Compiled by some brothers who went to visit Hazrat Sufi Sahib (daamat barakatuhum)

Hazrat Sufi Tahir sahib was asked about how a person can gain riḍā bi’l qaḍāʾ (being pleased with Allah’s decree). He said it’s very easy: just realize that Allah is your friend. Always repeat that to yourself, that Allah is my friend. Then it’ll automatically come to your heart, that anything Allah decrees for us is good for us, whether we can see it or not. He was then asked, what if a person is sinful; can he still think that Allah is my friend? He said yes, because to some degree every believer shares in friendship with Allah, and even if Allah does something to bring that person closer to Him, this itself is a huge gift from Allah. So there’s never a situation in which Allah’s decree isn’t good for us.

Someone was requested to recite Qur’an in the gathering. After listening to the recitation, Hazrat Sufi Sahib said, “MashaAllah he recites with dard (pain/emotion)” (indicating that the Qur’an should be recited while pondering over its meanings). After the recitation, the person reciting expressed embarrassment for having to recite in front of the Shaykh, given the Shaykh is so much his senior. Hazrat Sufi Sahib responded that there is nothing to be embarrassed of in this regard: we are all equally in need of the Qur’an. It is the source of guidance for all of us, whether senior or junior, and it should be recited in our gatherings, even to scholars, no matter how senior. 

The Shaykh was asked about the difference between the spiritual path of Hakim al-Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (rahmatullahi alayhi) and that of Hadrat Shaykh Mawlana Zakariyya (rahmatullahi alayhi). The Shaykh said that the basic difference is that Mawlana Thanawi’s tariqa places a very strong emphasis on actively rectifying ḥuqūq al-ʿibād (the rights of others and the duties we owe them), while Mawlana Zakariyya’s path focuses on dhikr (Allah’s remembrance), and using excessive dhikr as a means to gradually rectify these behaviors in an indirect manner. 

When discussing differences between the Chishti and Naqshbandi paths, he said ultimately most people can benefit from either path. Sometimes someone pursues his sulūk in one path, but his inner condition might be closer to another path — and that’s okay. Hazrat Sufi Sahib mentioned that his father, Hadrat Mawlana Ismail Wadee (rahimahullah), had khilafa in both paths: in the Naqshbandi path from Hadrat Mawlana Ghulam Habib, and in the Chishti path from Hazrat Mawlana Abrar Ahmad Dhulyawi (khalifa of Qari Tayyib) – rahmatullahi alayhim. Hazrat Mawlana Abrar Sahib would say that even though Hazrat Mawlana Ismail Sahib became famous as a Naqshbandi shaykh and primarily instructs on that path, on the inside he’s actually of Chishti temperament. 

The Shaykh was asked about the tarbiya approach of his father, the well-known saint Hadrat Mawlana Ismail Wadee. He said his father was very soft and approached everyone with kindness. Even with his own children, he would never force them or compel them to do anything, but instead he would say, “I rely more on du’a than compulsion.” Someone commented that it’s a miracle of his father that so many members of the family eventually became renowned mashayikh. He smiled and responded that alhamdulillah all the siblings have memorized the Qur’an.

Sufi sahib was asked if he had seen Hazrat Mawlana Ghulam Habib (rahmatullahi alayhi), his father’s shaykh. He said yes, he saw him on multiple occasions. He mentioned that Hazrat Mawlana Ghulam Habib Sahib had very strong nisbah. He was asked what nisbah means in this context. Hazrat Sufi Sahib said it means a connection with Allah. He was then asked how a person gains nisbah. He said from one perspective it is a gift from Allah. However, there are also means that a person must undertake to try to achieve this nisbah, such as excessive dhikr and worship.

Hazrat Sufi Sahib has a strong appreciation of Sayyids (those who descend from the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). He said Hazrat Mawlana Yunus Jaunpuri (rahmatullahi alayhi) would say about Hadrat Mawlana Qari Siddiq Ahmad Bandwi (rahmatullahi alayhi) that the reason his efforts gained so much acceptance and had so much effect is because he combined two things: he was a Sayyid and he was a friend of Allah. Together this is a very powerful combination.

Hazrat Sufi Sahib mentioned that he was born in Madagascar, where his father was an Imam for about 21 years before moving to the UK. He said he recently visited Madagascar after a long time and much had changed from the days of his childhood. Where previously there were no masajid, now there are multiple. Many of the native people are coming into Islam, alhamdulillah.

The Shaykh emphasized the importance of Tabligh work for everyone. He said his father also used to go into jamaat, typically into the rural parts of Madagascar where there were many Muslims but many of whom were still new to the faith. His father used to spend considerable effort to try to revive Deen in these communities.

Hazrat Sufi Sahib was asked about how do we reconcile between hope and despair: sometimes we hear good news like what’s happening in Madagascar, yet at the same time we witness the weak state of Muslims everywhere. He responded that from a certain perspective we always maintain hope: we know that Islam will continue to spread, so we should never feel discouraged about that. At the same time, the more we move away from the time of the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), it’s to be expected that the quality of our religiosity decreases, even if our numbers increase. 

Hazrat Sufi Sahib was asked about what he is teaching this year at Darul Uloom Bury. He responded that he is teaching hadith: Bukhari and Tirmidhi. He was then asked if he is teaching anything else, he said he is also teaching Tafsir al-Jalalayn. He was asked if there was anything else. He said he is also teaching Hidayah (advanced Hanafi fiqh). Someone asked how the Shaykh was able to teach so many different subjects (tafsir, hadith, fiqh) at a high level (each of which requires specialist knowledge of that subject). He said (out of humility) that actually knowing all these subjects is difficult to do, but I merely dabble in these fields without actually knowing them; that’s why I’m able to do all these subjects together.

Hazrat Sufi Sahib was asked if it’s better to specialize in one ‘ilm or to branch out across all the ‘uloom. He said it’s good to study all the ‘uloom at the beginning to gain munasabah with every ‘ilm. But at some point people must specialize, because each field is an ocean that easily takes a lifetime.

Someone requested that the Shaykh travel to Hijaz as well as to other Western countries, such as the US, so that ‘ulama in these various places can benefit from him. He said I won’t be able to benefit anyone in anything, but I would love to go to learn from the scholars in these places.

The Shaykh was asked about why the state of Islam in Britain seemed to be better off than Islam in America. He said one reason might be that the people who came to Britain were poor and uneducated, while the people who went to America were well-off. Those who were uneducated were therefore willing to listen, while those who are well-off tend to be arrogant and would refuse to listen to ‘ulama. He said what America needs right now is the start of a proper maktab system. He emphasized the importance of the maktab system: even if students don’t end up memorizing the details of fiqh, at the very least they gain a crucial foundation in ‘aqidah (Islamic beliefs).

To a student who had studied parts of the Dars Nizami, but still had a couple of books as well as the dawrat al-hadith left, the Shaykh encouraged him to complete the remaining books and also to enroll in the dawrah. He said you could read the ahadith on your own, but there’s a lot of barakah in the sanad that you gain from the dawrah, so it’s important to try to do that wherever it might be possible for you to do. 

Someone in the gathering didn’t yet have a Shaykh and asked for any dhikr to do in the meantime. Hazrat Sufi Sahib prescribed reciting Surah Ikhlas 100 times each day, and to send salawat on the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) also 100 times a day.

May Allah Ta’ala lengthen Hazrat Sufi Sahib’s shadow over the Ummah with aafiyah and health, and allow us all to benefit from him. Amin.