With i’tikaf rapidly approaching, I thought it may be beneficial to share
some advice on how to benefit from these last ten days. I am not one to
impart advice, as I am the most in need of advice, but I thought I would
share a transcript of some of Shaykh Husain’s (db) words.
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*Advice from Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar (db)*
Gatherings as you were used to may not always exist. If you travel around
the country you’re not going to find many gatherings of this nature. These
are the things that have been planted in your backyard, and you have to
take advantage of it because just as people move things will move.
Opportunities are limited, and this is the time that you need to use
wisely. Don’t waste your time. Pick a corner in the masjid. Forget about
who else is here, and forget about what people are doing and what they’re
not doing. Absolutely focus on Allah (subhanahu wa ta‘ala). Make some kind
of permanent change. Make some kind of lasting change. Create some depth in
your exercises.
If you’re a hafiz or you’re trying to be a hafiz, sit down with the Qur’an
and just dig into it. You have your whole life to be able to stand up and
walk here and walk there and wonder what he’s doing and what she’s doing.
Dig into it, especially in these ten days. For the hafiz, he should be
revising the entire 30 ajza’ in these ten days. And for the one who’s
becoming a hafiz, he should complete everything that he has done up until
now in these ten days.
For any other endeavor for which you aim to achieve something, begin in
these ten days. If you want to develop some sort of deeper connection to
the sunnah, now is the time to start. Embed it into your schedule now. If
we can’t create the perfect schedule locked up in i’tikaf, cut off from the
world, when are we going to create the perfect schedule? We aren’t going to
do it when we leave here. If we can’t establish the awwabin prayer now, if
we can’t establish the tahajjud prayer now, if we can’t establish prayer
salah al-tasbih once in a while now, when are we going to do it? This is
the time we’re supposed to do it. Ramadan has made us soft. It’s removed
much of the mountain of sin that we brought with us, and in these ten days
we have the opportunity to establish a schedule. So take advantage of these
opportunities.
This is a clinic. A drug addiction clinic, because everyone brings their
addictions here. So whatever sin you may have been addicted to, make a firm
resolve to cut yourself off. And whatever acts of ‘ibadah you hope to
achieve outside of these ten days, begin to inculcate them into your
schedule in these ten days. Spend time in muraqabah. Spend time in the
adhkar. Learn the things that you’re supposed ot be reciting after wudu’,
after salah, how you’re supposed to make dua. Start embedding these into
your schedule.
For example, everyone should leave this gathering knowing the dua that you
make after wudu’. Everyone should leave this gathering knowing the dua of
Laylah al-Qadr, because you’re going to use it every single night. Everyone
should leave this gathering knowing the dua of entering and exiting the
masjid. These are things that we do regularly here. If we begin to practice
these things now, inshaAllah, they’ll become our partner outside of this
gathering.
So it’s in your court. This is not magic. It’s not that you just take a
wand and tap it on everyone’s head and everybody becomes perfect. You have
to make some niyyah. You have to make some effort. And then see where Allah
takes you. In these days, one step brings you very close to Allah. One tiny
step can take you very far in your spiritual journey. So dig deep. Dig
deep, inshaAllah.
Please make dua for me during these last ten days, and send this to anyone
whom you think may be able to benefit.
