XThe teacher & the seeker
You fly it. You do not navigate it alone.
The book is unusually firm on this point, and repeats it at both ends: learn the path, and then remain under the supervision of a teacher who is following the commands of Allah, knows this road, and is aware of all its pitfalls and difficulties.
The pilot is you. You are the controller of your soul, and the decisions you make will affect it. You choose the path you desire — you have received the invitation of both the righteous and the evil, and you have the freedom of that choice.
The guide and navigator is the teacher, who shows you towards the pleasure of Allah, and shows you how to reach the beloved of Allah.
And the cabin crew are like the Mashaykh. They serve you more than your needs, and their food and drink for the passenger is advice, and the reminder of the path towards Allah. They are the best host on the journey — catering you in comfort, giving reassurance and advice on the path.
The cadence
Once every forty days
The book opens with this instruction, on the very page where it asks the seeker to write down his name: the seekers should practise what their teacher prescribes for them, and should have contact with the teacher at least once every forty days — during which they should inform him of their state and condition, and, after the consultation, act upon the guidance given.
In its closing summary the book sets the interval at once every two months, and adds a condition on the student’s side: in order for the student to benefit from his teacher, it is vital that he acts upon whatever guidance is offered to him. Students living abroad should make contact by post, internet, telephone or email.
The air in the cabin
Reliance on the mercy and grace of Allah
There is only one clean air which flows within the plane, and it is reliance — together with the recognition of your own helplessness.
The cabin’s air is the example of the blood inside the heart. The heart should have the blood of reliance flowing through the body, because it is the blood which circulates goodness. The air of reliance is the reason you are present at all. No air means no control of the plane; it will crash land if you lose reliance.
As soon as you think you are travelling by your own power, the air becomes contaminated. It is like a leaking pipe, a crack in the walls of the plane, letting the poison gas in. Slowly the cabin fills, all control is disabled, and the aircraft begins to descend.
You are only flying due to Allah’s help.
The summary of the amaal
What you actually do, from tomorrow
The book ends with a plain list. Everything above is the reasoning; this is the practice — the deeds required in order to begin the path, including what is to be done each day.
Repentance
Seek forgiveness from all the people living in close proximity to you, and from those whose rights you have violated by misuse of the tongue — back-biting, hurting someone’s feelings, false accusations, slander, lying. It is essential to compensate for verbal misconduct at this stage. Then, before beginning the journey, perform ghusl — the washing of the entire body, because of the grease of sins — and two rakaat of Salatul Tawbah. This process is like a cleaning fluid, which starts the cleaning of the heart.Remembrance and meditation, daily
Set a time each day for the remembrance: Astaghfirullah alladhi la ilaha illa Huwal Hayyul Qayyumu wa atubu ilayh for fifteen minutes; and the muraqabah of the name of Allah for ten minutes.The tongue sheet, daily
Account for the use of the tongue every day, checking whether you have sinned with it. Each ticked box represents the building of a door, and thirty consecutive days represents a completed, sturdy door. If you commit any sin with the tongue, mark a cross, perform Salatul Tawbah, and rebuild the door until the full thirty consecutive days are complete.The sincerity sheet
A tick or a cross, daily.The spiritual levels of prayer sheet
A tick or a cross, daily.Following the Sunnah
Practise and act upon three acts of Sunnah every month, and build on them — beginning with one aspect of the Prophet's ﷺ life, and moving to another the following month.The prophetic supplications
Make a habit of reciting the Masnun Adhkar after Fajr, before sunrise, and after Maghrib, before Isha — so that one is protected from every kind of evil.Attend gatherings
Attend a gathering of sincere advice and remembrance once a week. If you cannot attend in person, try to participate in live online gatherings — and as an absolute minimum, listen to the discourses.Contact the teacher
Consult the teacher and inform him of your progress on the course, your deeds, and your states.
The heart is a fortress with many doors and many rooms, storing the most precious of jewels. The seeker will begin to notice a change after thirty days have been completed — gradually reclaiming the house which Shaytan had confiscated.