Habib Umar ibn Hafiz

Dowra 2007

Part five

Awarif al-Marif



They used to eat and start with Bismillah for the first morsel, then Bismillah Ar-Rahman for the second, then Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem for the third

To bring with three breaths

The sleep of a scholar is worship

Like the sleep of the faster

The most important thing about food that is halal

To partake in permissible food needs a lot of knowledge

Not just Bismillah and eat

Every tree in paradise says Subhanllah, La illah ila Allah, Allahuakbar – Praise be God’s, there is no deity except God, God is the greatest.

Wash your hands before food – this shows gratefulness and this will not prevent you from it later

As it states in the Quran, “If you are grateful, you will be given more.”

A date was found in the street the Prophet said, “If I was fearful that you were not alms I would’ve eaten you.” He gave it to his companions

When you eat say Bismillah – in the name of Allah

Don’t eat anything that you haven’t pronounced the name of Allah over

Imam Ghazali (may Allah be pleased with him) lived until he was 55 but benefited the Muslims immensely

When you are cooking pronounce the name of Allah

“I eat and I pray,” said Imam Sharwadi, this means his eating and prayer, he was in the same state – worship

Mention your Lord, mention Allah, mention the Prophet (Peace and blessings f Allah be upon him)

Use the supplications after you finish eating


Etiquettes of food

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) told Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), “Put salt in your food because it is a cure for seventeen illnesses.”

Its better to have many people eating

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) said, “The best of food is the one with the most hands.”

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) said, “I eat like a slave and I sit like a slave.”

When the companions would eat with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) they would wait until he would begin

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) said, “Eat, drink and give with your right hand because satan eats, drinks and gives with the left hand.”

To complain about food looses its blessing

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) said, “What a blessed sauce vinegar is, O’ Allah bless us by it, as it was the food of the Prophets before me, a house is not poor without it.”

The disobedient and the hypocrites are all Muslims, they are all Muslims

Habib Umar ibn Hafiz

Dowra 2007

Part six

18-07-2007



People should not boast about anything

Why are you boasting about a mosquito wing? All of what you have is less than the worth of the mosquito wing

You are boasting until you visit the grave

The value of someone is in what they are good at

The sources of boast are manners and knowledge

Most people are children, even if they are young or old

Even if they boast about their lineage this is just about earth and water

Don’t put clothes on a small child, that are like the clothes of people who oppress and don’t make them buy something that they will harm their neighbours with – expensive bike, toys

The Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “If you buy fruit, bring it into your home secretly or gift some to your neighbours.”

Don’t be a child whether you are young or old

Nothing is worthy of boast is Taqwa - piety

Don’t speak indecently, speech with is not appropriate, do not cursing others

Cursing means to banish, removing people from Allah’s mercy

The only who is out of Allah mercy is the one who received the message, rejected it and died

It is not permissible to curse anyone except if the have died upon disbelief or someone we have text that allows us

Why would you waste time cursing the devil? Praise Allah and you will be rewarded

Say Alhumdillah fills the scales

Don’t be someone who curses him openly and follows him secretly

Its better for you to refuse him

Keep your tongue busy – make it virtuous

Its better to keep your month closed

There are two sets of speech one is rewarded and one is punished

Do not lie, it’s a grave matter and it leads to corruption – it darkens the face in this word and the next

Don’t swear an Oath don’t say Wallah – I swear by Allah (or by the Quran)

Imam Shafi, said, “I never swore by Allah whether I was telling the truth or lying.”

Avoid theft and treacherousness

Children should be taught how stealing is bad, if small matters are overlooked then they will get worse when they grow up

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was about to punish a persons for stealing, the man said, “O’ Prince of the believers, forgive me this is the first time that I have stolen.” Umar said, “Allah does no not disgrace the servant for the first time, you have done it before.”

