Rules or Etiquette after Worship and Prayers. By Hazrat Shahidullah Faridi.rh.

Extracts from Hazrat Shahidullah Faridi Rh.'s Discourses printed in Urdu  Book, "Malfuzat e Sheikh" published in 1996 Savera Art Press. Lahore.

Rules or  Etiquette after
Worship and Prayers.
By Hazrat Shahidullah Faridi.rh.
1st. August. Sunday.1976.

A person inquired about some rules Hazrat Saheb had mentioned following the Halqa ?

Hazrat Saheb said," yes, I have been wanting to speak about it. It is very essential subject."
He continued,"that the Quran has one Ayat/verse about women should stay home. Meaning not to roam around unnecessarily they should listen to words of wisdom and knowledge spoken around them in their homes.

It meant that their menfolk who had been with Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)or with friends and learnt and gained knowledge ... It was their duty to Inform those in their home and family. So women can hear  the same in this manner.  As women cannot attend these meetings all the time.

Now a days i think this is rare. The men do not
go home and convey anything they have learned to  those at home. They do not realize that it is their duty to and responsibility to guide their children and relatives and keep them on the right path.

Not being aware of this responsibility is the reason, today, people complain that people are moving away from religion and the youth  are giving up religion. This is the reason there is no other cause for it.

Young people follow whatever their elders teach them to do. They are just a page like a clean slate, whatever is written on it will remain and continue to be written...whatever shortcomings they have is on our account.

It is because people do not realize their own shortcomings or faults and feel that the youth have become distant from us... The fact is there was a concealed fault in us that is why they have become far from us, except for a few exceptions...generally this is the reason."

Continuing his Talk Hazrat Saheb said, "you had asked about rules after Halqa...these rules are  not for just after Halqa but after every kind of worship.
It is so, as when a person turns towards Allah our hearts have like two windows or two powers. One power turns us towards Allah and the second power turns us towards the world.

So when the power turns us towards Allah - this power turns the whole heart towards Allah it is not like only one part of the heart has turned to Allah but the whole heart has been towards Allah. Then the special radiance/light that your heart receives due to your worship, zikr, meditation, or reading the Quran any kind of worship - this light is produced in your Qalb/ heart is in proportion to your concentration, your capability - this light/ radiance is absorbed by the heart/qalb.

This is a very special and important development.
After this meaning immediately after being absorbed in any worship a person involves himself In worldly and or unessential conversation or doing something not required right then...then what happens is this light this radiance gets dispersed, gets lost. One feels uneasiness...after being absorbed in/ with Allah then the next instance to be involved in worldly affairs. 

This produces a restlessness and uneasiness and this disperses the radiance and light so he is unable to absorb the merits/blessing of his worship it is like when one eats food one needs some time to digest it...this is a physical deed and that is a spiritual deed but it has some similarity. Even spiritual nutrition/ intake needs time for  digestion.


That is the reason,for example the Zikr Halqa.
It is a special purpose with great effort and arrangements one must turn our attention to Allah. Your heart must concentrate fully on Allah. For this the lights are turned off ...so that seeing something may produce distracting thoughts ... there is complete silence. Eyes are kept shut. Everything that helps in concentration is observed then Allah's name is taken and one makes effort not to allow any other thoughts to come.

When all this care is taken it will turn your heart towards Allah and your heart will receive the light.

After this if people start/ get involved in general/common conversation or ordinary tasks as if nothing special has just been experienced or done. They do not feel the importance of this worship...then the benefits of this decreases - they are unable to absorb the light/radiance and only small or little benefit remains. In fact it becomes an insult a discourtesy of not accepting the radiance...you commit an offence. 

That is why it is very essential that at such worship like Zikr Halqa one must try to preserve....hold on to the radiance the heart has received.
The Saints have said this radiances/ light are like delicate VIP (very important persons) guests / visitors who will leave if the environment is not up to their standard/status.

These radiances are spiritual these too are very
Sensitive - if anything is contrary to their liking ....they leave instantly. That is why the Zikr Halqa is held after Magreb after which in  little time it is time for Isha  so one must try to preserve/ hold on to this bounty /blessing until night. So do not involve yourself in worldly tasks unnecessarily. Any task you have to attend to...should be where your heart is doing Allah Allah and your hands are involved in this worldly task/ work. As the saying:" heart with the Friend and hands at work"

Actually this condition should be constantly present normally...but must be practised particularly after special worship... The purpose being that you achieve that  permanent way of remembrance. In fact all zikr and prayers moraqibas/ meditations are practised in order to make it/this remembrance a permanent condition in us.

As this is achieved with great effort and difficulty.  The second stage of achieving this condition is that the times we neglect to remember Allah then at least  at other times we learn to concentrate and be turned towards Allah fully . So it is necessary that we do not forget what  and that  we were  absorbed in and these divine names and words which are recited in zikr should continue to resound in your heart like an echo ... until night.

This is the reason why i feel that  people should not  come to me immediatley after the zikr and say to pray for their child's exam or this and that. those things go on continually, annually six monthly...these general problems have existed since the creation of Hazrat Adam  (elsm). all such problems are  included in the dua we do after the zikr. The purpose of holding the halqa is obviously not for solving peoples worldly problems but evidently this happens too.

when Prophet Muhammad arrived, to teach Islam, to call people towards Allah, the purpose was not to solve people's worldly problems. It was to solve their afterlife problems but at the same time dua/praying for that too is done.

Spirituality also has worldly blessings. the dua after the halqa, "Rabbana atena fi dunya hasanatun wa akhiratun wa qina azabinnar "
this too is recited , so if someone makes the intention that all their  problems are included in this  - the worldly problems and the hereafter's then there is no need for any more.. that time is a very blessed time...so many words have been recited so much attention has been turned towards Allah.

Allah Himself has said, " at the time when someone does my ZIKR, I AM WITH THE PERSON" I AM SITTING WITH THE PERSON" IT IS IN THE HADEES. another hadees says that the angels cover with their wings the gathering  of people who are doing zikr . another saying is Allah says He is with those who are remembering Him.

Both these sayings are worthy of attention...It is a very blessed time, especially when prayer for the good of this world and the Hereafter is recited...there is full hope of acceptance of the dua/request .
End.