Jala’ al-Khawatir (The Removal of Cares)

By Shaykh Abdul Qadir Al Jilani (q)

Description

In the Name of Allah, All-Merciful and Compassionate!

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of All the Worlds, and may Allah bestow blessings and peace upon our Master Muhammad and his family and his companions.

The following discourses were delivered by the Shaikh, the Imam, the most learned scholar, the pious abstainer, the dutiful worshipper, the knower by direct experience, the avoider of excess, the Shaikh of shaikhs, the proof of Islam [hujjat al-Islam], the axis of the human race [qutb al-anam], the upholder of the Sunna, the suppressor of heretical innovation, the crown of those who know by direct experience, the love of those who tread the spiritual path, the pillar of the Shari’a [the Law of Islam], the mainstay of the Haqiqa [the Experience of Reality] and the signpost of the Tariqa [the Spiritual Path], the chief of the saints, the leader of the pure, the lantern of those who travel the spiritual way, the guide, the captain of those who are devoted to their duty, the lamp of the people of devotion and purity, Shaikh Muhyi’d-Din Abu Muhammad ‘Abd al-Qadir, son of Abu Salih Musa al-Jili the grandson of ‘Abdu’llah the Hermit. May Allah sanctify his spirit and illuminate his mausoleum. May He gather us at the Resurrection as members of his company, and may He grant that we die in the embrace of his affection. May He allow us to enjoy the benefit of his blessed grace and of his spoken words, both in this world and in the hereafter.

And may Allah bless our Master Muhammad and his family and his companions, each and every one of them, and may He grant them peace in great abundance. And praise be to Allah, Lord of All the Worlds.

The first of these discourses [majalis] was delivered on a Friday, the 9th day of the month of Rajab, and the last of them was delivered on the 14th day of the blessed month of Ramadan, in the year [A.H.] 546.

The Third Discourse

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is reported as having said:

Part of the excellence of a man’s Islam is paying no attention to that which does not concern him.

To busy oneself with that which is irrelevant is the distraction of idle fools. Deprived of the good pleasure of his Master [Mawla] is he who fails to put into practice what He commands, and who occupies himself with things he has not been instructed to deal with. This is deprivation its very self, death its very self and banishment its very self.

O young man! You must carry out the commandments and observe the prohibitions [laid down by your Lord]. Make sure that you are fully in compliance [with the sacred law], then place yourself in the hand of destiny [qadar] without asking ‘why?’ and without asking ‘how?’ It is far better for you to be looked after by Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), with His knowledge of you, than for you to be looking after yourself, with your ignorance of your Lord. Be satisfied with what He has given you. try to be grateful for it and do not ask him for more, since you do not recognize the best part of what you have already.

Abstinence [zuhd] is what gives comfort to the hearts of obedient abstainers. the burden of abstinence is borne by the physical constitution. the burden of intimate knowledge [ma’rifa] is borne by the heart. the burden of nearness [to the Lord] is borne by the innermost being [sirr]. Be abstinent, be satisfied, and be grateful. Be pleased with your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), and do not be pleased with yourself. Think well of other people. Give up thinking the worst of other people, and do not hold a high opinion of yourself. Refrain from gratifying the desires of the flesh, for the effects of such restraint are healing and purifying to the heart. to satisfy one’s appetite for lawful food [halal] is quite enough to blur the perception of the heart and render it intoxicated, so how about the influence of food that is actually unlawful[haram]? This explains the following saying of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace):

The right diet is the main part of all medical treatment [al-‘imya ra’su ‘d-dawa’].

You must accustom every physical body to what is normal for it, since in these three [Arabic] words the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was making a collective statement applicable to all bodies. Gluttony [bitna] extinguishes perspicacity [fitna], the lamp of wisdom [misbah al-hikma] and the light of sainthood [nur al-wilaya]. As long as you are still attached to this world and to your fellow creatures, you must keep to the proper diet, because you are in the hospital [maridistan]. But once your heart has attained to the Lord of truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), the matter will be in His hands. He will take charge of you completely, while you will be out of a job. How could He fail to take you into His care, when you have become worthy of Him? As He has said (Almighty and Glorious is He):

[Say:] “My Protecting Friend is Allah, who has revealed the Book, and He befriends the righteous.” (7:196)

O young man! You must not be alarmed about the fact that destiny’s decree [qadar] is sure to come into effect. there is no one who can turn it back, and there is no one who can avert it. Everything that has been preordained [maqdi] will come into being, without regard for those who may like it or for those who may find it displeasing.

Your involvement in this world requires that you have a righteous intention [niyya saliha], otherwise you deserve to be viewed with disgust. In all your affairs and undertakings you must say: “There is no power, nor is there any strength, except through Allah, the High, the Almighty.” You should set aside one hour for your worldly interests, one hour for your interest in the hereafter, one hour for your personal concerns, and one hour for the benefit of your family, then dedicate all the remaining hours to your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). You must concentrate first of all on the cleanliness [tahara] of your heart, for this is an obligatory duty [farida]. Then turn your attention to deeper knowledge [ma’rifa]. If you miss the root, your preoccupation with the branch will not be accepted of you. there is no benefit in cleanliness of the physical parts of the body combined with defilement of the heart. You must cleanse your physical limbs and organs by following the Sunna, and your heart by putting the Qur’an into practice. Take care of your heart, so that your physical body will be taken care of. Every vessel exudes its own contents. Whatever is in your heart will ooze out from you through your physical parts.

You must always be humble, for whenever you behave with humility, you will be purified, enhanced and raised to a higher spiritual plane. If you do not conduct yourself with humility, on the other hand, it can only mean that you are ignorant of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), His Messengers [rusul] and His saints [awliya’], His law [hukm], His knowledge [‘ilm], His destiny [qadar] and His power [qudra], in the sphere of this world and also in the realm of the hereafter.

How often do you listen without understanding what you hear, without putting it into practice, and without even making a sincere effort to pay attention? So why do you come here at all? Your presence and your absence are one and the same! When you come to be with me here, but with no intention of acting on what I have to say, you are merely being a nuisance to the other people present. As long as you are stuck there in your place of business, you feel depressed because your plans have not been working out, but then you come here to me and your depression leaves you. It is replaced by a sense of euphoria. You listen, but it is as if you had not heard.

O you who own so much property, forget about your property! Come and sit here, in the midst of the poor [fuqara’]. Be humble in the presence of Allah and in their presence. O you who possess such a noble pedigree [nasab], forget about your pedigree and come here! the genuinely noble pedigree is devotion to righteousness [taqwa]. Somebody once asked the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace): “Who are the members of your family, O Muhammad?” He replied (Allah bless him and give him peace) by saying:

Every dutiful believer belongs to the family of Muhammad [kullu taqiyyin alu Muhammadin].

Do not approach me on the basis of your noble pedigree. Approach me on the basis of your righteous devotion. Be sensible! You have nothing of real value to offer. You can have no standing in the presence of Allah on the basis of your ancestral pedigree alone. For that you must acquire the genuine pedigree of righteous devotion. As Allah Himself has said (Almighty and Glorious is He):

Surely the noblest among you in the sight of Allah is the one of you who is most devoted to righteousness. (49:13)

There is nothing good in any of you, O boy, O youth, O shaikh, O seeker, as long as you have not purified your diet by ridding it of every morsel of unlawful food [haram]. Most of you, the great majority, eat food that is at least contaminated, if not downright unlawful. When someone eats forbidden food, his heart becomes completely dark. When a person eats things of dubious quality, his heart becomes very murky. Your lower selves and your passionate desires will simply dismiss any scruples you may have about the eating of forbidden food. the lower self [nafs] and the passions [hawa] are quite impulsive when it comes to the pursuit of carnal pleasures and delights, to which they are readily addicted. Suppose you have been in the habit of feeding your lower self with grits [khushkar], and it tries to persuade you to give it honey for a change. Your response to this should be to make it eat barley bread, until its one and only desire is to have you put it back onto its old diet of grits.

