MUREED HANDBOOK

A Disciple's Guide
One who seeks to acquire the love of Allah (swt), and has joined a sufi order, is called a
mureed, sufi, saalik, disciple or spiritual seeker. We will use the word "mureed" on our site.

This website was developed to help Muslims, especially our mureeds, learn both the theoretical
and practical aspects of Sufism. As a general rule there are FOUR areas in which we expect our
Mureeds to take firm steps to establish:

1) Fulfill all duties outlined in Sharia; Salaat; Zakaat; Hajj etc

2) Practise the Sunnah of our Holy Prophet (saw)
3) Love & Hold Reverence for one's Sheikh
4) Perform Zikr as directed by one's Sheikh

The first two have been covered in Shairah: Islamic Law & The Blessed Sunnah The lower
two are specific to our Jamaat so we have included them within this section called the Mureed
handbook. Other mureeds may also find some of the information useful but is likely to benefit
our Mureeds more as this section includes Shijra Sharif and Khatam Sharif which is unique to
our Jamaat.

So if you are a mureed or wish to become a mureed and are interested in learning more about
what is to be expected of you, please take a look at this section.

Sufi Orders
As I'm sure you'll have understood from the Introduction to Sufism the path towards Allah
(swt) is based upon a purification process.

There are, as one might expect, many different types of purification processes. All based upon
the Remembrance of Allah (swt), Sharia, Sunnah, Discipline & Love.

Some of these purification methods became very popular and were replicated from generation
to generation of Sufi Masters which continue to this day.

These purification methods are known as Sufi Orders. There are four famous Sufi Orders
around the world and they were all named after the Sheikh who founded the purification
process.

The four famous Sufi Orders are:

 Qadiri: named after Hadhrat Sheikh Sayyid Abdul Qadir Jilani al-Hasanii al-Husainii
 Chisti: named after Hadhrat Khwaja Abu Ishaq Chisti made famous by Khwaja Muinuddeen
Chisti (Khwaja Gareeb Nawaaz)
 Soharwardi: named after Hadhrat Sheikh Umar Suharwardi &
 Naqshabandi: named after Hadhrat Bahawudeen Naqshabandi

The first three sufi orders, Qadiri, Chisti, Soharwardi trace their root back to Hadhrat Ali (r.a)
whilst the Naqshbandi Chain traces its root back to Hadhrat Abu bakr Siddiq (r.a).
 There are other numerous Sufi orders which are also valid and trace their way back to the Holy
Prophet (saw) but these four represent the most popular and the most well known. It should be
noted that all Sufi Orders, along with their respective Sheikh's who represent them, should be
respected and revered at all times..

We at Zikr.co.uk follow the Naqshbandi Sufi Order.

For informational purposes one should note that:

 From the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq to the time of Hazrat Bayazid Bustami this chain was
known as as-Siddiqia.
 From Hazrat Bayazid to the time of Syedina Abdul Khaliq it was called at-Tayfuria.
 From the time of Syedina Abdul Khaliq to the time of Hazrat Syedina Shah Naqshband it was
called the Khwajagaania.
 From the time of Syedina Shah Naqshband till now it is known as Naqshbandia.

The Naqshbandi Order pays close attention to observing the Sunnah and conforming to the
Sharia and lays a special emphasis on Silent Zikr, Meditation and Companionship of one's
Sheikh.

Effets of Companions
Suhbat or Companionship is of great importance within Islam.

By sitting amongst 8 types of people Allah Increases 8 Types of things.

Rich Love of the world & inclination towards it

Poor Thankfulness & Contentment
People of Authority Pride & Hard Heartedness
Women Ignorance, Sexual Desire & crooked thought
Boys Enthusiasm to play games & induldge in leisure activities
Sinners Bravery in committing sins & delay in repenting
Swaliheen Love & Desire to submit to Allah
Alims Knowledge & abstinence

Qualities of a Successful Mureed

The Successful Mureed

In order for a mureed to be successful he/she should adopt 20 key characteristics and qualities.
These are as follows:

1. Repentance
Repent sincerely for all those things, which are out of bounds of Shariat. Whichever stage the
mureed reaches he must bring repentance along with him because at each stage one commits
comparative amount of sins. Repentance is a very strong root.

