Welcome to al-Salik, the virtual home of Khanqah Imdadiyyah Ashrafiyyah – located in Union City, California. This website is dedicated to those matters which deal with Tasawwuf, Suluk, Purifying the Heart, and Attaining Closeness to Allah Ta’ala. Our Murshid & Shaykh, Hadrat Mawlana Tameem Ahmadi (damat barakatuhum) is the Khalifah of the late Hadrat Mawlana Shah Hakim Muhammad Akhtar (qadasallahu sirrahu) (1928-2013) & Hadrat Mawlana Qammaruzaman Illahabadi (damat barakatuhum). Seekers will find a vast array of malfuzat, audios, islahi letters, questions & answers, and other articles on this website for their benefit as they traverse the path. Before asking a question, please take due diligence to search through the archives and index to see if your matter has been answered already.
The Murīd writes: “My revered master! I am very weak and have little to no knowledge. I can also not claim to have great passion and love for Allah. However, I did experience a river of passion and love when I
Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned in a ḥadīth: فلتصبر ولتحتسب “be patient and hope for reward from Allāh…” [Sahih Bukhari 1224] We are told to ‘have ṣabr!’, but what is ṣabr? Ṣabr is iḥtisāb. Iḥtisāb mentioned in this hadit̄h of
Ḥaḍrat Ashraf ‘Ali Thānwī has advised that the Shaykh should not accept any murīd on the spiritual path, with whom the Shaykh has to constantly ‘honor and respect’ or be ‘careful and wary’ not to quickly offend. Rather, only such a
Recently, Hadrat Mawlana Tameem Ahmadi (damat barakatuhum) was invited to Cleveland, Ohio by his dear friend and colleague, Mawlana Musa Sugapong. Mawlana Musa serves his community through his grassroots organization called Knowman Learning. The following audios are from this recent trip
Hakim al-Ummah رح said, “We cannot rely upon any other avenue or source to recognize the pleasure of Allah other than through the light of revelation. Neither can this be determined through logic or intellect nor through reading or studying random
Tasawwuf is commonly referred to as suluk (traveling the path to Allah) or also tazkiyah (purification of the nafs). The reality of tasawwuf is to adorn both the outward
(Read “What is Tasawwuf?” first) A shaykh of tasawwuf is someone who has been traveling the path of Din for a considerable amount of time, with knowledge and practice
Renewal of One’s Repentance and Commitment One of the traditions associated with the path of taṣawwuf that is often misunderstood is the institution of bayʿah or ʿahd. It is
A khanqah is a place dedicated to the dissemination of the teachings of the science of the heart (Tasawwuf, Tazkiyah). It was separate from the Masjid due to the
After the era of the Sahaba, from the beginning of the end of the time of the tabi’in and the beginning of the tab’tabi’in there were zuhhad and ubbad,
The silsilas of four mashayikh are more well known and recognized (in the Indian sub-continent). The silsilas of these four pious saints (may Allah enlighten their graves) became more
Nisbah literally means “relationship” or “connection.” A nisbah is a two-way process. It has two ends. In our context, nisbah ma’Allah (connection with Allah) means Allah’s connection with the
Experience has proven that for gaining spiritual benefit (fuyudh-e-batini), mutual munasabah (compatibility/congeniality) between the Shaykh and murid is a natural condition. Normally benefit is dependent on affection which is
