammad for a devout believer
just as when the Prophet married, it became a custom;
when the Prophet ate sweets, it became a custom
and when the Prophet grew a beard, it also became a custom.
So when the Prophet went on Mehraj, is that not a custom too?
Of course, it is also a custom.
So how do we fulfil this custom of Mehraj if we cannot travel [to the higher realms] like Prophet Mohammad?
This is why God gifted us with Salat.
‘Salat is the culmination for a devout believer.’
A devout believer obtains Mehraj through Salat.
But those who obtained Mehraj [through Salat] would shiver and get goosebumps.
Moula Ali had an arrow stuck in his leg, but they managed to pull it out during Salat.
But what about our Salat?
‘Your heart is preoccupied with worldly affairs whilst you bow your head in prostration.’
Our Salat does not reach Mehraj (culmination);
in fact, our Salat is filled with thoughts of this world.
Why is that so?
Because we are not fulfilling the prerequisites of Salat.
What are the prerequisites for Salat?
Simply performing ablution, facing the Kaaba or tying your hands in respect as you repeat ‘Allah hu Akbar (God is great)’ is not fulfilling the prerequisites.
You also need an awakened heart!
The Prophet said, ‘La salata illa bi huzoori e qalb’
Meaning: There is no Salat without the presence of the heart.
What does it mean by the presence of the heart?
His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi said,
‘God said to Prophet Mohammad, “Qul hu Allah hu ahad (Say that God is one)”
and the Prophet said, “Amen.”
Then the Prophet said to people, “Say that God is one.”
'Those who denied it became disbelievers and those who accepted it became devout believers.’
When we say ‘Qul hu Allah hu ahad’
HDE Gohar Shahi asked, ‘Who are you saying Qul hu Allah hu ahad to in Salat?’
HDE Gohar Shahi said, ‘We tell our hearts to say that God is one.'
'But our heart says ‘Your wife is ill or there is no flour at home.’’
So our heart is engaged with worldly affairs.
Then HDE Gohar Shahi said,
‘Those who refuse to say it with the tongue are disbelievers and those whose hearts do not accept it are hypocrites.’
So how can your Salat be accepted if your heart is a hypocrite?
But once you obtain the presence of the heart, then your heart will be in constant remembrance of God’s name.
Then as your tongue repeats ‘Say that God is one’, the heart will affirm and say ‘Allah’.
Your tongue will say 'Allah hu samad' and your heart will say ‘Allah’.
The tongue provides evidence while the heart believes without any evidence.
This is called Namaz Haqiqat.
When you perform such Salat, then your heart will deliver it to God.
It will reach God.
There are more ranks after the heart; you have more souls and subtleties.
There is a soul in the head, the subtlety of Anna.
Those who purify it and enlighten it with the knowledge of seeing God,
then when they go into Salat, God calls this soul to his empyrean.
The body remains here but this soul leaves the body and reaches God.
This is how you will obtain Mehraj (culmination).
Bulle Shah said, ‘When I learnt Namaz e Ishq, I forgot about mosques and temples.’
What is Namaz e Ishq? Namaz e Ishq is when you stand in Salat and your souls leave your body and reach the empyrean of God.
Once Bayazid Bastami was worshipping in a jungle and he saw a man wandering about in the jungle.
He became disturbed and worried as to why he was there and what he was doing,
so he asked him, ‘What’s wrong? What are you looking for?’
The man said, ‘I am looking for a clean place to perform Salat.’
[Bayazid] said, ‘O fool, purify your heart then perform Salat anywhere!’
This is the problem with our Salat right now.
And there is a problem, so don’t say that there is nothing wrong
because the Qur’an said, ‘Salat refrains one from immorality and wrong deeds.’
But you can see people who perform Salat are also involved in wrongdoings.
Sometimes, a common man may miss a Salat but what about the scholar? He is the one that leads the Salat.
Common people can skip coming for Salat, but the scholar has to lead the Salat daily, so he should be void of all wrongdoings.
The same scholar who leads the five-time prayer in the mosque is also involved in indecent acts within the mosque.
Why didn’t the Salat stop him?
Whenever I talk about these things, the clerics get upset.
But this is the basic principle, right?
It is written in the Chapter Ankabut in Qur’an,
‘innas Salaata tanhaa ‘anil fahshaaa’i wal munkar (Salat refrains one from immorality and wrong deeds).’
Right?
If I say ‘Ikhlaaq don’t let Shakeel go out’,
and Shakeel manages to go out,
it means Shakeel was stronger than Ikhlaaq.
Similarly, if you are driven towards wrongdoings even after Salat, it means your Salat was weak.
What is the weakness in your Salat?
An unenlightened heart.