When the lower self is not subject to pious restraint in its diet, it may be compared to a hen-a hen that goes pecking around in the garbage dumps, so that its intake is a mixture of polluted matter and pure food. If someone proposes to eat the flesh of this hen, or the eggs it lays, he must keep it in a confined space and provide it with pure food, for only then will the bird and its eggs become fit to eat. You must likewise restrain your lower self from eating forbidden food, and provide it with a pure and lawful diet, until it has lost all the flesh it developed from its unlawful intake. You must also discourage it from eating even lawful food with a passionate appetite.

Suppose one of you had to answer the question: “Would you like to die while you are doing what you are doing right now?” Suppose that person said “No,” so he was then told: “In that case you must repent and improve your behavior.” What if his response to this should be: “That is what I shall do-if Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) will help me to succeed”? He is entitled to maintain that repentance is contingent on the decree of destiny [qadar], but this must not be used as a pretext to allow for the satisfaction of carnal appetites and desires, nor as a basis for postponement, a means of avoiding a definite answer-yes or no. When death comes, it will snatch him away without warning, just when he is enjoying the pleasures and comforts of life. It will snatch him away from his family and friends. It will snatch him away from his shop and his profits. Death will come upon him suddenly, while his last will and testament is still unwritten, while his accounts are still unregistered, while his expectations are still far-reaching and widespread.

The correct way of thinking is that which brings the righteous [salihun] nearer [to their Lord]-away from civilization and into the desert waste. It eliminates their merriment and perpetuates their sadness. Whenever someone really comes to know [‘arafa] Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), his sadness and anxiety are sure to increase. He comes to have an inner voice that converses with him, and a preoccupation that keeps him engrossed. He would rather not have to listen to the words of his fellow creatures, and he feels no desire to meet with any of them. He would dearly love to be set free from his family and his property. He would dearly love to transfer his allotted shares to other owners. He would dearly love to see his nature and character transformed into angelic qualities. Yet the more he wishes to be set free from all these human limitations, the more he finds himself constrained by the law [hukm], and the more the Controller [Muqayyid] keeps him under control by serving notice of predestination [sabiqa] and foreknowledge [‘ilm]. He is thus under constant supervision by night and by day. He moves toward his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), away from this world. then the moment comes when he is overwhelmed by the direct experience [ma’rifa] of Him, so He watches over him both outwardly [zahiran] and inwardly [batinan].

Al-Fath al-Mawsili (may Allah the Exalted be well pleased with him) used to say in his confidential prayers [munajat] : “How much longer will You keep me at a distance, confining me to this world? When will You transport me to You? When shall I be relieved of this world and of creatures?”

What analogy would suit you best? Surely it is just as Noah (peace be upon him) said to his son:

“O my dear son, come aboard with us, and do not be with the unbelievers!” He said: “I shall take refuge in some mountain that will keep me safe from the water.” (11:42-43)

The preacher [wa’iz] is saying to you: “Come aboard! Embark with me on the ship of salvation!” But you respond by saying: “I shall take refuge in some mountain that will keep me safe from the water.” In your case the mountain consists of your exaggerated expectations and your greedy desire for the things of this world. the angel of death will be arriving very soon, and you will be torn away from that mountain of yours. Be sensible, O servants of Allah! Leave your houses on that mountain. You have erected the walls of your religious belief and practice on a nonexistent foundation. You have set up your tents with nothing to hold them in place. You need to demolish and rebuild, for this world has established itself in your hearts.

Let me take charge of you, so that I may purify you and make you clean. I shall be giving you some doses of medicine. the potions I shall give you to drink are: pious restraint [wara’], abstinence [zuhd], dutiful devotion [taqwa], faith [iman], conviction [iqan], experience [ma’rifa], knowledge [‘ilm], indifference to all things, and complete detachment from all things. Then you will be ready to receive your existence [wujud] in the presence of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), nearness to Him and remembrance of Him. Anyone who is truly worthy of Him will come to be a sun and a moon for His creatures, and a guide who takes them by their hands and leads them from the shore of this world to the shore of the hereafter.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is reported as having said:

In every specialized craft, you should seek the help of a qualified expert.

O young man! You have not been created merely for the purpose of acquiring worldly things, for nothing more than eating and drinking and getting married. You must repent and return [to your Lord], before the Angel of Death (peace be upon him) comes and snatches you away while you are doing something bad.

Every good preacher will advise you to observe the commandments and prohibitions [of the sacred law], and to endure with patience whatever destiny [qadar] brings along. You must also endure with patience the pain and suffering inflicted on you by your fellow creatures, including your next-door neighbors, for patience is the source of so much that is good. You are all under orders to practice patience, and you have been made responsible for yourselves and for your flocks. As the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said:

Each and every one of you is a shepherd, and each and every one of you is responsible for his flock.

You must endure with patience whatever is decreed by destiny [qadar], until suffering is transformed into certainty [yaqin]. Patience is the foundation of all that is good. The angels [mala’ika] were afflicted with trials and tribulations, and they bore them with patience. The Prophets [anbiya’] were afflicted with trials and tribulations, and they bore them with patience. The righteous [salihun] have been afflicted with trials and tribulations, and they have borne them with patience. Now you are following in the footsteps of the people [of the Lord], so you must do as they did. You must endure with patience as they endured with patience.

When the heart is sound, it is indifferent to whether anyone agrees or disagrees with it, to whether anyone praises or blames it, to whether anyone gives or refuses to give it something, to whether anyone brings it close or keeps it at a distance, and to whether anyone accept it or rejects it, because the sound heart is filled with affirmation of Divine Unity [tawhid], absolute trust [tawakkul], certitude [yaqin], helpful guidance to success [tawfiq], knowledge [‘ilm], faith [iman], and nearness [qurb] to Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He). He sees all creatures in their essential weakness, lowliness and poverty, yet he will not be arrogant toward a little child amongst them. He becomes like a lion when battle is joined with the unbelievers [kuffar] and hypocrites [munafiqun], out of zeal for Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He). In His presence he becomes a discarded piece of flesh, and he is meek and humble toward those who are righteous [salihun] and piously devoted [muttaqun wari’un]. Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has described the kind of people who have such attributes, for He has said:

Hard against the unbelievers, merciful among themselves. (48:29)

Such a servant [of the Lord] comes into being from beyond the comprehension of ordinary creatures and from beyond their control. He emerges as a manifestation of His words (Almighty and Glorious is He):

And He creates what you do not know. (16:8)

All of this is the fruit of the affirmation of Divine Unity [tawhid], sincerity [ikhlas] and patience [sabr]. Consider the experience of our Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). When he endured with patience he was raised up to the Seventh Heaven, where he saw his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) and was drawn near to Him. In his case the building proved sound, after the foundation of patience had been firmly laid. All good results are based on patience, and this is why Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has mentioned it so frequently and enjoined it so emphatically, for He has said (Exalted is He):

O you who believe, be patient, and vie in patience; be steadfast, and observe your duty to Allah, in order that you may succeed. (3:200)

O Allah, include us among those who endure with patience. Let us be their faithful followers in active goodness, in word and in deed, in private and it public, in form and in substance, in all our states and circumstances, and:

Give us in this world good, and good in the hereafter, and guard us against the torment of the fire! (2:201)

The Twenty-Ninth Discourse

For the truly honest person [sadiq] there can be no movement to the rear. He is always moving to the fore. He has a front without a back. He never ceases to behave with honest sincerity, so that his speck of dust eventually becomes a mountain, his drop of water an ocean, his tiny portion a great deal, his lamp a sun, and his shell a kernel [lubb].

If you ever have the good fortune to come across a truly honest person, you must stick close to him always, wherever he may lead you. If you are lucky enough to come across a person who holds the remedy to cure your sickness, you must stick close to him at all times. If you are lucky enough to come across a person who can show you how to recover the opportunities you have wasted on nothing better than garbage, you must stick close–really close–to him!

You may never get to know such people as these, however, for they are no more than a few rare individuals. The outer shell is plentiful, but the kernel is in short supply. The shells are in the public garbage dumps, but the kernels are in the private storerooms of the landowner. Whenever a heart is filled with the things of this world, and with the desires and lusts of the flesh, that heart is merely a shell, fit for no purpose beyond this lower world. As long as you can still detect within your heart any trace of the products of creation, you are doomed to suffer punishment.

Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has told us:

I have not created the jinn and humankind except to serve Me. I seek no provision from them, nor do I ask that they should feed Me. Surely Allah is the All-Providing One, the Possessor of Strength, the Ever-Sure. (51:56-58)

Most of you are out of touch with reality. You are pretending to practice Islam, when in actual fact you are doing nothing of the kind. Woe unto you! The mere name of Islam will do you no good at all. You may be performing the required observances [shara’it], but only on the surface [zahir], devoid of inner content [batin], so your performance does not amount to anything of value. Your external form may be there in the prayer-niche [mihrab], but your inner being is putting on a show and your outer self is playing the hypocrite. From a superficial point of view, your conduct is considered pious and devout, even though all the while your inner being is full of things that are unlawful [haram].

This constitutes worshipful devotion [ta’abbud] as far as your physical frame is concerned. Its performance will therefore render you outwardly exempt from punishment under the sacred law [shar’], since you have not committed any obvious infringement of that law, but true knowledge [‘ilm] will condemn you to agony and chastisement. You may see yourself as having dodged the penalty today, but who will let you get away with it tomorrow [at the Resurrection]?

You may see yourself as having been exonerated in the view of the legal experts [ahl al-hukm], but how can you pass for blameless in the sight of the people of knowledge [ahl al-‘ilm], when they see by the light of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) and recognize the Truth [Haqq] by indications with which they are familiar? As seen through the eyes of the common folk, you are a person who performs the ritual prayers [musalli], who keeps the fast [sa’im], who constantly extols the glory of the Lord [musabbih], who pays the alms-due [muzakki], who makes the pilgrimage to Mecca [hajj], who behaves with pious restraint [mutawarri’], who is devoted to duty [muttaqi] and dedicated to abstinence [zahid].

In the eyes of the people of knowledge, on the other hand, you are a hypocrite [munafiq], an impostor [dajjal], a denizen of Hell [jahannami]. As soon as you you come into their presence, they will notice the ruined state of your house, the house of your religion [din]. They will spot the mark of hypocrisy on your face. They will recognize you at once by your telltale demeanor, and yet they will not say so in words. The nearness of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) has sealed their mouths, His protective covering has kept their tongues in check, and the tongue of His noble generosity and forbearance restrains them. Were it not for this, they would not seem so tolerant!

O you hypocrites! You must practice the reality of Islam, so that faith [iman] may come to you, and then conviction [iqan], direct experience [ma’rifa], intimate conversation [munajat], and confidential discourse [muhadatha]. Be sensible! Do not be satisfied with the outer forms [suwar], devoid of their spiritual contents [ma’ani]. Perform your duties, and do so with sincere devotion, for then you will be saved. For scholars, the way to get a firm grasp on knowledge is by putting it into practice. He who gives service will be well served. He who behaves humbly and modestly will be promoted to high rank. You must act as a servant, for then you will come to be a master [sayyid]. Surely you have heard the saying: “The master of the people is their servant.” As for you, you do an excellent job when it comes to serving yourself, your wife and your children. You are very stingy with your money in relation to the poor, although you spend it freely on your personal whims and selfish interests.

O you backslider! The benefits you enjoy will very soon be in short supply. You are more afraid of the policeman on your street, and of the swindler [duwali] 6 who operates in your neighborhood, than you are afraid of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). You give them gifts and offer them presents, because they might spread the word that your home is in a shambles, and your credit likewise. Woe unto you! The time is near at hand, when all your wealth will disappear, when your friends-or rather, those wicked companions of yours-will leave you in the lurch and treat you as their enemy, and when your local policeman and your neighborhood swindler will both expose you to disgrace, because you can no longer bribe them to keep quiet.

How can you expect to receive the grace of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), when you keep spending His blessings on acts of sinful disobedience against Him? You will soon be reduced to begging, but no one will give you a handout, and you will end up living in the refuse dumps and sewers. It may be that death will come to you while you are in this sorry state, in which case you will accept it as a welcome release from wretched misery.

Be sensible, and feel a sense of shame in the presence of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He)! This world cannot last for ever, but the hereafter will endure eternally. The pleasures of this world do not linger very long, but everlasting are the delights of the hereafter. The true believer [mu’min] trades this world for the hereafter, and the creation [khalq] for the Creator [Khaliq].

Among the people [of the Lord], there are some who must undergo the following experience: At the very point where the person concerned has come to be completely satisfied with Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), to the exclusion of his fellow creatures and of everything else on earth, He saddles him with the responsibility of caring for dependents and providing for their support. This is to make him go back to his fellow creatures and accept things from them, so that his receiving from them may be an act of mercy toward them. Thus poverty will be his outwardly apparent condition [zahir], while his freedom from want remains as an inner state of being [batin]. In other words, his freedom from want will be a private matter, while his poverty is visible to the public at large.

Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) may effect the transformation of His servants through what He shows them in their dreams, and they will surely receive an education in the process. First of all, He lets them see the Book and the Sunna. They practice what they learn from these, and so they become devout [muttaqin]. Then He lets them see the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) in their dreams, telling them to do this and that, and to refrain from doing this and that. Then they see their Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) in their dreams, and He will tell them what they must or must not do. Thus they progress from grade to grade, from textbook to textbook, from classroom to classroom, from commemoration to commemoration.

As seen through the eyes of the true believer [mu’min], all creatures are but one single individual, and that individual is a decrepit invalid, who is capable neither of procuring any benefit for himself, nor of preventing himself from suffering any harm. The true believer hates those of his fellow creatures who disobey his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), and he loves those who obey Him, for he concurs with Him where hating and loving are concerned. He does not love his fellow creatures on account of what they may give him, and his hatred of them is not motivated by his self-interest [nafs] or his passionate desires [hawa]. He is always detached from the influence of the lower self, and he only goes along with it when it is ready to obey Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He). He obliges this world to keep its distance from his heart. He is ever steadfast in his commitment to the religion [din] of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), observing its provisions with the utmost respect, and always prepared to come to its aid.

 

Woe unto you! It is the heart that must practice abstinence, not merely the body. O you who act like a pious ascetic on the surface [mutazahid az-zahir], your abstinence will be thrown straight back at you. You have seen to it that your turban and your gown will be kept in fine condition, and you have buried your gold in the ground, and only then you have donned that coarse hair shirt [mish] and assumed an attitude of humble piety. May Allah cut off your skin and your head, if you do not repent! You have opened a shop in which you offer hypocrisy [nifaq] for sale. May Allah make your shop collapse on top of you, so as to flatten you beneath it! Will you never learn? You must repent. You must cut the waistband [that marks you as an unbeliever].8

Woe unto you! In the case of the true believer [mu’min], his abstinence is in his heart, while the nearness of his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) is in his innermost being [sirr]. Both this world and the hereafter are at his door, inside his storeroom, not right inside him. His heart is empty of anything other than his Master [Mawla]. How can he even hear anyone besides Him, when he is filled with Him, with the remembrance of Him and with His nearness? His heart is broken on account of his Master, so He must surely be with him, because Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said in one of His utterances:

I am with those whose hearts are broken on My account.

Your lower selves [nufus] are broken on account of the loss of this world, while their hearts are broken on account of the Master [Mawla].9 But then, once they are really and truly broken-hearted, He comes to them and mends their broken state. The Physician comes along and treats their condition. This is the true bliss, not the bliss of this world and the hereafter. The people [of the Lord] are sick, but their Physician is with them. They are sick in the presence of their Physician, sleeping in the bay of His protection and His tender care, while He treats them with the hand of grace and kindness and compassion.

If anyone backs away, he will not be the one to succeed. You must sit in the company of the people [of the Lord] and listen to what they have to say. You must befriend them for the sake of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), not for the sake of this world, for then He will cause you to benefit from them. You must acquire knowledge and put it into practice, so that you may derive benefit from the knowledge you acquire. Knowledge is like the sword, while practice is like the hand. A sword will not cut anything without a hand to wield it, nor can a hand do any cutting without a sword. You must study outwardly [zahiran] and be sincere about it inwardly [batinan], for you will not be given a speck of dust without sincerity [ikhlas].

