Week 49: Read: Let’s start our next book, He who Knows Himself Knows His Lord. Start on page 5 and read to page 16. (10 pages) Also read Khalwah Prayer Retreat.
Pick one Quality daily at random. If you have a Qualities book, just let the book fall open to a page. If you don’t have a Qualities book, print out the list of all the Qualities and with your eyes closed just let your finger slide down the list until you feel like you should stop. Once you have the Quality for the day, reread that Quality’s description and then work with it throughout the day.
Write: Next we are going to write the last 6 pages of the Wazifa explanation from Music of the Soul. Write both the transliteration and the English translation when a line from the Wazifa is given. Write to the end of the explanation. Good job! This prayer can take you deeply into the soul stations, so be sure to sit with each line after writing it.
New Practice: Continue to do Wudu and Ghusl regularly. Do wudu after getting up in the morning. Stay in wudu throughout the day. Continue to do all 5 prayers daily. Be sure to Google for the proper time windows to do each of these prayers. Add doing the Tawba Process to your daily remembrance. Add getting up in the middle of the night to pray. The best time is between 2-3 AM. The veils are the thinnest then. See if you can find a local Sufi group to do group dhikr with.
Now begin to ask Allah for guidance before making decisions. Set your intention of wanting guidance about what to do regarding a particular matter. Sit in Remembrance for about 30 seconds. Receive the answer/guidance through the eye of your heart, not your mind. Make it a habit to ask for guidance before making most of your decisions.
Each time you notice someone while working or running errands, silently send them a blessing. Just say Bismillahi-r-rahmani-r-rahim (In the name of Allah Most Merciful and Compassionate) in your heart on their behalf. Especially do this if you are having a difficult time containing someone. I also do this for the dead animals I see along the road when driving.
Since you read about the Khalwah, it would be good to do a khalwah. They don’t happen very frequently in the community, usually only at Sufi Schools with Sidi or at USHS. You can still opt to do one on your own. If you choose to do one by yourself, do 500 repetitions of each of the 3 main lines in the al-Wird. Make sure to do two rak’ah of salat after completing your 500 reps before moving to the next line. Finish by gazing at the name of Allah, with eyes open, then eyes closed, for 30 minutes. If you have questions about this practice, shoot my an email and I’ll do my best to help.
Please check at USHS to see if they are offering any khalwahs for the community. They have provided a printout of the khalwah-instructions.
Recite: Recite the Du’a with the 99 Qualities and the Du’a from the 6th Door every Thursday and Sunday evening (anytime after maghrib until fajr). Sit in Remembrance for 20 minutes daily. Continue to recite the Fatiha every time you are consciously choosing to take an action. Recite the Wird once a day. Recite the Qualities over your food while you are eating it, while taking a shower, or brushing your teeth. Add some form of Remembrance while driving/commuting/running errands. The point is to stay connected in every moment of the day. You are moving to have every breath for and with Allah.
Recite the Quality you picked randomly 100 times. How has you understanding and experience of this Quality deepened since you worked with it the first time?
Recite the Prayer of Gratitude for 5 minutes each morning.
Prayer of Gratitude
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, Shukran Allah, la illah ila allah, Allahu akbar – Praise to God, Thanks be to Allah, There is no God but God, God is the Greatest.
Repeat over and over again like a mantra.
Week 50: Read: He who Knows Himself Knows His Lord. Start on page 16 and read to page 26. (10 pages) Also read Al Ikhlas.
Pick one Quality daily at random. If you have a Qualities book, just let the book fall open to a page. If you don’t have a Qualities book, print out the list of all the Qualities and with your eyes closed just let your finger slide down the list until you feel like you should stop. Once you have the Quality for the day, reread that Quality’s description and then work with it throughout the day.
Write: We are going to start writing the stations again. This time from He Who Knows Himself, Knows His Lord. Write the first station, the Commanding Nafs, an-nafs al-ammarah. How is this description/transmission different than in Music of the Soul or Path to Allah?
New Practice: Continue to do Wudu and Ghusl regularly. Do wudu after getting up in the morning. Stay in wudu throughout the day. Continue to do all 5 prayers daily. Be sure to Google for the proper time windows to do each of these prayers. Add doing the Tawba Process to your daily remembrance. Add getting up in the middle of the night to pray. The best time is between 2-3 AM. The veils are the thinnest then. See if you can find a local Sufi group to do group dhikr with.
Now begin to ask Allah for guidance before making decisions. Set your intention of wanting guidance about what to do regarding a particular matter. Sit in Remembrance for about 30 seconds. Receive the answer/guidance through the eye of your heart, not your mind. Make it a habit to ask for guidance before making most of your decisions.
Each time you notice someone while working or running errands, silently send them a blessing. Just say Bismillahi-r-rahmani-r-rahim (In the name of Allah Most Merciful and Compassionate) in your heart on their behalf. Especially do this if you are having a difficult time containing someone. I also do this for the dead animals I see along the road when driving.
Recite: Recite the Du’a with the 99 Qualities and the Du’a from the 6th Door every Thursday and Sunday evening (anytime after maghrib until fajr). Sit in Remembrance for 20 minutes daily. Continue to recite the Fatiha every time you are consciously choosing to take an action. Recite the Wird once a day. Recite the Qualities over your food while you are eating it, while taking a shower, or brushing your teeth. Add some form of Remembrance while driving/commuting/running errands. The point is to stay connected in every moment of the day. You are moving to have every breath for and with Allah.
Recite the Quality you picked randomly 100 times. How has you understanding and experience of this Quality deepened since you worked with it the first time?
Recite the Prayer of Gratitude for 5 minutes each morning.
Prayer of Gratitude
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, Shukran Allah, la illah ila allah, Allahu akbar – Praise to God, Thanks be to Allah, There is no God but God, God is the Greatest.
Repeat over and over again like a mantra.