Excerpts taken from Hazrat Shaykh Talha Qasmi Naqshbandi Damat Barkatuhum’s discourses

If the heart is not purified and the Noor (light/radiance) is not attained and if the person is actually Munafiq and he does not believe in Allah by heart or he is Munafiq in his deeds and is living the life of negligence then his heart will be void of light, his heart will be dark. Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “The heart which remembers Allah is alive, and the heart which does not remember Allah is dead”. And Allah Ta’ala said:

أَوَمَن كَانَ مَيۡتً۬ا فَأَحۡيَيۡنَـٰهُ وَجَعَلۡنَا لَهُ ۥ نُورً۬ا يَمۡشِى بِهِۦ فِى ٱلنَّاسِ كَمَن مَّثَلُهُ ۥ فِى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ لَيۡسَ بِخَارِجٍ۬ مِّنۡہَا‌ۚ
“Is he who was dead and We have raised him unto life, and set for him a light wherein he walks among men, as him whose similitude is in utter darkness from where he cannot emerge?”

Think about that person who was dead then we made him alive. Mufassireen comment that this verse is talking about the heart. First the heart was dead and then Allah made it alive. And Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, who is the biggest Mufassir, the Imam and the seal of Mufassireen said: “The heart that is Zakir (that does Zikr constantly) is the heart that is alive and the heart that is Ghaafil (negligent) is the heart that is dead.”

That means previously the heart was Ghaafil and we made it Zakir. And after becoming Zakir, what happens is

وَجَعَلۡنَا لَهُ ۥ نُورً۬ا يَمۡشِى بِهِۦ فِى ٱلنَّاسِ 

We grant him Noor (light) and when he walks, he walks with that light. This Noor goes along with him to any locality he enters. When he talks to someone or sits with someone, his words leave an impact on their hearts. This is what is called as Tawajjuh. This is the benefit of company. When someone sits in the company of a person who has the light in his heart, then his own heart gets illuminated with this light.

Is he like one who is in utter darkness and is not able to emerge therefrom? Do you know how the heart gets illuminated? Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم has told us that when a person does good deeds and remembers Allah, then a small amount of light develops in his heart similar to the light of the firefly. When he increases in good deeds, protects himself from sinful ways and remembers Allah more, then this light increases as well. Slowly and gradually this light increases and consequently his whole heart becomes illuminated. This light not only stays in the heart, it moves further to the flesh, to other organs, to bones, to hair, to skin and the whole body of man becomes illuminated. Angels see him as a jewel of light. He seems like a walking light and the Sahib-e-kashf can see this. And when he further advances in dhikr, his light further expands; first of all, the diameter of 1 meter is formed around him, then it grows to 5 meters and so on and so forth. Sometimes this diameter expands to 100-200 meters around him and people become attentive towards him. If Allah SWT endows this light to all Muslims, then Insha’Allah kufr and shirk will be eliminated from this country.

Do you think this is something new I’m talking about? In the famous book of hadith Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Imam Tirmidhi رحمة الله عليه has mentioned a narration from Hazrat Abdullah ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه. He says that in the last part of night, I saw Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم woke up and performed the Salah of Tahajjud and then he started making dua to Allah. The dua is very detailed and the words of this dua are very ajeeb (strange). Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم has asked Allah for every good and sought refuge from every bad. Different words are mentioned in different narrations. Muhadditheen have collected it all and they have mentioned that Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم has asked Allah Ta’ala for Noor in 17 different ways. (more…)