You must listen attentively to the Qur’an, and put what you hear into practice. The Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) has only sent it down so that you may use it to get in touch with Him. It has two edges, one edge being in His hand and one edge in our hands. If you put it into practice, He will cause your hearts to climb up to Him. He will install your hearts in the abode of His nearness, while you are still here in this world, before you pass on to the hereafter.

If you wish to attain to contact with Him, you must practice detachment from this world and your fellow creatures. You must practice detachment from your own lower self [nafs], your family, your property, your carnal appetites, your dubious habits, and your fondness for the praise, approval and attention of your fellow creatures. If you can really experience this, you will find yourself able to do without them altogether. Your stomach will be fully fed, your liver will be well and truly irrigated, your inner being [batin] and your private life will flourish and prosper, your heart and your innermost being [sirr] will glow with light, and your lower self [nafs] will be calm and tranquil.

All this will come about as the result of your putting into practice what you learn from the Qur’an. This Qur’an is an illuminating sun, so you must install it in the houses of your hearts, in order to let it shine its light for you. Woe unto you! If you put out the lamps, how can you see what is right there in front of you, in the darkness of the night?

Obey Allah and the Messenger when He calls you to that which brings you to life. (8:24)

A heart that is dead, how can it see? A heart that is dead through the influence of this world and the love thereof, the love of creatures and their good opinion, how can it hear? What can it hear and see? Get to know creatures really well, and you will eventually come to detest them, O you who are dead at heart through the pursuit of this world, through your eager desire to possess it and your fondness for what it has to offer!

As for you, O pious abstainers, your quest for the Garden of Paradise has distracted you from your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). Woe unto you! If you wish to find the right track, you must get your priorities right. The neighbor must come before the house [al-jar qabla ‘d-dar] and the companion before the path [ar-rafiq qabla ‘t-tariq].

In your case, O preachers [wu”az], you have promoted yourselves to the position of the Prophets (may the blessing and peace of Allah be upon them all). You have put yourselves forward into the front rank, but you are not skilled in tactical maneuver and the art of combat. You must come down to earth and learn some lessons. You must put what you learn into practice, and you must do so sincerely. Then you can aspire to the heights.

There can be no success in this business except through combat with the lower self [nafs], the passions [hawa], the natural inclinations [tab’], the devil [shaitan], the influence of this world [dunya], and the desires of the flesh [shahawat]. It also requires detachment from one’s fellow creatures, and ceasing to regard them as the cause of injury or the source of benefit. Once you have gained the upper hand over all of these adversaries, once you have conquered and subdued them through the strength of your faith [iman], your conviction [iqan] and your affirmation of the Divine Unity [tawhid], the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) will set His seal upon your heart and your innermost being [sirr], and He will establish their residence in the abode of His nearness. Then He will command the pair of them [your heart and your innermost being] to go forth and deal with them [your fellow creatures], for by now you will be an expert in the tactics of maneuvering among the ranks, knowing how to put up with people and how to contend with their problems.

O Allah, let us devote our energies to work that will earn us Your good pleasure, and:

Give us in this world good, and good in the hereafter, and guard us against the torment of the fire! (2:201)

In relation to ordinary people, the friends of Allah [awliya’ullah] are deaf, dumb and blind [summun bukmun ‘umyun]… For they are between the Majesty [jalal] and the Beauty [jamal] (of the Lord), inclining neither to the right nor to the left. They have a “forwards” [amam] without a “backwards” [wara’]…

What I am involved in does not bring about change through the tongue, but only through the inner core [janan]. No right, no left and no behind, but only straight ahead. A front without a back.

The distinctive feature of the saint [wali] is that he is ready to comply with the wishes of his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) under all circumstances… He will come to be a front without a back, a nearness with no remoteness, a pure serenity with no murky confusion, a goodness with no evil.

The Thirty-Eighth Discourse

The people [of the Lord] have given up the toil [taraku ‘l-‘amal], saying: “Everything apart from Him is merely stuffing and a shell.” They have set out in quest of the kernel [lubb]. They have clung to it with persistent dedication, and have found it so completely satisfying that they can do without the shell. They are so content with Allah that nothing else is indispensable. There is no dispensing with the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), while everything apart from Him can be dispensed with. He has recognized the genuine sincerity [sidq] of their quest. He has granted them amnesty and well-being [al-‘afw wa ‘l-‘afiya] and nearness to Him.

Over there, protection belongs only to Allah, the True. (18:44)

A heart that feels no fear of Him is like a piece of land on which there are no trees, or a flock of sheep without a shepherd. That land will soon become a desert waste, and those sheep will soon be eaten by the wolves. When someone is afraid, he travels under the cover of night. He does not settle in one place, but is always traveling on toward his final destination. The journey of the people [of the Lord] is toward the palace of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He). The traveling is the traveling of their hearts, and the arrival is the arrival of their innermost beings [asrar]. When the innermost beings have arrived, they become kings, while the limbs and organs of the body become steadfast attendants. When the heart arrives at the door, it will ask permission for the innermost being to be admitted inside, so the innermost being will enter and then the heart will go in after it.

How great and varied is your knowledge [‘ulum], yet how few are your practical deeds [a’mal] ! You have turned your endowment [hazz] of knowledge into a memory bank [hifz], while tales and stories have proliferated. How can you hope to benefit from this? Here we have someone who carefully memorizes a certain hadith [tradition of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)], yet he does not put a single letter of it into practice! This will count as evidence against you [on the Day of Judgment], not as evidence in your favor.

You go around saying: “My shaikh is so-and-so. I have been a disciple of so-and-so. I have attended the lectures of so-and-so. I once said to the learned scholar so-and-so….” All of this, without any practical action, does not amount to a thing. If a person is truly sincere [sadiq], he will put the truth into practice. He will say farewell to the shaikhs and take his leave of them, indicating to them as he goes: “Stay there in your normal surroundings, while I move on to explore those places to which you have shown me the way.” The shaikhs are a door, but it is not appropriate to cling to the door and never to enter the house.

And Allah coins parables for mankind [in order that they may reflect]. (14:25)

Suppose you notice the hardness of a person’s heart, the frozen look in his eye, the far reach of his expectation, his stinginess with what he has in his possession, his disdainful attitude toward the commandments and prohibitions [of the sacred law], and his bitter expression of resentment whenever misfortunes come his way. If you should ever observe someone who matches this description, you need to be aware that he is in very serious trouble. The core of a heart so hard can never feel compassion, and his eyes will never turn moist with tears in a moment of joy or a moment of happiness, because the frozen condition of his eye is due to the hardness of his heart. How could his heart be anything but hard, when he is filled with an ardent desire to commit sins and wrongful acts, with exaggerated expectations, with a greedy longing for things that are not destined to belong to him, and with a feeling of envy toward their rightful owners? How could that heart of his be anything but hard, when he is too stingy to pay the alms-due [zakat] prescribed by the sacred law [mafruda], when he does not produce the offerings that must be made in order to obtain expiation [kaffarat], when he does not fulfill his vows [nudhur], when he does not attend to the needs of his close relatives, when he does not settle his debts in spite of his ability to do so, but makes his creditors wait indefinitely so that he can evade repayment altogether, and when he hates giving anything extra, even more than he hates giving that which is due? All of these characteristics, and others of similar nature, are symptomatic of serious spiritual disorder [shaqa’].

As Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:

Is not the time now ripe for the hearts of those who believe to be humbled to the Remembrance of Allah and to the Truth which He has sent down? (57:16)

You must not get into arguments with Him on the subject of His decree [qadar]. You must make serious efforts and exert yourselves with diligence. You must stick to your commitment and continue to pursue your goal. You must offer earnest entreaties. You must weep and plead for intercession. You must humble yourselves. You must be steadfast in holding your ground by the door. You must not run away.

All matters of concern are at the disposal of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He). He is the One who alerts us and puts us on our guard. He is the One who makes us wakeful, and He is the One who lulls us to sleep. When our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) heard the summons of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He):

O you enveloped in your cloak, arise, and warn! (74:1,2)

–he got up from his bed and went forth to answer the call. This is how we should always hear and respond to the summons of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), as we wander in search of Him and yearn to find Him. This is how Allah (Exalted is He) awakens our hearts to the duties they must perform. When He wants you to carry out some task, He will equip you for it. This is an esoteric mystery [sirr batin], for it concerns the decree of destiny [qadar], preordination [sabiqa] and foreknowledge [‘ilm]. It is not permissible for us to rest our case on this, and we are not allowed to use it as a pretext for inaction. Not in the least!