Stealing is disgrace in this world and the next

Never betray anyone

Don’t looking in their bag, room or house without permission

Leave their secrets don’t expose them, treacherousness

When someone looks around, he is giving you a secret

Don’t betray someone who betrayed you

Safety is in truthfulness

Work for your afterlife as you are going to die tomorrow and work for the dunya as if you are going to life forever - This means put of the dunya because you will not miss anything from it

Be avid about starting the prayer with the Imam

Greed is a type of insanity

Contentment is comfort and ease

The only thing a slave should be greed about is Allah, they should have a desire for Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala

When you take something with contentment it is blessed

Something taken in greed brings unease

Protect oneself from debate and see the merit in silence

You don’t curse women who are unclothed because you don’t know their end

Someone asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) teach me something that if I do Allah and the people will love me, He said, “Abstain from the world, Allah will love you, abstain from what people have, the people will love you.”

If someone curses someone it goes to heaven and then comes down to that person if it doesn’t stick to them and returns to the person who said it

If a person curses the world, the world says may Allah curse the one who disobeys his lord

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prohibited people from keeping cursed animals – because they would receive that curse

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “No one filled a worst vessel that the stomach.”

Someone who sleep with his hands are dirty then let him blame himself

He should be eat the same in a group as he is alone

Let him eat what is permissible

People who eat food from that they are not invited, he is eating haram food

Don’t look down on food that is given to them

If a person who knows that they will be pleased if you eat then

Its Sunna to accept an invitation

We have to act upon them

All your deeds are based upon the food that you have taken, much attention must be taken over food

It will be easy for you to worship

Leaving one morsel of food is beloved that worshipping in the night – this is to overcome your desire

The companions used to say, “We don’t know whose sin is worse, someone who looks down in what’s been to them and one looks down on what they have deems
It insignificant to give it to others.”

Servants should be fed from the food that they have brought or cooked

Use the sunnas of eating and drinking

Praise be to God who fed us, quenched our thirst and made us Muslims
Someone who said this, his previous sins were forgiven

Someone should remove the food that is still on their hands – let him wash it before he sleeps – he could be inflicted by something

Its offensive to swallow something that you removed from your teeth until you did it yourself

Filling the stomach with halal is the beginning of evils, how would it be with haram?

The Prophet Yahya (upon him peace) said to the Iblees, “Did you have any keys against me?” “Yes, once you ate extra dinner and were satiated then we made you miss the prayer.” “I will never eat until I am satiated after that.” Iblees said, “I will never give advice to anyone after that.”

Oh strange is the person who eats little with people and a lot at home, they are like show offs in their prayer

Someone who eats laughing is the same as person who eats crying

If the world was purely blood, Allah would keep what kept a believer alive permissible

Don’t give salam to someone who are eating because they might choke returning salams

If your invited its okay, give salam

If you have a good intention then its okay but otherwise avoid

A pious man light a thousand candles for his sons wedding, a man said, “O’ Sheikh maybe you have been excessive, all of these candles, only some would’ve enough.”
“Okay, blow out every candle that I lit for other than Allah.” He tried to blow out the candles and he couldn’t do it to a single one. He said, “Excuse me, I didn’t know your state with Allah, your candles I cannot blow or pat out.”

Ibrahim (upon him peace) once had a polytheist who pronounced the name of his gods over the food, Ibrahim (upon him peace) told him to go away and then Allah revealed to Ibrahim (upon him peace) that, “My slave came and you did not show him hospitably he disbelieves in me and I have not withheld food from him for one day and you cannot feed him for one day?” Ibrahim (upon him peace) called him back and told him he had been reproached by him and the man was amazed, “Your Lord who I reproached you on my account? I believe in him.”

Someone who walks to food that he was not invited to has eaten haram and harmed people

The host should bid the guest farewell

The man who owns the house should lead the prayer

The Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to bring what was readily available to his guests


Chapter 44

The reason for clothing is to cover the nakedness and protect oneself from the elements

Sufyan at-Thawri wore some clothes upside down and then he was told he was wearing it upside down – when he found it he refused to put it on the right way because his initial intention was to wear clothes for the sake of Allah, why should he change it for people?

Don’t we wasteful or excessive

Many of the pious would wear a patched garment to copy the Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

Habibs father had a tear on the back of his clothes, he said I don’t see it – in other words it didn’t concern him

The various aspects that are followed are to emulate those who preceded them

O’Allah do not make us weapons that will make us enemies to the nations and free us from servitude from other than you.