2. Contentment
Be content and happy upon living on bare necessity. All extra wealth in your possession should
be distributed to those in need or put in the khidmat of one?s sheikh to utilise the wealth on his
mureeds.
3. Isolation
Often remain in isolation and keep your heart distant from those immediately surrounding you.
I.e. do not let your heart incline towards family and friends.

4. Firm & Correct Belief

Believe firmly in your Sheikh as being the best for you. Believe all that which is required from
you in Islam. Stay away from bid?at and all those things which are outside shariat.

5. Abstinence
Abstain from all things which are not lawful. Be very careful about what you eat and what you
wear. Do this enthusiastically and do not discontinue this once you?ve started.

6. Patient
Be patient upon all orders given to you by your sheikh and be patient upon all difficulties that
approach you on this path.

7. Resilient
Do not be soft with your Nafs. Constantly battle with it and never fulfil its wish. Nafs is like a
hungry lion. If you feed it, on having gained strength it will eat you too.

8. Brave
Be brave in fulfilling all orders in Islam and all orders given to you by your Sheikh. Do not be
afraid of shaitan or nafs in their tricks to frighten you away from this path or away from fulfilling
any order given to you.

9. Generous
To be successful in this path one must be generous. Miserliness forms a very thick Veil between
yourself and your goal. One must be ready to give away your life and wealth in this path.

10. Just
Fulfil everyone?s rights according to their prominence. Be fair with everyone and let no one
have to take justice from you.

11. Truthful
Be steadfast in telling the truth. Be truthful to Allah and to Allah?s creation and stay well away
from lies and deception. Do not do anything secretively and whatever you do, do it solely for
Allah.

12. Knowledgeable
Learn enough to spend your daily life in the way shown to you by Islam. Abstain from all that
knowledge which does not benefit you in all walks of life.

13. Humble
Be humble in each and every stage that you attain, as this is the key to success. Pg 307 fs

14. Sharp-witted
Be sharp witted and alert in doing Khidmat when following your sheikh. Be ready to carry out all
orders that your sheikh utters. And do not be afraid, even if you have to give your life.

15. Reprehensive
Be constantly reprehensive upon one?s own nafs. Think one-self as being the lowest of all
mureeds. Whatever deed one performs one must always think it as being negligible. Even if one
does not commit many sins, one must think oneself as a sinner.

16. Intelligent
One must be wise in performing all duties for his sheikh with the necessary aadabs. Do not use
your own intelligence to object to or criticise any of your sheikh?s actions, speech or
commands.

17. Respectful
Read and act upon all the etiquettes outlined and respect one?s sheikh to the best of your
knowledge.

18. Mannerly
Be cheerful and pleasant and approach all with good manners. Be polite and courteous to your
fellow mureeds. Do not put your workload upon anyone else. Keep away from pride & jealousy
and always be happy & ready to do your sheikhs khidmat.

19. Submissive
Place yourself in front of your sheikh like a dead body is placed in front his washer before burial.
I.e. let your sheikh do your islah as he pleases. Do not wish to have your islah done in the way
you want.

20. Entrusting to one?s sheikh

Never leave the company of your sheikh even if your sheikh has asked you to leave a thousand
times. Accept all trials and tribulations that come to you and do not become disheartened.

Stages of Degradation
Inorder to succeed on this path one's connection to one's Sheikh is of utmost importance. If your
connection begins to turn sour, so inturn your connection to Allah (swt) & His Rasul will turn
sour.

Seven stages of destruction for a mureed:

Objection
Blockade
Separation
Degeneration
Devastation
Contentment
Enmity

1. OBJECTION

If a mureed does any action or deed, which is disliked by the peer or is makrooh and the peer
turns his face away, in displeasure, from the mureed then this is the first step towards
destruction for the mureed. This step is called the Objection phase.

If the mureed realises his mistake, apologises and gives up the disliked action / deed then this
objection will lead the mureed out of destruction and into success & prosperity. The union of
peer-mureed will remain in-tact. If, on the other hand, the mureed persists on displeasing his
peer then he will fall into the second step called the Blockade phase.

