Harm To The Seeker When He Regrets About The Past

Hadrat Thānwī rahimahullāh said: There are three things which are always troublesome:

1. Regret over the past.
2. Doubts about the present.
3. Fear about the future.

Harm to The Seeker When he Regrets About The Past

My Hadrat said: “Regret over the past causes the seeker to grieve.” In other words, when he errs, he must seek forgiveness and move ahead. For example, if your hands get dirty, wash them with soap.
Do not sit and cry, do not ask yourself why they got dirty.

If you have salāhs and fasts which you missed in the past, or you have obligatory dues which you owe to people, you must start making up for the missed salāhs and fasts, and start paying your dues. As long as you do not make up or obligations are not paid, you cannot tread the path of righteousness in the correct manner.Hadrat Hājī Muhammad Sharīf Sāhib rahimahullāh said: “The essential striving of a seeker has to be on the present. He must be conscious of the present under every condition. In other words, he must constantly check whether his present life is lived with good deeds or in sin. He must continue expressing gratitude over good deeds and seek forgiveness over sins. An elder says: “Hand over the future to the affectionate Master [Allāh ta‛ālā]. We are not accountable for what is going to happen in the future.”

Maulānā Rūmī rahimahullāh said: “The past and future are veils from Allāh ta‛ālā.” Hadrat Thānwī rahimahullāh said that even if thirty years of your life have passed, you must repent today, and start making up for your missed salāhs and fasts. If you do this, your thirty years will also be recorded as good deeds. You will not be considered to be righteous from now, but will be recorded as a righteous person from the beginning.

The Way to Action

A Hadīth states:

Be conscious and mindful of Allāh ta‛ālā, you will find Him in front of you.

Hadrat Hājī Imdādullāh Sāhib rahimahullāh used to ask his associates to meditate on the following when they were engaged in dhikr:

No matter in which direction you turn, it is there that Allāh is attentive. (Quran)

You must just continue with what you have to do, i.e. dhikr wa fikr. By dhikr we mean remembrance, and by fikr we mean a concern for rectification. In short, consider proximity to Allāh ta‛ālā to be your objective. Make a conscious effort to abstain from sins and do all good deeds by your will. If you commit any mistake, seek forgiveness. Do not fret over why it happened or why it did not happen. This is an excess and amounts to exceeding the bounds. Allāh ta‛ālā and Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‛alayhi wa sallam prohibited us from this.

Allāh ta‛ālā says:

Do not commit undue excess in your Dīn.
Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‛alayhi wa sallam said:

Allāh ta‛ālā makes it difficult for a person who imposes difficulty on his self.

Choose the middle way, seek ways of gaining closeness to Allāh ta‛ālā and remain steadfast.

Khitābāt Ihsāni – Shafīq al-Ummat Hadrat Moulana Shah Muhammad Farūq Sahib rahimahullah.