It is the Proximity to Allah swt that matter in the end

It is the Proximity to Allah swt that matter in the end

To senior students, his words are more thought provoking.  One of his students recalls, “I remember once when I was accompanying him from his house to the mosque where he led the prayers.   

Ayt Behjat turned to me and asked:  “A student starts with “muqaddamat” (introductory lessons) and then studies the “ma’alim” and “mughni” and then where does he go next?”  I said, “lum’ah”.  He asked, “then what?”  I said, “makasib”.  He asked, “then what?”  I said, “kifayah”.  He asked, “then what?”  I said, “Dars al-kharij”.  He asked, “then what?”  I said, “He attains ijtihad”.  Once again, he asked, “then what?”

The student continues, “This was a great lesson to me. I realised that knowledge itself was not the goal; it was only the means (to achieve the goal) i.e. to gain the proximity of Allah swt.  If at every one of these successive stages, the student did not achieve even a little more proximity to Allah swt, then he has not progressed much at all.”

Being in a state of Constant Dhikr

Being in a State of Constant Dhikr

Ayt. Behjat often advises his students to inculcate the habit of being da’im al-dhikr, i.e. remaining in constant remembrance of Allah swt.  He has said, “Someone who is constantly in dhikr, will always perceive himself in the presence of Allah swt and will be continuously communicating with Him.”

For those who want to combat waswasa, (constant suspicion of the motives of others), he recommends highly to continually recite the “tahlil”, which is the dhikr, “La Ilaha Illallah”.

Another great contemporary scholar, Ayt. Hasan Hasanzadeh Amuli has remarked that tahlil is al-dhikr-al-khafi (secret dhikr); i.e. it can be constantly repeated without anyone else being aware of what you are doing, because this dhikr can be pronounced without even moving the lips, unlike other dhikrs like “Subhanallah” or Alhamdulillah”!