We must make strenuous efforts and exert ourselves with diligence. We must dare to be enterprising, even though we have no guarantee.

O Allah, let us be content with Your decree. Let us be patient in the face of Your affliction. Let us distribute our gratitude for Your blessings. We beg You to grant us the fullness of grace, the permanence of well-being, and the constancy of love.

Ibrahim ibn Ad’ham (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him) is reported as having said: “I wept one night from the first part of the night until the last part of it. All that time I was offering various prayers of supplication [du’a’] to Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), and all the while I was shedding tears. But just when the dawn was almost on the point of breaking, my eyelids drooped. Then, in my sleep, I saw Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He). ‘O Ibrahim,’ said He, ‘it would be better for you to offer Me your prayer of supplication in these words: “O Allah, let me be content with Your decree. Let me be patient in the face of Your affliction. Let me distribute my gratitude for Your blessings. I beg You to grant me the fullness of grace, the permanence of well-being, and the constancy of love.”‘ Then I woke up, to find myself repeating those very words!”

The servant [of the Lord] who makes his servitude a reality [al-muhaqqiq li’l-‘ubudiyya] is the one who is completely satisfied with Him to the exclusion of His creatures. This servant owes his salvation from the condition of other servants to His Prophet (may Allah bless him and his family and give them peace, and upon all the other Prophets be the blessings and peace of Allah). He is no longer in need of anything; it is rather the case that things are in need of him. The people [of the Lord] seek nothing from Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), other than Allah Himself. The are seeking the Benefactor [Mun’im], not the benefit [ni’ma]. They are seeking the Creator [Khaliq], not the product of creation [makhluq]. They have run away from food and drink and clothes, from marriage and from all the goods and chattels of this world. They have run away to Him from all of this, so how could they be serving Him for the sake of such things? How could they be seeking such things from Him?

They do not serve Him for the sake of obtaining fodder [‘alaf] to feed their lower selves [nufus]. They do not serve Him for the sake of enjoying access to the mansion where guests are entertained [dar ad-diyafa]. They say: “We do not feel the need for human sympathy [rahma]. You may wish for human sympathy, but all we want is to be alone with the Beloved [Mahbub], without regard for sympathy. There is no room for any partner [sharik].”

O seeker [murid], you are merely simulating love [mahabba]. The lover is the guest of the beloved [al-muhibb daif al-mahbub]. Did you ever see a guest having to bestir himself in order to obtain his food and drink and his other essential needs? You are merely simulating love. You go to sleep, but the lover never sleeps. There are only two possible cases: you must be either a lover or one who is loved. If you are a lover, well, how can the lover fall asleep? But if you are a loved one, well, in that case the lover is your guest. O you who lay claim to that which you do not possess, the time will surely come, sooner or later, when you must learn about the penalty for making that unsubstantiated claim of yours!

O learned scholars [‘ulama’], the acquisition of knowledge [‘ilm] is not an end in itself. The desired object is the fruit of knowledge. What is the use of the tree if it does not bear fruit? What is the use of knowledge unless it is acted upon and put into practice with sincerity [ikhlas]? There is no point in acquiring knowledge of the Book and the Sunna, except for the purpose of putting them into practice. How could one derive any benefit from them, except through putting them into practice? The workman gets his wages, but only after he has done his work and labored at the job.

There is nothing really worth talking about until you come home from the journey through this world, the realm of physical existence [wujud] and the created universe [khalq]. Once you have reached your destination, all will be clarified, revealed and explained.

As Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

Observe your duty to Allah. Allah will teach you. (2:282)

–and as Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has also said:

And whoever is dutiful toward Allah, He prepares a way out for him, and provides for him from sources he could never imagine. (65:2,3)

Devotion to one’s religious duty [taqwa] is the foundation of all that is good; it is a source of worldly benefit, a source of wisdom [hikma] and all kinds of knowledge [‘ulum], of purity of heart, and of many secrets. You must observe your duty toward Him, and be patient with Him. Patience [sabr] is the head of both religion and the worldly life [ra’s ad-din wa ‘d-dunya], while active work [‘amal] is their body. This is why the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said:

Patience is to faith as the head is to the body.

It is only through patience under the decree of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) that deeds can be truly accomplished. You must be patient. You must be steadfast. You must practice pious restraint. It is incumbent upon you to practice pious restraint [wara’] both in your private lives and in your public activities. It is also incumbent upon you to make a practice of abstinent detachment [zuhd] from allotted shares [aqsam] that are destined to come your way, and of indifference toward the allotted shares of other people.

How long will you go on squandering your religion for the sake of worldly status, for the sake of amassing commercial tokens [ghallat] and gold coins [dananir], clothes, houses, jewels, horses and servants? All of this stems from idle fantasy. These things will soon be separated from you. You must turn again to your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). Turn right around and you will prosper! Abandon this folly, this confusion and craziness! Why should you take such trouble to accumulate things, when you will have to leave them behind for others to inherit, and when you alone will be called to account for them at the Reckoning? Of all that you accumulate, not a single atom is really useful to you. You will gain nothing from all that you possess, except the burden of explaining how you came by it, accounting for it, being punished for it, losing it and regretting it. What is the matter with you? Why don’t you buy some common sense from me? Come here to me! Sit here in front of me and listen to the good advice I have to offer you. I am well aware of that which you fail to recognize, and I can see things that belong to the hereafter, things that you cannot see.

Woe unto you! Righteous deeds are those that will keep the torment away from you in your graves. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is reported as having said:

When the believer [mu ‘min] is left alone in his grave, his charitable gift [sadaqa] will come and sit by his head, his ritual prayer [salat] by his right side, his fasting [siyam] by his left side, and his patience [sabr] by his feet. Then the torment will approach him near his head, but the charitable gift will say: “There is no way for you to get past me!” It will then approach him from the right, but the ritual prayer will say: “There is no way for you to get past me!” So it will try to reach him from the left, but the fasting will say: “There is no way for you to get past me!” It will then try from the direction of his feet, but his patience will say: “I am here at the ready. If you need me, I shall come to your aid.”

O my people! You must see it as your duty to share your own blessings with the poor [fuqara ‘], and to treat them with special consideration even when faith [iman] is weak. Charitable sharing [mu’asat] is appropriate when faith is strong, and they are entitled to special consideration [ithar] even when you are personally in distress. You must entertain the poor with generosity, or send them away in the kindest manner possible when you have nothing to give. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is reported as having said:

Allah’s gift to His servant is the beggar at his door.

Woe unto you! You are unwilling to accept the gift of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), so you send it away! In a very short time you will see your report. Poverty will come to you, to drive out your affluence and take its place. Sickness will come to you, to drive out your good health and take its place. Do not gamble with the most important blessings that you now have from your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). The true believer [mu’min] realizes that the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) would not send the beggar to him except as an act of love, so he gives that beggar some part of the bountiful favor that he has himself received. He recognizes that, when he gives the beggar a gift, treats him with respect, and accepts the fact that he has a responsibility toward him, he is himself being given the most perfect, the most abundant and the most excellent gift that he could ever receive in this world and the hereafter.

O you backslider! You cultivate relations with the sultans, the princes and the wealthy, in pursuit of worldly status and material gain, but you fail to cultivate relations with the King of kings [Malik al-muluk], the Wealthiest of the wealthy [Aghna ‘l-aghniya’], the One who never dies, the One who is never in need. If you lend Him a loan, He will repay you many times over. In return for one dirham [silver coin] He will give you ten in this world, and your reward in the hereafter will never be diminished. He will give you blessed grace [baraka] in this world, and the full reward in the hereafter. Surely you must have heard how He has said (Exalted is He):

And whatever you spend [in a good cause], He will replace it. (34:39)

O Allah, grant us the blessing of Your love [mahabba], and make it a pleasant experience for us to serve You and to stand in waiting at Your door, in the company of all the members of Your community [umma], and:

Give us in this world good, and good in the hereafter, and guard us against the torment of the fire! (2:201)

The Fortieth Discourse

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is reported as having said:

You must observe a high standard of morality [husn al-khulq] in your social relationships with people, for then, if you should die, they will pray for Allah to bestow His mercy upon you [yurahhimu ‘alaikum], and even if you are absent, they will still feel lovingly disposed toward you.

