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After death, life shifts from the
material world to the spiritual realnm where it continues in a new dimension
and the ego remains active in the other world as well. This world is called in
the Qur'an (Koran) the aeraaf Its condition depends on the deeds of the
individual in the material world. If at the time of death one is peaceful and
free of mental impurities and filth then his or her state in the hereafter
will be peaceful and serene as well. On the other hand, when one leaves this
world with anxiety, guilty conscience, or mental suffocation then the same
conditions will greet that person in the aeraaf.
The Muraqaba of kashaf ul gaboor is done
on the graveside of the deceased with whom you would like to meet. With this
Muraqaba you will be able to not only meet the deceased but also to witness his
or her condition in the hereafter.
When this Muraqaba is done at the tomb
of saints (wall) the purpose is to gain spiritual blessing (faidh) from them
and a glimpse of them (ziarat) as well.
The
correct method of performing this Muraqaba is as follows:
Sit
towards the end of the grave (as opposed to towards the tombstone). Inhale
through the nose slowly and when you are full then exhale slowly without
holding the breath. Repeat this eleven times. After that close your eyes and
shift your focus inside the grave. After few moments let your mind go deep in
the grave, as if that grave were a depth and your attention were falling in it.
Keep this focus during the Muraqaba. The esoteric vision will eventually be
activated and the soul of the deceased will show up. Depending on the mental
capacity and strength, success comes with consistent practice and efforts.
The practice of this Muraqaba should be
limited only to the tombs of saints or Imams (Ahlul Bayt) for their spiritual
sightings (ziarat) and the blessings (faidh). Unnecessary Muraqaba on the
graves of ordinary persons should be avoided.
THE FOLLOWING IS THE AUTHOR'S OWN
ACCOUNT OF THE MURAQABA OF KASHAF UL QABOOR:
When I was doing the Muraqaba towards
the end of the grave, I saw a layer of soul leave my body and go inside the
grave. I saw His Highness Saint Lal Shahbaz Qalander sitting there. The grave
looked like a big room. On the left hand side of the grave there was a window
or small door. Lal Shahbaz Qalander said to me, "Go see what's inside that
door, you are free."
When I opened the door I saw a huge
garden. It was so beautiful and glorious that you could not find it anywhere in
the world. It had everything. I saw birds whose wings were emitting light,
flowers that were so beautiful that they are beyond the scope of human consciousness.
There was another unique feature about those flowers that each one was a
combination of multiple colors, colors that seemed like tiny lightbulbs. When
the wind blows, these colorful flowers create a magnificent scene similar to
fireworks. The trees were unique in a way that their stems, branches, flowers,
and fruits were all round much like mushrooms. When air flows between them it
creates such a melody that one gets lost in it. This garden also had grapes of
dark pink and blue colors. Each grape is as big as an apple in our world. The
garden also had fountains and milky bayous.
The
garden had many birds but I did not see any animals. I asked a parrot who was
sitting in a beautiful tree where this park was situated. The parrot replied in
a human language that this is heaven and the garden of God's friend Lal
Shahbaz Qalander. After saying that, it flew through the air singing hymns. In
short, what I saw there is hard to describe in words. I took a branch of grapes
and went back to Lal Shahbaz Qalander. The grand Saint asked me if liked the
garden. I replied, "Your Highness, no one has ever seen or heard of this
garden. I could not even fully appreciate it."
SHAH ABDUL AZIZ DEHIALVI:
A
great South Asian saint of the nineteenth century Syed Ghauth Ali Shah Qalandar
(1804-i88o) of Pani Put, India, has recorded the following event in his book
Tazkira-e-Ghauthia that provides an outstanding and marvelous piece of
information about life after death and Aeraaf. This event took place when Syed
Ghauth Ali Shah was the disciple of one of the great Sufi Masters of his time
Hadrat Syed Shah Abdul Aziz Dehalvi.
Ghauth
Ali Shah writes:
A man came to the court of Shah Sahib.
By appearance he looked like a royal official. He said to him, "My story
is so strange that no one believes me. My own cognition does not work. I do not
know what to say, where to go, what to do. Finally I have come in your
service."