Habib Umar ibn Hafiz

Dowra 2007 Part four

Awarif Al-Marif



There are various meanings to the word slave (Abd)

Woe to slave of gold, silver coins, carpet and shirt

We can be slaves to the pious and knowledgeable, servitude to Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala is something else

Someone would say I am your slave to honour someone, this was a common usage in the Arabic language

Yusuf Al-Nabani said, “I am slave to the master of the prophets, I am a slave to the slave of his slave.”

If you think it means one thing then you will be confused

Leave confusion and be among the people of precision

When Yusuf (upon him peace) told the man to mention him to your lord – Idukur a’nd Rabuk – to the one who was released

Yusuf (upon him peace) used the word in a particular context

You also say Rab al-ushra – this is someone who look after the family

The word Rab – lord has 16 different means

Understand things in their context

Then you’ll be outside of the problem

This does not mean that they worship other than Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala

Someone brought one of these misunderstanding to a scholar, he said, “This is a bedioun understanding, don’t you have another understanding.”

Habib Umar ibn Hafiz

Dowra 2007 Part three

Awarif Al-Awarif


9th of Dhul-hijja, day of arafat, 10th of Muhraam are some extra fasts

Try not to leave the fasting of the three days in the month

Some people need extra fasting, this goes back to their guide

Some could be fasting outwardly for a love to be famous

Only the people of insight can understand this

Only Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala knows the intentions

To lick clean the bowl and your finger will bring wealth

Thank Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala for every last morsel

Don’t reject money for a desire to be known, the hidden desires are more dangerous that the physical desires

Don’t waste food, here we feed the leftover food to the animals

Every Sunna you follow raises you

The path of the majority is clear for everyone

The problem is constantly filling your stomach

There is nothing wrong with choosing food to maintain your health

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the Prophets (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) house there was small amount of milk given to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he told him to bring the people of the platform. Ten by ten people drank and seventy people drank from this and Abu Huraira was fearful he wouldn’t have anything. When the two of them remained the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Drink.” He quenched his thirst and drank more. “If I drank anymore it would come out of my fingertips.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) “Drink you were afraid that you wouldn’t get anything, now drink.” He drank more then Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) drank last

The people grieved for Jafir ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred in Mu’tar – he was concerned about the poor this was one of his attributes

Habib Umar ibn Hafiz

Dowra part two

Awarif al-Marif


Presence of heart is humility – in prostration

Abdullah ibn Hassan At-Tahr said, “Presence of heart in works is better that presence of heart in speech.”

Don’t be like someone who only understands his own experience – there was once a blind man who heard a sound and said is it like a rooster? He was able to see a rooster once and then was blind again, so he thought it was similar

Call Allah (Subhanu wa ta’ala) in accordance to your need, the nearest to him was the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

How was the presence heart of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when the Gnostics were given a piece

The world is folded up and vanishes when they prostrate, they think that they have plunged into the lowest depths of the earth

The Prophet and messengers (upon them peace) have different states

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is a clear light of guidance

Above every person with knowledge is a more knowledge person

He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) traversed the seven heavens, every place and station, he was above all on the night journey

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) soul is more vast than to be distracts by our current state

No one is like him in experience

He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is the sun of merit and they are the planets

All of the Messengers and Prophets, he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) he is above them

The one who made the night and day is one

The one who made tomorrow and today is one

These Gnostics have bodies in the world but souls elsewhere

Their whole bodies prostrate, every fibre of their being prostrates

If your heart prostrates you will be given a gift

They are the nation of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

The prayer is the accession

The final tasshudd – testification, is the place of returning to the created realm

Come to prayer and take your provision

Make a supplication after prayer

Make the supplication that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), “I have wronged myself much, no one else can forgive except you, forgive me and accept my repentance because you are all-forgiving and all-merciful.”