Pay careful heed to this piece of good advice. Attach it firmly to your hearts, and do not treat it as just an idea to be considered mentally and compared theoretically with other ideas. I have drawn your attention to something that may seem rather unimportant, but which carries a very considerable reward. How splendid is a good moral character, for it is a source of comfort to its owner and to other people as well, and how disgusting is a bad moral character, for it is a weary burden to its owner and a cause of pain to others! It is necessary for the true believer [mu ‘min] to wage a dedicated struggle against his own lower self [nafs], for the purpose of improving the quality of his moral character [khulq]. He must impose this particular discipline upon it, just as he must strive to train it in all other forms of worshipful obedience [ta’at]. As long as the lower self [nafs] shows signs of recalcitrance and indignation, and a tendency to treat other people with contempt, you must continue the struggle until it is well and truly tamed. Once it is properly tamed, it will behave with humble modesty and meek submissiveness, and its moral character will be refined. It will recognize its own worth, and be tolerant of others. Before the dedicated struggle [mujahada] is waged against it, the lower self [nafs] is a tyrannical Pharaoh [Fir’awna].

Congratulations to anyone who recognizes the true nature of his own lower self [nafs], and then treats it as an enemy, opposing it whenever it tries to tell him what to do! You must subject it constantly to the remembrance of death and of that which lies beyond death, for then it will become meekly submissive and its moral character will be improved. You must grasp it with the hand of contemplation, and cause it to enter the Fire of Hell and the Garden of Paradise, so that it can see what these contain, for then it will become meekly submissive and its moral character will be improved. You must contemplate the Resurrection [Qiyama], and make your own lower selves [anfus] experience it, before the actual Resurrection comes to pass. The Resurrection will be a delight for one set of people, and an occasion of grief for another group. For some it will be a festival [‘id], while for others it will be a funeral ceremony [ma’tam]. For some people it will be the day of the festival of the righteous [‘id as-salihin], the day of their recreational parade, the day on which they get to wear their robes of honor and to mount their fine riding beasts, while their attendants come forth to escort them, and their banners are unfurled. Their good deeds will take on visible forms, the radiance of which will shine upon their faces.

If you have a serious interest in your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), and if you are seeking Him, you must stick close to me, and be content. If you are prepared to do this, well and good. If not, you are not being really honest. This path is not one that can be traveled in the company of the lower self [nafs], passionate desire [hawa], natural inclination [tab’], and the need to make a favorable impression on one’s fellow creatures. I have disclosed the state of affairs to you, so if you wish, accept my terms. If not…. You [O Lord] are More Knowledgeable [A’raf]! If you do accept, I shall hope and pray that you may receive much good from Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He). Follow me, and do not fear for yourself on account of the hunger of the poor. You may rest assured that nothing but what you wish for is going to happen, and that you will experience nothing but good.

When I was just a little boy, I used to go off by myself to spend time alone in empty places. At certain moments, I would hear a voice, although I never saw a person, saying: “You are surely blessed with goodness, and you will surely acquire goodness!” Whenever this happened, I would get up and explore my surroundings, since I had no idea where that voice might be coming from, and–for which all praise is due to Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He)–I have experienced blessed grace [baraka] in all my circumstances.

Among the servants of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), there are some who are empowered to say to something “Be!”–and it will thereupon come into being. You do not see them, however, and even if you did see them, you would fail to recognize them. You would slam your doors shut in their faces. You would tighten your purse strings in their presence, and you would not invite them to share the food on your table. Woe unto you! If you bolt your doors in the faces of the poor, Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) will shut you out, but if you open them in their faces, Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) will provide an opening for you. If you spend your financial resources to earn the favor of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), He will provide you with compensation, but if you spend those resources to earn the favor of your fellow creatures, He will make things difficult for you. Spend freely on good causes, and do not be stingy, for generosity is from Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), while stinginess is from the devil [shaitan]. As Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:

The devil promises you poverty, and instructs you to behave with gross indecency. (2:268)

This is in contrast to what Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has promised you, namely, compensation in return for charitable expenditure, for He has said (Exalted is He):

And whatever thing you shall expend, He will replace it. (34:39)

Woe unto you! You lay claim to Islam, yet you disagree with the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), and you introduce into his religion whatever novelty your whims and passions desire. You have been telling a lie concerning your Islam. Far from being a faithful follower [muttabi’], you are in fact a heretical innovator [mubtadi’]. Far from being harmoniously compliant, you are actually an incompatible dissident. Surely you must have heard how the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has told us:

Follow [the Book and the Sunna], and do not introduce heretical innovations, for you have been given everything you need.

You must also have heard his saying (Allah bless him and give him peace):

I have left you in possession of unambiguous evidence.

You claim to be a faithful follower of his (Allah bless him and give him peace), yet you contradict his words. You are quite unworthy of any respect!

I am simply telling the truth, so if you wish to love me, well and good, but you do not have to love me, if you do not wish to do so. If you wish to praise me, well and good, but you may also blame me, if you so wish.

As Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:

Say: “O mankind, the truth has come to you from your Lord.” (10:108)

So, if there is anyone who wishes to believe, let him believe, and if there is someone who wishes to disbelieve, let him disbelieve. No one will run away from what I have to say, unless he is a hypocrite [munafiq], an impostor [dajjal], a heretical innovator [bid’i], someone who is motivated by his whims and passions [hawa], someone who readily complies with his own lower self [nafs], someone who is at variance with the Book of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) and the Sunna of His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), someone who is a hater of the truth and a lover of falsehood, someone whose heart takes no steps in the direction of closeness to his Master [Mawla] (Almighty and Glorious is He).

Use the ears and eyes of your heart to listen and look, without doubt and suspicion, then watch out for the marvelous wonders you will see! You must cease to view the people [of the Lord] with doubt and suspicion. Acknowledge the fact that they always tell the truth, and be ready to accept instruction from them, without asking ‘why?’ and ‘how?’, for then they will adopt you as a member of their company. They will regard you as fit to enter their service, and they will share with you whatever blessings are bestowed upon them. Blessings and favors are bestowed upon the hearts of the champions of truth [siddiqin], and secrets are communicated to their innermost beings [asrar], by night and by day. If you wish them to regard you as fit to enter their service, you must purify your character, both on the outside [zahir] and on the inside [batin], and stand before them at the ready. You must purify your heart by purging it of any heretical innovation [bid’a], for the doctrine [i’tiqad] of the people [of the Lord] is the doctrine of the Prophets [nabiyyin], the Messengers [mursalin], and the champions of the truth [siddiqin] (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon them all). Theirs is the school [madhhab] to which they adhere [in respect of religious tenets and practices], the school of the righteous predecessors. They would never make a claim that could not be substantiated, and whenever they do make a claim, it is supported by the testimony of two impeccable witnesses, whose honorable status is definitely beyond suspicion, namely, the Book of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) and the Sunna of His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace).

O my people, you may do injustice to yourselves, but you must not do injustice to others! Injustice [zulm] brings about the ruin of whole countries, and puts an end to their development. It darkens hearts and faces, and causes the means of livelihood to be in short supply. Do not perpetrate injustice [la tazlimu], for it will result in darkness [zulma] on the Day of Resurrection [Yawm al-Qiyama]. The resurrection of our physical bodies is something we shall experience all too soon. The Creator of our physical bodies will make us stand before Him, while He calls us to account and submits us to interrogation. He will ask us about everything, be it little or much, and He will hold us responsible for the tiniest details.

I am simply acting as a counselor [nasih] for your benefit. I am not seeking any remuneration from you in exchange for my good advice!