Sultan Bahu said, ‘Anybody can recite the Kalma (Motto of Faith) with the tongue, but only a few can recite it with the heart'
'The lovers recite the Kalma of the heart but what do the people of the tongue know of this!’
What is the Kalma of the heart?
Prophet Mohammad said to Moula Ali,
‘Ghamad ainaka Ya Ali wasma fee qalbik La Ilaha Ilallah'
'O Ali, close your eyes and you will hear the the Kalima from your heart’
Prophet Mohammad taught the hearts to recite the Kalima.
But why the clerics and the leaders of the religious institutions today have not adapted this custom into their characters?
The custom of making the hearts recite the Kalma.
The custom of growing a beard, wearing a turban and eating sweets are all common
but what about the custom of reciting the Kalma with the heart?
When we ask this question, they say ‘These people are disbelievers and they are misguided!'
'They are paid by the Jews. They don’t even have a beard, they look like Jews and disbelievers.’
Alright, we may look like the Jews but we are talking about what God said.
What did Maula Ali say?
‘Do not look at the person, rather look at what he is saying’
And I am saying the truth from the Qur’an.
But this is a norm in our society and it is not confined to the mosque only, it is also the same in a temple.
The Swami and Pandit are just as big perverts as the scholars.
But they hide under the banner of religion.
Do not think the Swami and Pandit are any less than a scholar, they are all the same.
The difference is that one carries out immoral acts in a mosque and the other in a temple.
Only the buildings are different.
The devil occupies the heart of both the scholar and the pandit.
Once both of their hearts are purified with God’s name then the divine energy will refrain them from immorality and wrongdoings.
For instance, if you have diabetes, then your sugar levels will go high
but as soon as you take insulin and it goes inside, the sugar levels will be controlled.
Similarly, you are suffering from the illness of the devil but as soon as you are given the dose of divine light into your heart, the devil will leave.
You need this antidote.
This is why all your performances of Salat are going to waste.
People continue to go on pilgrimage.
In Pakistan, Haji (one who completes the pilgrimage) is a nickname given to thieves.
When they see a thief, they say, ‘Haji Sab, come here.’
But pilgrimage is a great deal in the religion.
According to a Prophetic tradition,
if the pilgrimage is accepted by God then all your previous sins are forgiven and you become are pure as a newborn.
But we have made a joke out of pilgrimage.
What are the commandments and prerequisites before pilgrimage?
To have a lawful earning
and not to bribe, swindle, commit fraud or deceive people by showing one thing and selling another.
But they make an earning by these unlawful means and then go on pilgrimage with the same money.
Can performance of such pilgrimage be accepted?
Ironically, today in mosques, they only speak about worldly affairs and politics;
the clerics only throw dirt at each other from the pulpit of the mosques.
Why?
Because the clerics seated on the pulpit of the mosques have the devil in their hearts and the mosque is built on unlawful money.
There is a place in Karachi called Kala Pul.
It is a very nice and posh area and there is a big mosque there called Masjid e Tuba.
It is a spectacular mosque.
In the month of Ramadan during Shabeena (completion of Qur’an), my father would take me there.
So I would go there with my father.
A long time passed and I met His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi and the teachings HDE Gohar Shahi entered my heart.
Then one day I went to Masjid e Tuba because I enjoyed going there as a child.
But this time during Taraweeh my heart was uneasy,
so I wondered what was wrong.
Upon enquiring, I found out that there was
This is in Gizri which is the topmost rich area in Karachi and even 30 years ago, every house was one billion rupees.
So I found out that this mosque was built by one man called Seth Abid and he was a big smuggler.
The mosques are built with unlawful money.
When they take donations in the mosque, do they also ask if those earnings are by lawful means?
When I lived in Manchester, there was a mosque called Victoria Park Mosque and I went there for Salat.
The clerics there would talk about such things and mention prophetic traditions that
There were men in the lower level of the mosque and women in the higher level.
They would try to convince people to aid in building mosques by saying that it is God’s home
and they would say things to forcefully convince women to donate their jewellery even if they didn’t have money.
They would make all the women emotional and the women would take off all their jewellery into those big containers for donation.
I swear by God’s name; I saw it with my own eyes
that after donating their jewellery, the women’s faces would be red with tears as they would leave.
They would forcibly make them donate their jewellery.
If the mosques are built in such a way
How should it have been?
At least ask before building a mosque if that money is lawful or not.
But does any scholar ever ask?
So even our mosques are built with unlawful money.
Our pilgrimages are made with unlawful money.
Neither our pilgrimage is accepted nor our Salat.
We are just so-called Muslims making a mockery out of the religion.
Both the public and the clerics are alike.
But it is the reputation of the religion of Islam that is damaged.