If you go up the stair say Allahuakbar (God is the greatest) and go down saying Subhanllah (Praise be God’s)

When people would reach high place they would say Allahuakbar

A village may not be punished because of the remembrance of Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala in it

Connect yourself to the believers

If you are connected to the believers then you’ll receive it but if your cell phone is out of coverage you won’t get it

Habib Umar ibn Hafiz

Dowra 2007 part one

Awarif Al-Marif


Be like the people and you will be like them

Don’t be enamoured by the closing of the disbelievers

Don’t turn you back to the Qibla when urinating

Do not relieve yourself in pathways, animals homes, etc

Go in with left foot

Step out from the bathroom with right foot

Clean yourself from filth in the toilet

When leaving you can say Gufrank – your forgiveness

Use the supplications when entering and leaving the toilet

Make wudu with all the sunnas

People eat off newspapers and then throw it away, it will have Allah’s Subhanu wa ta’ala name in it or Muhammads (peace and blessings be upon him), they shouldn’t do this

We need to learn manners

People should not throw schoolbooks into the bin during the summer breaks – why don’t we respect the words

Rest on the left foot in the toilet

Be silent – don’t talk to anyone

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prohibited talking whilst relieving oneself

Cough whilst in the toilet if someone is trying to get in

Be mindful of the drip of urine but don’t go to the extreme

Two men where punished in the grave because of not cleaning themselves properly after relieving himself and the other used to a talebearer

Most punishment of the grave is from this

Sa'ad ibn Muadh (may Allah be pleased with him) died, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood over said subhanuallah (praise be to God) repeatedly and then said Allah uakbar (God is the greatest), because the grave was tight, so he said subhanuallah repeatedly then Allah uakbar when it was opened

Don’t have misgivings

The key to prayer is wudu

If something is wrong with your key then you cannot open the door

It is also a key to touching the Quran

Wudu is a weapon for each believer

Even black magic doesn’t affect a person in wudu

Stay wudu as much as you can

The night journey indicates to the stations of the Prophets in them

Only the people of heaven will see Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala

Speaking to much in Allahs (Subhanu wa ta’ala) presence is not manners, as Musa (upon him peace) was commanded to speak

The manners of the knower of Allah, is the same as a repenter on his travels

Some of the knowers of Allah speak of high speech then said this is a language that we don’t even know

When a servant is closer to Allah he must have more manners, because of what he has been honoured with nearness

If he is in the kings land or palace or attend an assembly of the king must be better than those who don’t

When he comes to the house of king, he shows more manners likewise when he sees him, he must have more manners

When his station with Allah (Subhanu wa ta’ala) is increased then he must be better

We cannot understand this

His heart became like his body, his insight became like his eyesight

Even the one who runs the race and fails gets a booby prize because he has exhausting himself and Allah (Subhanu wa ta’ala) may bestow on his a favour

Allah (Subhanu wa ta’ala) gives and it is not from anything from the servants side, this is from Allah (Subhanu wa ta’ala) generosity

Their striving is the gift of the giver

Recognise the station of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him)

He revealed what he saw, his heart did not lie

He saw with his sight

Would you despite with him about what he saw?

O’ Allah fill our hearts with your and his love

“O’ Allah from what you have given me of goodness, I am still in poverty.” Said Musa (upon him peace)

Musa (upon him peace) said, “O’ my Lord from what you have given me of goodness, I am still in poverty.” He worked for ten years with Shuwaib and then Musa (upon him peace) was given Prophethood. Musa found sweetness when speaking to Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala about his staff

The supplication of Yunis (upon him peace) is, “There is no other deity except you and I was an wrongdoer.”

If you stand in front of the generous and admit your inadequacies you will get more

Isa (upon him peace) said, “If I said it, you would’ve known it.” When questioned

Ibn Al-Mubarak (May Allah show him mercy) said, “We more in need of a little manners than knowledge.”

Chapter 33

Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala praised the purity of the people of the raised platform - Suffa

They would not sleep in major impurity at night

They said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us purity

Someone said to Salman Al-Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him) “Your Prophet has taught you everything, even how to go to toilet?” He said, “Yes.”

The should not relieve themselves on solid ground, they should break up the soil

By doing these things, we draw closer to Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala even in this need we have to do

In all of these states we are connected to Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala

May Allah give us the best manners and make us upright

There was an aunt of two great Imams said to them when they were young said, “If you were careful of the manners of entering the bathroom, the light of knowledge would appear on your face.” By fulfilling all the Sunnas, people would be reminded of Allah when they were seen. Abdullah ibn Hussan At-Tahr and Tahr ibn Hussan At-Tahr

May Allah subhanu wa ta'ala revive these manners in us