You must not get anywhere close to transactions in which usurious interest [riba] is involved, for that would amount to waging war against your Lord, and would result in the removal of blessed grace [baraka] from your material resources. When you make a loan, the terms of repayment should be exactly one dinar [gold coin] for one dinar. If anyone among you is capable of making a loan to a poor person, and of waiving the repayment after some time for the sake of Allah, he should certainly do so. He will thereby make that person happy on two occasions, first by means of the loan itself, and then again by the waiver. You should do this with a sense of relying on your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) and having confidence in Him. He will surely provide compensation, reward you, and bless you for it. You must make every effort to avoid turning the beggar away empty-handed. Give him whatever you can readily afford, however little it may be, for a little something is better than total deprivation. If you really cannot come up with anything at all, you should at least refrain from shooing him away with angry words. Try to say something kind and gentle to him as you send him on his way, so that you do not break his heart with utter disappointment!

The face of this world is very changeable indeed; its complexion varies with the alternating of the night and the day. Whenever someone dies, he actually experiences his personal resurrection [qiyama], and becomes aware of what he has to his credit and of what is counted against him. Everything has its terminating counterpart: well-being is terminated by affliction, affluence by poverty, life by death, honor by humiliation. All of these things are opposites. As one of them arrives, its opposite departs, and in the hereafter there is the termination of death. In the case of the believer [mu’min] who is spiritually aware [‘arif], no sooner does he close the eyes of his head than the eyes of his heart open wide, so that he sees his fellow creatures in the state they happen to be in at that moment. Then, as soon as the eyes of his heart have closed, the eyes of his head open wide, and he sees the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) and His ways of managing the realm of creation. As soon as the Lord of Truth [Haqq] makes His presence felt, the realm of creation [khalq] departs. As soon as the hereafter makes its presence felt, this world departs. As soon as honesty [sidq] makes its presence felt, lying departs. As soon as sincere devotion [ikhlas] makes its presence felt, the association of partners with Allah [shirk] departs. As soon as faith [iman] makes its presence felt, hypocrisy [nifaq] departs. Each item has an opposite to match it.

The sensible person pays attention to the ultimate consequences [‘awaqib]. He does not focus his attention on this world and its glamorous charm, for it must very soon pass away and come to an end. All of you will come to an end, then it will also come to an end after you are gone.

You must not run away, trying to escape from the company of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) on account of the painful sufferings that are sent by Him to afflict you, for He is More Aware [A’lam] of your best interests than you yourselves, and you must receive a proper education. He comes down upon the hearts of the champions of truth [siddiqin], so you may salute them with the greeting of peace, and ask them to intercede on your behalf. Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) is the One who enables and empowers [al-Mumakkin]. He clasps their hearts to His bosom, kisses the eyes of their hearts, and raises them up through patience [sabr], compliance [muwafaqa] and contentment [rida]. You will therefore remain in His presence for a while, but then you will be taken away from His presence, and the question will be asked: “How did you regard the situation and the hospitality you received there?” To this you will reply: “What an excellent situation, and how excellent the Host! How excellent the guidance, and how excellent the Guide!”

One of these spiritual masters [sada] (may Allah bestow His mercy upon them all) had just been through the agony of a very painful ordeal, when some people came and asked him: “How was it for you during the experience of that ordeal?” To this he replied: “Ask the ordeal about me!”

You must all be patient with your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), for He will surely bring your trials and tribulations to an end, and He will raise your spiritual degrees in His sight, as a reward for your patience. Be with Him, in spite of your own lower selves [anfus]. Be with those who sincerely believe in Him, and who are actively practicing what they believe, in His company, because of Him, and for His sake.

O Allah, grant us control of the instruments we need, and make things easy for us! Open up good opportunities for us, and make our way smooth! Amin.

Faith [iman] brings with it an increase in sickness, poverty, hunger, and the abundance of cares and concerns. If this does not happen, it is not true faith. The essential nature [jawhar] of faith becomes clearly apparent in the presence of misfortune, and its light shines brightly in the presence of trials and tribulations, just as courage becomes manifest in the presence of the army that threatens disaster. Your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) is fully Aware [Khabir] of what all of you are doing, O kings [muluk] and slaves [mamalik], O members of the elite class [khawass], O common folk [‘awamm], O affluent ones [aghniya’], O indigent paupers [fuqara’], O hermits in your cells [ahl al-khalawat]! No one has a screen behind which to hide from Him, for He (Exalted is He) is with you wherever you may be!

O Allah, grant us protection [sitr], forgiveness [ghufran], pardon [‘afw], kindness [lutf], clemency [hilm], tolerance [tajawuz], providential care [‘inaya], sufficiency [kifaya], well-being [‘afiya], and amnesty [mu’afat]! Amin.

Whatever you are involved in, be it good or evil, truth or falsehood, sincere devotion [ikhlas] or the association of partners with Allah [shirk], worshipful obedience or sinful disobedience, He (Exalted is He) is All-Knowing [‘Alim], Ever-Aware [Khabir], Ever-Watchful [Raqib], Ever-Present [Hadir], Ever-Witnessing [Shahid]. You must feel a sense of shame, knowing that you are subject to His scrutinizing gaze (Exalted is He). Look with the eye of faith [iman], for then you will see that His gaze (Exalted is He) is directed at you from all the six directions [i.e., from right and left, from in front and behind, from above and below].

Are these stern lectures [mawa’iz] not sufficient for you? If only you would take advice, and listen with the ears of your hearts! All that you really need in this business is to feel the fear of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), in both your private and your public lives. You must always be vigilantly aware of Him (Exalted is He). You must be conscious of the fact that He is watching you, and that your conduct is being monitored by the angels, the Noble Recorders [al-Kiram al-Katibin]. You should indeed be afraid of the pair [of angels assigned to keep the record of your deeds], for then you need not be afraid of the penalties prescribed by Islamic law [hudud shar’iyya] that could be imposed upon you by your worldly ruler [sultan] and your political leader [amir]. If only you would be afraid [of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) and the recording angels], the person responsible for looking after you would not have any trouble with you!

O you poor creature! O starving wretch! O naked one! O needy one! You are crying out for help, but silence is preferable in your case, and it will prove more beneficial to you. The fact that He (Exalted is He) has knowledge [‘ilm] of your condition is enough to relieve you of the need to beg. His only reason for putting you to the test is to get you to come back to Him, so take your heart back to Him, stand firm, and see what good things you receive! Do not be impatient with Him, do not accuse Him of stinginess, and do not regard Him with doubt and suspicion. Exalted is He! He has caused you to experience hunger, nakedness, and poverty. He has doubts about you, so He (Exalted is He) is looking to see whether you will stick close to His door, or to the door of someone other than Him; whether you will be content with Him, or dissatisfied with Him; whether you will be grateful to Him, or complain about Him; whether you will yell at Him, or beseech Him in a humble tone of voice. He is putting you to the test in order to see how you behave.

O ignorant ones, you have left the door of the Wealthy One [al-Ghani] (Exalted is He) and attached yourselves to the door of the indigent pauper. You have left the door of the Noble One [al-Karim] and attached yourselves to the door of the ignoble scoundrel. You have left the door of the All-Capable One [al-Qadir] and attached yourselves to the door of someone who is quite incompetent. O you who are so ignorant about Him, the time is not far off when He will gather all of you together in His presence [on the Day of Resurrection]. He will make you stand before Him on that day, the Day of the Assembly [Yawm al-Jam’], in order to group you according to the various categories to which you belong.

O all you creatures! Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:

This is the Day of Decision. We have assembled you together with the people of ancient times, so if you have a trick to play, try now to trick Me! (77:38,39)

On the Day of Resurrection [Yawm al-Qiyama], Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) will gather all His creatures together on an earth which is not this earth, but one upon which no human blood has ever been shed, and where no sin has ever been committed. This is something about which there can be no doubt, and concerning which there is no uncertainty. As Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:

And because the Hour is coming, of that there is no doubt, and because Allah will raise up those who are in the graves. (22:7)

The Day of Resurrection [Yawm al-Qiyama] will be the day of mutual cheating [taghabun], the day of grief, the day of remorse, the day of recalling to mind, the day of compliance, the day of testimony, the day of stories, the day of gladness, the day of sorrow, the day of fear, the day of security from fear, the day of bliss, the day of torment, the day of rest, the day of weary labor, the day of thirst, the day of freedom from affliction, the day of clothing, the day of nakedness, the day of profit, the day of loss, the day on which the true believers [mu’minun] will rejoice in the help they receive from Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He).

