When one becomes a mureed one of the instructions the Murshid will give is that the mureed must contemplate as often as possible on the face of the Murshid. This practice is very important. This practice will increase in the heart of the mureed the love for his/her Murshid. When this practice becomes a daily routine, a mureed will find that he is at all time conscious of his Murshid and this will elevate him spiritually and will also save him from a lot of vices. This practice is the foundation of the spiritual path. One’s Murshid will instruct the mureed as to what method one should follow when conducting this practice. We will quote one example of one of the methods of Tasawwur-e-Shaikh (Contemplation of one’s Murshid).
A mureed must close his eyes and visualize being seated in front of the Murshid. One must imagine that one’s heart is fixed below the heart of the Murshid and the spiritual blessings and light of the Mashaa’ikh of the spiritual order is filling the heart of the Murshid and these drops are slowly flowing from the heart of the Murshid into your heart. With this constant practice, one’s heart will transform and become spiritually elevated adopting certain qualities of the Murshid. [Siraaj-ul-Awaarif by Hazrat Sayyid Abul Hussain Ahmad-e-Noori Radiallahu Ta'ala Anh, the Peer-o-Murshid of Ghausul Waqt Huzoor Mufti-e-Azam Hind Maulana Muhammad Mustafa Raza Khan Radiallahu Ta'ala Anh]
It is recorded that Hazrat Khwaja Hassan Basri (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) used to constantly stare at the beautiful face of Hazrat Ali (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh). People asked, “O Ali, why does Hassan Basri gaze at you like that?” Hazrat Ali (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) replied, “That is the devotion of Hassan Basri.” The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has said, “A little meditation is more beneficial than the Ibaadat of a thousand years.”
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the Taufeeq to act upon this beautiful advice, to develop love in our hearts for our Peer-o-Murshids, and to follow in their footsteps, Ameen.