Tareeqah Muhammadiyah
The Arabic word ‘Tareeqah’ means ‘path’ or ‘way’. ‘The
path or way of who?’ is given by the second word ‘Muhammadiyah’. Therefore,
Tareeqah Muhammadiyah basically means, ‘The Way of Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him)’. Tareeqah Muhammadiyah
is a practical course of self-purification for every
and any individual followed under the instructions of
a Guide Hazrat Ahmad Dabbagh (may Allah continue to shower
His infinite blessings upon Him).
The Spiritual Guide and teacher of Tareeqah Muhammadiyah
also uses the sunnat approach and techniques when a seeker
comes to him for guidance as do all the Misheikh (spiritual
masters) of the present and the past. Whether a person living
a sinful life in complete ignorance of religion or a
person who possess knowledge of Islam (alim) comes to
Him for self-purification, they will both be guided through the same
procedure i.e. Tareeqah Muhammadiyah.
Firstly, the Sheikh checks if their belief system is
correct. If not, He will present to them the solution
so that they can practically rectify their belief (aqeedah)
according to Ahl-sunnah-wal-jamaat (people who follow
the Prophetic way and the companions). Thereafter
the Sheikh instructs them to learn the basic fiqh (if they don’t
possess it already) according to the Hanafi school of
thought regarding the external practices of Islam. However,
if they follow any of the other three schools of thought
that is perfectly acceptable and the Sheikh will also
guide them in that.
Once they have familiarised themselves with the first
two most important components of Islam (i.e. aqeeda and
fiqh) the Sheikh will then initiate them onto a practical
course of self-purification (Tareeqah Muhammadiyah) enabling
them to save themselves from drowning in the sea of sins,
freeing them from the shackles of Shaytaan (Satan) and from the burning
fire of Hell. They are taught to rid them of their evil traits by replacing
them with the good and beautiful traits together with
the gradual implementation of Sunnah (prophetic practices) both inwardly
and outwardly. This
third part of Tareeqah Muhammadiyah is that which is
known as Tasawwuf.
Tareeqah Muhammadiyah is divided into four stages. Namely,
they are;
Stage 1) - Purification of the 7 Bodily Organs
Stage 2) - Purification of the Mind
Stage 3) - Purification of the Soul
Stage 4) – Enlightenment
Stage 1) - Purification of the 7 bodily Organs
This stage concentrates
on purifying the seven bodily organs by which the evil
of sin gushes forth. They are the ears, eyes, tongue,
hands, feet, stomach and the private parts. The seeker of self-purification
is firstly guided and shown how to abstain from the sins of only one
of these seven organs. He/she is given a sheet with a list of
all the sins of that particular organ. On the sheet there is a table.
The seeker will be required abstain from all the sins listed for 30
days in a row (consecutively). Each day they are successful, they
should place a tick in the boxes provided on the first row (1st attempt).
However, if one happens to commit a sin before the thirtieth day, then
he/she must re-start on their second attempt. This process is repeated
until the 30th day has been reached, by which time this particular organ
should be fully trained and purified. Thereafter, the Sheikh
will advise the seeker to abstain from another of the
7 named organs, following the same procedure, until all
seven are fully purified and the darkness of sin has
disappeared.
At each
sub-stage, the person is taught all the Islamic knowledge required to fulfil
the conditions. In other words, they are advised to read certain sections of
different books from which they will learn what actions and words are sins
and which are not. For example, ‘what is back-biting, slander, vain
talk, excessive laughter, fraud?’ etc The Sheikh gradually guides the
seekers into increasing their knowledge of Shariah (Islamic Divine law), as
a lot of this knowledge is compulsory. Otherwise, a person would not know right
from wrong and a sin from a righteous deed.
Stage 2) - Purification of the Mind
In
stage 2 the seeker is firstly trained to use two techniques to crush
the evil whispers from Shaytaan (Satan) and nafs (evil self); 1) seeking
refuge in Allah 2) using ones own will power to direct ones attention
away, preferably to Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu-alayhe-wasallam). This
is done until the seeker is habitual at refraining from intentional evil
thoughts and temptation in the mind and strives to think of good thoughts
such as Allah The Exalted, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon Him) and arkhirah (hereafter) etc. Finally the seeker
immerses them self in the remembrance of Allah (azzawajal) 24 hours
a day, all day so that he/she can attain the awareness of Allah The
Exalted in their daily lives, never to be absent from Him again.
Stage 3) - Purification of the Soul
In this stage
the seeker is taught both how to rid them self of the
bad and immoral traits as well as how to beatify their
inner self with the good and praiseworthy traits. As
either of these two is performed, their reverse automatically takes
place. For example, when a person tries to attain humbleness, its
enemies i.e. arrogance and pride automatically vanish from within
the person. Similarly, when one tries to rid
them self of jealousy, its rival, ‘to love for another what you
love for yourself ‘ is born within.
