Four kinds of Mujahadahs

The respected Sufis Spiritual doctors are known to subject their disciples in four kinds of Mujahadahs, viz.,

(1) Eat less, (2) Speak less, (3) Sleep less, (4) Mix with the people less.

1) Eating less:

In olden days. the respected Sufis used
to subject their disciples les to very hard Mujahada by reducing their food, to the extent of starvation. Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Sahib (رحمة الله‎) -, has said that the present age is not suitable for this kind of Mujahada, as the people are weaker and poorer in health than their predecessors in the past. If they eat less they may fall sick and may be prevented from their usual course of worship on account of weakness. رحمة الله‎ -: said that in the present time. if a man follows discipline at the time of eating the benefit of less eating will be obtained. While taking food a stage arrives when a man becomes hesitant whether to continue eating or stop it. When this stage arrives man should stop eating. This will ensure for him the benefit of less eating.
What is the cause of this hesitation at the time of eating? This is due to a confrontation between reason and Self. As there is a taste in the food the Self urges man to eat more to enjoy the taste. the reason urges the person not to eat more, as eating more may disturb his digestion and cause some sickness. The struggle between reason and Self is called hesitation. At such a stage in eating and on other occasions, accept the urge of reason and reject the urge of Self.

2) The Mujahadahs of speaking less:

The second kind of Mujahadah is 'speaking less'. We chatter from morning till evening non-stop and there is no brake on this. This is highly undesirable. This tongue will go on committing sins, unless it is kept under strict control. You must remember that the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) is reported to have said in a Hadith: It is man's tongue which will cause him to be thrown into Hell face-down, because if it is left uncontrolledly with no check, whatsoever, it is bound to indulge in telling lies in backbiting and hurting the hearts of others. These are grievous sins which will take him to Hell.

Save yourself from the sins of the tongue:

For avoiding the sins of the tongue man has to undergo the Mujahadah of 'Less speaking'. This requires that man should speak only when necessary, avoid talking about useless things and should more his tongue only when it becomes absolutely necessary. Before talking about anything he must first think coolly if it is necessary and proper for him to talk on that topic if so it is not a sin. Man must guard himself against using his tongue unnecessarily. By following this method man becomes used to speak less. When man feels tempted to speak but suppresses this temptation, he gradually achieves control over his tongue, and then he does not commit sins of telling lies, backbiting and the like.

3) Less Sleeping

The third 'Mujahadah' is sleeping less. In olden days the disciples were prevented fi-om sleeping except a little. It is well known that Hazrat ham Abu Hanifah , used to offer his Fajr prayers with the ablution (Wudu) performed for the Isha prayers. The saints have, however, advised that a man must sleep at least six hours during the 24 hours of the day. Sleeping less than six hours may cause sickness. Hazrat Thanawi رحمة الله has stated that if anyone is addicted to sleeping at wrong hours he should give up this habit and follow proper sleeping hours. This change of sleeping hours also comes within the definition of 'Less sleeping' and is a kind of Mujahadah.

4) Reduce your contacts with the people

The fourth Mujahadah consists in reducing contacts and mixing with the people to the minimum, because the wider a man's circle of acquaintance, the more exposed he is to the opportunities of sins. You may experience for yourself the truth of this assertion. Today it has become a recognized art to widen the circle of one's contacts which is called 'Public Relations'. The objective of this department of public Relations is to bring more and more people under the circle of your contacts and acquaintance and thereby to increase your influence among the people, so that you may reap all sorts of benefits from these contacts. Our elders have however, advised us to reduce, rather than increase, our contacts with the public as far as possible.