2. VEIL

In this phase the mureed excludes him self from sitting in the presence of his peer. Hence a
virtual veil is formed in-between the mureed and his peer. If even upon this stage the mureed is
not sorrowful nor does he apologise then this will leave the mureed into the phase of separation.
3.SEPARATION

In this phase the peer him self will sever all connections with this mureed. If at this stage the
mureed is not vigilant then this will further lead him astray into the phase of degeneration.

4.DEGRATION

In this phase there will be a noticeable defect in the mureed?s optional worship, his zikr and
other waza?if taught to him by his peer. If at this stage the mureed still does not refrain from
displeasing his peer then the phase of devastation will become apparent.

5.DEVASTATION

In this phase the mureed will become very lazy in offering his obligatory prayers and his ability
to submit to Allah?s will, along with the sweet taste of submission, will diminish from within the
mureed?s heart. If the mureed at this stage does not repent then contentment will befall upon
him.

6.CONTENTMENT

In this phase there is no pain or remorse felt by the mureed on account of missing obligatory
prayers. On the contrary, the mureed?s heart is satisfied and content at this and at the
separation from his peer. If the mureed continues to dwell in this state of ignorance and laziness
then hostility towards his peer will grow within the mureed?s heart.

7. ENMITY

In this final phase the mureed will turn into a bitter enemy and will be a hostile enemy towards
his peer.

May Allah (swt) save us all.

Principle Etiquettes
The External Etiquettes are as follows:-

Heading towards one's sheikh:

Make wudhu

Wear clean clothes

Apply attar (perfume) onto your clothes before going to visit your sheikh's

When entering your sheikh's abode you should make no prior intention of leaving.

Turn off your mobile phone / pager / watch alarm before sitting in your sheikhs gathering

Remove your shoes and socks before meeting your sheikh

On arriving do not stare in all directions looking for a space to sit. Instead sit wherever you find
available space
Sitting in the presence of one's Sheikh:

It is important for the mureed not to busy himself in respecting or honouring any other sheikh or
person in the presence of one's own sheikh.

Do not look at or sit in the presence of your sheikh without wudhu.

Do not sit in the shadow of your sheikh

Do not sit in a place where your own shadow falls upon your sheikhs' shadow or upon your
sheikhs' clothes.

Do not position your back towards your sheikh

Lower your gaze and sit in a humble position.

Do not fiddle with your feet or any other part of your body

Do not sit leaning against a wall or in any other laid back position.

Do not position your feet in the direction of your sheikh

Do not crack your fingers or make any other avoidable sound.

Do not play with your clothes or watch or any other item

Do not clean your nose in the presence of your sheikh.

Sit silently & listen attentively

Do not speak or respond to anyone

Free your mind from all worldly thoughts and allow faiz to enter your heart.

Whatever your sheikh utters, believe it to be 100% true

Do not object to any of his speech either by physical expression or by internal thought.

Commit to memory all that you learn and observe from your sheikh.

*Do not drink water in the presence of your sheikh

*Do not eat in the presence of your sheikh.

Before doing anything always ask permission from your sheikh

Turn your hearts attention wholly upon your sheikh

Walking with one's sheikh:

Lower your gaze and walk humbly behind your sheikh

Be alert and ready to remove any object in the pathway of your sheikh

Be ready to open any closed doors in the pathway of your sheikh

Do not walk on the shadow of your sheikh

When walking behind your sheikh, do not walk in your sheikh's footsteps

Do not walk in front of your sheikh or directly to his left or right side.

Speaking with one's sheikh:

If need arises to speak to one's sheikh, look for an appropriate time to speak. Do not disturb
your sheikh in the middle of his speech nor distract him if he is contemplating.

Speak when spoken to

It is important for the mureed not to utter something from the mouth which will nullify the bait
either by joke or by sarcasm

Do not raise your voice above the voice of your sheikh

Khidmat of one's sheikh:

In the Khidmat of your shike do not busy yourself with Zikr or Nafl prayers. Without first gaining
permission from your sheikh.

Cooking for one's sheikh:

Ensure you have wudhu before you begin to cook

Wash all utensils before using them to prepare food

Cook a simple dish both halaal and pure

Try to prepare or have a sweet dish or savoury for after the main course.