Stage 4) – Enlightenment
This stage is only for those who desire more closeness to Allah The
Exalted, however it is not a compulsory command of Shariat but is highly
desirable. From the view of Shariah only the first three stages are
compulsory, hence they are a sufficient means for a person to enter
paradise with the mercy of Allah The Most Merciful.
In this stage the seeker travels the path of love until
he/she annihilates them self in the love of Prophet Muhammad (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon Him). It is a requirement for perfection
of imaan (faith) to love Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon Him) more than everything in existence including oneself. Thereafter,
one tries to annihilate them self in the love of Allah the Most High.
It is at this point that one has submitted to the will of Allah, they
no longer have a will but it has become subservient to the will of Allah,
well pleased with His every decision.
Moreover, there is yet a further stage in which one’s inner self
is in complete extinction and absorption in the love of Allah and
Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon Him)
whilst ones outer self is in complete absorption in following
the sunnat (prophetic practices) of Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him). These are
the Saints, the Auliya (Friends) of Allah and those whom
Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him) love.
The Sheikh may also prescribe different Azkaar (deeds for remembrance)
to the seeker at each stage as he/she progresses to aid his/her purification
until the soul is decorated with all that pleases Allah (azzawajal)
and is free from all that Allah (Exalted be He) dislikes.
History of Tareeqah Muhammadiyah
Tareeqah Muhammadiyah is a spiritual order, which was initiated by
a great Saint, the Ghous of his time, Hazrat Sayidina Abdul Aziz Dabbagh
(may Allah shower his infinite mercy upon him) who lived approximately
270 years ago in the city of Fez, Morocco.
For more or less than twelve years Sayidina Abdul Aziz
Dabbagh (may Allah shower his infinite mercy upon him)
was in search for that Friend of Allah who could guide
Him to the nearness and love of Prophet Muhammad (may
Allah’s peace and blessing be upon him)
and Allah The Exalted and Glorified. He travelled long distances
visiting many different sheikhs (spiritual masters in
the field of self-purification) of His time, sincerely
acting upon all that they instructed but to no avail.
Then one day He visited to the local cemetery and sat
next to the grave of a saint. A person sitting in the
shade of a tree called Sayidina Abdul Aziz Dabbagh (may
Allah shower his infinite mercy upon him) to himself
and began to talk about things that Syidina Abdul Azeez
Dabbagh (may Allah shower his infinite mercy upon him) yearned for. He continued talking for a long period of time. Eventually
he gave Sayidina Abdul Aziz Dabbagh (may Allah shower his infinite mercy
upon him) a supplication to recite. This blessed saint who gave
the supplication was none other than Hazrat Khidhr (may
Allah be pleased with him) and through the blessings
of this supplication Tareeqah Muhammadiyah was initiated.
All the blessings
and illumination of this tareeq comes directly from
Sayidina Abdul Aziz Dabbagh (may Allah shower his infinite
mercy upon him) and from Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and
blessings be upon him) through the current Master of
the Tareeq Hazrat Ahmad Dabbagh (May Allah continue to shower
His blessings upon Him).
What is the Objective of Tareeqah Muhammadiyah?
Firstly, every
type of worship in Islam consists of two forms, the
outer form (the body) and the inner form (the spirit).
The latter is the true essence of the worship and where
the true benefit lies. Every
act that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings
be upon him) performed consisted of these two forms.
The seeker
is trained firstly to adopt the outer form of that worship e.g. salaat (prayer). Only
when the seeker has remained steadfast he/she is taught how to perform the
salaat (prayer) inwardly i.e. with the spirit and the prayer of the spirit
is never rejected by Allah (azzawajal). There are different degrees or
levels of the inward worship. The higher the level one attains, the more
the person resembles the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings
be upon him) and through this he gains His love and nearness. Therefore,
the Sheikh of the tareeq gradually decorates the seeker with the inward and
outward Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings
be upon him).
The
goal or objective of the tareeq (course) is none other than The Pleasure of
Allah by helping the seeker to follow the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon Him) for the full twenty-four hours of the day both inwardly
and outwardly,
until his/her entire life is spent
and lived in the obedience and love of Allah and His
Messenger (may Allah’s peace
and blessings be upon him).
The objective of the tareeq (course) is also prayed for
in the supplication given to Hazrat Sayidina Abdul Aziz
Dabbagh (may Allah shower his infinite mercy upon him)
by Hazrat Khidhr (upon him be peace). The summary of the meaning of the supplication is that
Allah The Exalted by His Grace and Mercy brings us close to the Messenger
of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) in this
world before our death. The word ‘close’ means in every
aspect of the way of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace
and blessings be upon him) such as His eating, His drinking,
His sleeping, His interaction with people, His business
transactions, His entire life for ‘He is the best of example
for the whole of mankind’. And
Allah says to Him in the Holy Qur’an, ‘Verily You [O
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him)]
are On an Exalted standard of character’.
So
the purpose of the Tareeq is to become a perfect
embodiment of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon
him)………nothing beyond.