Ile then said, "I used to live in
Lukhnow. I had a job; things were great. Then my luck went sour and my economic
conditions worsened to a point where I became jobless and could not find any
work. Then I said to myself that instead of sitting idle why not try my luck in
a different city. I took some money for traveling expenses and set off towards
Odhaypour. On my way, I rested at a place called Rewari. At the time that place
had nothing but a tent and an inn. A few prostitutes used to live there. I was
sitting outside the inn wondering what to do because all my money had gone and
I was not able to find any work. One of the prostitutes came towards me and
asked me why I was not eating, as it was past
the dinner hour. I told her I was tired from the journey and would eat
after resting. She then went back to the inn. A few hours later she came back
and asked the same question and I gave her the same reply.
Nevertheless, on the third time when she
asked me I told her the whole story how I had ran out of the money and now I
was thinking of selling my sword and the horse. After listening to my story,
she went to her room quietly and moments later came back and gave me ten
Rupees. When I hesitated to take the money she said not to worry because she
had made that money with a spinning wheel and that she had saved it for her
funeral. She said that she was giving me an interest-free loan and that I could
return it whenever I was able to do so.
"I took the money and after
spending it on my way finally got to Odhaypour. There fortunately I got a job
at the royal post. Quickly I was promoted and in short period of time because of
good pay and free housing I was able to make and save money. After spending a
few years there I got a letter from home that my eldest son was now old enough
to marry and that his would be in-laws were insisting on an early wedding. I
had to be there to fulfill my duty as a father.
"I
applied for a leave and it was granted shortly thereafter and I left for home.
When I reached Rewari, the memories of the old days flashed right before my
eyes. When I reached the inn and asked about that prostitute, I was told that
she was sick and dying. When I got to her room she was breathing her last and
moments later died right before my eyes. I arranged for her funeral and took
her lifeless body to the grave myself. On returning from the funeral I went to
the motel and slept. At midnight, I realized that my wallet, which had a draft
of five thousand rupees, was missing. I looked for it but could not find it.
Then I realized that I must have dropped it when I was loading her body in the
grave. I went to the cemetery in the middle of the night and opened her grave.
"When I entered the grave to my
astonishment there was neither the body nor the wallet that had my draft.
However, I had not seen a door there earlier. It was slightly open. I gathered
enough courage to open it but there was a different world inside. On all sides,
there were gardens and lush greenery. In the middle there was a magnificent
palace. When I entered the palace I saw an extremely beautiful woman. She was
dressed up in regal outfit with makeup and there were servants around her. She
addressed me and said, `You didn't recognize me? I am the one who gave you ten
rupees. God liked my gesture and rewarded me with this glory and status. This
is your wallet that fell in the grave. Take it and leave immediately.'
"I
said I wanted to see her garden for a while. That beautiful woman said I would
not be able to see it entirely even if I stayed there until Day of Judgment.
She said, `Leave immediately, you have no idea how far ahead the world must
have gone by now.' I followed her advice and left the grave. Now there was
neither the inn nor the tent nor that old township. Instead, a new city had
sprung around it. When I asked some people about the inn, they were all
unaware of it. When I told my story to some people they thought 1 was crazy.
Eventually one of the people told me that he would take me to an old person who
might know something about it. After listening to my story and after a brief
pause he told me that his grandfather had told that some time ago there used to
be an inn there. One night, a rich man had stayed in it and then mysteriously
vanished. No one ever saw him or heard anything about him. I then told him
that I was that rich man. After listening to me, the old man and his company
were all taken aback."
After relating this story the rich man
asked Hadrat Shah Abdul Aziz, "Please tell me what I should do now, where
I should go. I have no home, no family. This whole event has crippled me."
Shah Sahib then said, "What you
have seen is true. The scale of measurement of time in our world and that world
is different." tie then advised that man, "Go to Mecca and spend your
remaining days in the remembrance of God."
KHWAJA SHAMS-UD-DEEN AZEEMI
In the current information age, the very question of what Man
is, and to what extent his abilities
go, has gained prominence. Metaphysical knowledge tells us
that Man is not just a mass of muscles and bones but in fact is a living
universe or microcosm (a'lam asghar) itself. His life is primarily relying on
information. As a matter of fact his life is nothing but a collection of
thoughts and imagination. His every movement is influenced by information and
thoughts. Every human achievement is circled around the unseen world of
cognition, imagination and creative thoughts. By giving new meaning to this
idea, Man creates and invents new things out of nothing.