Items belonging to one's sheikh:

Do not use the items, utensils, towel etc of your sheikh

Do not wear your sheikhs' clothes, shoes, topi, etc without permission from your sheikh

Other important etiquettes:

Do not stand upon the prayer mat of your sheikh

Refrain from all those things, which your sheikh has prohibited for you

Do not position your back towards your sheikh

If you are not in the state of wudhu, do not look at your sheikh's face or sit in his presence.
Don't do your wudhu where your sheikh performs his wudhu

Do not position your feet in the direction of your sheikhs' house of residence.

Whatever emanates from your sheikh accept this to be the best even though it may look
externally not good.

Upon being questioned whom is your sheikh always give your own sheikhs name not a
prominent name within your silsila.

Whatever faiz you receive you must acknowledge that all the faiz has come from you own
sheikh.

If you are requested to become an imam then after salaat either offer a small prayer and
recourse back or better still recourse back and request your sheikh to make the prayer.

Do not sit with those who are enemies of your sheikh

.
Whatever you learn from your sheikh, on arriving home, note it down on a piece of paper

If a mureed happens to come across some water left by his peer, he should stand up and drink
it.

Seven Internal Disciplines

Discipline is of the utmost importance. There are two types of discipline relating to one?s
Sheikh, which the mureed must bring into existence:

i) Internal
ii) External.

In this section we will outline the Seven Internal Disciplines.:

1. Sit with your sheikh with sincere intentions and firm belief.
2. Listen to your sheikh?s speech attentively through the ears of your heart.
3. Keep any hidden issue about your sheikh concealed within yourself
4. Accept and be patient upon any expression or utterance that your sheikh communicates to
you.
5. Do not internally object to or criticise your sheikh for any of his actions, conduct or speech.
6. Seal your eyes from glancing at and your mouth from expressing any defects, in deed or in
character, within your sheikh.
7. Do not internally question or analyse any command given to you by your sheikh

Khatam Sharif
A Khatam Sharif is a fixed devotional prayer which consists of reciting Qur'an & Durood and
then conveying the blessings and rewards earned to the deceased Muslim Ummah. This is also
known as Isaale Sawaab.

The following represents our Khatam Sharif. It is recited by each individual in the zikr gathering
before the zikr begins. Once all have completed the recital they convey their deeds to one
indiviual, the Imam in the gathering, who is given the responsibilty of representing everyone.
The Imam then sends the rewards on behalf of everyone in the following manner.
A) He will recite Durood Sharif
B) Ask Allah (swt) for mercy & forgiveness for errors
C) Ask Allah (swt) to accept everyone's recitation and pass the reward onto:

1. Our Holy Prophet (saw)

2. His Noble Family
3. All the Sahaba-e-Karim (Companion of our Holy Prophet) & their following generations
4. All Awliya-Allah (Friends of Allah (swt)
5. All Ulema-e-Karim, Muhadaytheen, Mufassayrin (Alims, Scholars of Haidth & Scholars of
Qur'an)
6. Then mention any other person you know by name either member of your family, relative
or friend
7. All Ummah of our Holy Prophet (saw)
D) Read Durood once more and complete the dua.

In this manner the reward will be conveyed equally to millions of Muslim souls. They will all
receive equal reward & be very pleased with the offering. It is a small Khatam Sharif but the
rewards are great and numerous and everyone benefits.

This is our Khatam Sharif:

 Shijra Sharif

After one is initiated as a mureed, one's Sheikh will hand over a copy of the Shijra Sharif to the
mureed.

A Shijra Sharif contains the names of all the Friends of Allah (swt), in your chain, starting from
our Holy Prophet (saw) all the way down to your Sheikh.

It is by virtue of these Friends of Allah (swt) that you will receive spiritual faiz and barkah.

By virtue of the daily recitation of the Shijra Sharif, one's spiritual connection will remain afresh
and serve to create a sense of love for each of the Friends of Allah (swt) within the chain.

Also by reading one's Shijra often, one is repeatedly renewing one's Bai'at, reaffirming one's
convictions and displaying love for the Friends of Allah (swt), all of which bring great results in
this world and the hereafter. Rest assured, that by remembering the Friends of Allah (swt) you
are in turn being remembered and will remain in the protecting and affectionate spiritual gaze of
your Masters.

The following constitutes our Shijra Sharif, which should be recited by our mureeds, atleast
once a day. Preferably after Salaatul Fajr or after Salaatul Isha.