What is Islaah?

by Hafeed Abdul Kader

Transcribed from Shaykh Mohammad Saleem Dhorat (may Allah preserve him) to the nearest meaning:

“Muhaasabah is a prescribed practice (mamoolaats); which should be excerciesd daily by a seeker committed to rectification. Muhaaasabah is when a person rewinds back the last twenty-four hours and either shows Shukr (Gratitude) to Allah Subhanahu Wata’aala for the good deeds that have been achieved; or makes Istighfar (Repentence) for the bad deeds committed.

This is the backbone of islaah (self rectification), even people of high spiritual status’s have to perform this exercise.

The Nafs (desires) is extremely child-like. All it wants to do is experience pleasure; and it doesn’t know the difference between permissible and impermissible things, so we have to learn to control our nafs so we can steer it towards those things that are permissible.
In learning to control our Nafs, we need to keep a watch upon our nafs during the day, and make sure it doesn’t entice to go towards wrong. For example, a person entered the masjid, and there were some people reciting the Holy Qur’aan, and so this person decided to perform some nafl Salaah, but the intention of performing this great deed wasn’t for Allah Subhanahu Wata’aala, but the nafs desired to display supposed piety! Many-a-times this goes untraced and a person deems himself close to Allah Subhanahu Wata’aala, but in fact he has become enslaved by his Nafs.

This is how fine the line is in keeping track on the nafs; even throughout the day, and after supervision it still gets away; this is why Muhaasabah is prescribed.
When taking account of yourselves; remember to tell your Nafs; (after you have learnt that a good deed was performed); that ‘it was the grace of Allah Subhanahu Wata’aala that I got the ability to do this deed’; don’t fall into the trap and let your nafs think that it was your effort and ability that you performed this deed. When you are making Istighfar (Repentence) on mistakes that have been made, make a firm intention not to commit this sin again.

The downfall of not doing this act is that Shaytaan makes a person complacent when he is performing good deeds. So a person embroiled in a gross misconception through self-deception thinks he has reached the stage of wilayat (closeness to Allah), when in reality he has only managed to earn very little!

Muhaasabah brings an individual ‘down-to-earth’ by exposing an honest account of how actually a persons time has been spent during the day”.

Once in another gathering Shaykh said that “Muhaasabah is such a powerful exercise, that many spiritual ailments are eradicated from a person with it”.

Hence we can understand clearly why Muhaasabah is called the Backbone of Islaah.