O Allah, we take refuge with You from the evil of that day, and we beg You to grant us something good.

Give us in this world good, and good in the hereafter, and guard us against the torment of the fire! (2:201)

The Fourty-Fourth Discourse

A certain righteous man is reported as having said: “The hypocrite [munafiq] remains in one and the same spiritual condition for forty years at a stretch, while the champion of truth [siddiq] experiences transformation forty times every single day.”

The hypocrite is totally involved with his lower self [nafs], his passions [hawa], his natural inclinations [tab’], his devil [shaitan] and his interest in the things of this world [dunya]. He is committed to their service, from which he never takes a break. He is never known to disagree with their point of view, and he will never say a word to contradict them. His only interests are food and drink, clothes, sexual intercourse and the accumulation of wordly goods, and he does not care how he comes by them. He cultivates his physical body and his worldly affairs, but he lets his heart and his religion [din] go to waste. He tries to please his fellow creatures [khalq], but he gives offense to the Creator [Khaliq]. The longer his hypocrisy [nifaq] continues, the harder and darker his heart becomes, so he is quite unmoved and unaffected by any spiritual counsel [maw’iza], takes no notice of any admonition [‘iza], and pays no attention to any reminder. Thus it is undoubtedly a fact that he remains in one and the same spiritual condition for forty years at a stretch.

The champion of truth [siddiq] cannot possibly remain in such a static condition, because he is entirely at the disposal of the Transformer of hearts [Muqallib al-qulub], immersed in the ocean of His power, so that one wave raises him up and another sends him down. He is moved this way and that by the operations [tasarif] and transformations [taqalib] of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), like a feather in a windswept desert, like a fresh stalk [khama] in the farmer’s field, like the corpse in the hands of the ritual washer of the dead [ghasil], like the baby in the hands of the wet nurse [zi’r] or the midwife, like the ball on the receiving end of the polo player’s mallet. He has surrendered both his outer [zahir] and his inner being [batin] to Him, and he is completely satisfied with His management. Far from taking any interest in his eating, his sleeping and his carnal appetites, he is interested only in the service of his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) and in earning His good pleasure. This is why a certain righteous man once said: “As for the people [of the Lord], their approach to eating is that of the sick, their form of sleep is the sleep of the drowned, and if they speak it is only out of sheer necessity.” How could they not be like this? In their hearts there is something that is quite invisible to others. They have ceased to be aware of anything apart from their Lord. They have absented themselves from this world, the hereafter, and everything else apart from Him. They have settled humbly at His door. They have rested their heads on the threshold of His doorway, in readiness to comply with His orders. They have become accustomed to being contented, to needing nothing. Fate and destiny [al-qada’ wa ‘l-qadar] are now their servants, and these two approach them in visible form and then carry them on their heads.

If you are not one of the people [of the Lord], they are the people you must serve. You must befriend them, sit in their company and draw close to them. Put your material goods at their disposal. Follow them by emulating their actions, not by repeating their words and saying how excellent and wonderful they are. Carry your righteousness [salah] in your heart; do not wear it as part of your outer clothing. Dress as ordinary people dress, but do not behave as they behave. We Muslims do not recognize monasticism where food, clothing and marriage are concerned. As Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:

But monasticism they invented; We did not prescribe it for them. (57:27)

In the words of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace):

There is no such thing as monasticism in Islam.

Those who are sincere in their devotion [mukhlisun] have their hermitages [sawami’] inside their hearts, while their harsh austerity is imposed on their lower selves [anfus], their passionate desires [ahwiya] and their natural inclinations [taba’i’]. When they are alone in their private quarters, they experience the intimate friendship [uns] of their Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) in confidential converse [munajat] with Him.

Since the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) is using my tongue to inform you about the spiritual state of the righteous [salihun], one of you may be used as a channel to convey such information to another. You must pay attention and take notice. It is He who is calling you through that person’s mouth, so you must respond to the one who is transmitting His invitation. He is inviting you to pure serenity [safa’]. He is urging you to abstain from His creation and to be satisfied with Him. He is urging you to be among those who remember Him, so that you may come to be among those who are remembered in His presence. In the quest for his Master [Mawla], the honest servant must remember Him constantly, both outwardly [zahiran] and inwardly [batinan], both privately and publicly, by night and by day, in hardship and in ease, in bliss and in agony, until he comes to be one who is remembered by Him. That servant must remember Him audibly, by pronouncing His name aloud, and silently within his heart.

You are too sound asleep to realize that you are letting the bliss of the people [of the Lord] slip by you. O you who are so heedless of that bliss, will you not come to your senses? You are out of touch with that which should really concern you. You are very clever at dealing with the affairs of this world, but when it comes to the affairs of the hereafter you are sheer ignoramuses. You are bogged down in mud, so that with every move you make you sink deeper and deeper. Stretch out your hands toward Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) with an honest plea for salvation, offering repentance and an apology, so that He may deliver you from the mess you are in.

Here I am, calling upon you to resist the demands of your lower selves [nufus], your passionate desires [ahwiya], your natural inclinations [taba’i’] and your carnal appetites [shahawat], and to bear with patience the disappointments you suffer. Respond to my call, for you will see the benefit of doing so, sooner or later.

Here I am, summoning you to violent death [al-mawt al-ahmar] in the Name of Allah. Who will dare to respond? Who will step forward to meet the challenge? Who will show that he has the courage for it? Who will be prepared to take the risk? This means death, but then life everlasting. Do not run away! Endure with patience, and then with still more patience. Courage [shaja’a] is an hour’s patience. You must be patient in your compliance with your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). If there is one among you who can bear the burden of readiness to accept the divine decree [qada’], Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) will relieve him of it, and He will inscribe him in the register of the brave [diwan ash-shuj’an]. When someone is ready to sacrifice himself, he acquires a sense of certainty [yaqin]. When someone knows what he is looking for, he attaches little importance to what he must spend in order to attain his goal.

Be sure of where you stand, and then make haste. Come here on the footing of sincerity [sidq], so that you may knock at the door of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He). You must stay there as long as it takes, until the door is opened for you and the angelic escorts [mawakib] come forth to welcome you. You may as well be importunate in asking Him for the things you need, since this will do you more good than your importunity [tawaquh] toward your kings and potentates and wealthy patrons.

Follow the example set by your predecessors in their quest for their Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) and their total absorption [fana’] in Him.

O Allah, You are our Lord [Rabb] and their Lord, our Creator [Khaliq] and their Creator, our Provider [Raziq] and their Provider, so deal with us as You dealt with them! Bring us out of us, away from us, toward You! Cause us to forget the kings and their slaves, the sultans and their subjects, the rich and the poor, the elite and the masses, the rise and fall of market prices, affluence and scarcity. Remind us to remember You. Treat us gently in Your workings. Bring us close to Your nearness, and let our hearts enjoy Your intimate friendship [uns]. Keep us safe from the evil of Your cities and Your servants, and from the evil of every crawling creature that You grasp by the forelock and seize by the tail. Keep us safe from the evil of the evildoers [sharr al-ashrar], and from the cunning deceptions of the morally corrupt [kaid al-fujjar]. Let us be members of Your party [hizb], guiding others to You while abasing ourselves before You, summoning others to You while humbling ourselves before You, but standing tall against those who behave with arrogance toward You and toward the true believers among Your creatures. Amin.

The Fourty-Fifth Discourse

You must pass through and beyond the marketplace of your fellow creatures. Go in through the gate of your physical body, but come out and away from them with your heart and your intention [niyya]. Be like a solitary bird, neither offering familiarity nor accepting it, neither noticing others nor being noticed by them. Be like this until the script of destiny reaches its final period, and your heart draws near to the doorway of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). Then you will see the hearts of the people [of the Lord] stationed there, and they will turn to greet you, offering you their congratulations and bidding you welcome, as they kiss you on the forehead. Then the hand of gracious favor will reach out to you from inside the door. It will greet you, pick you up, and convey you in solemn procession. It will lavish attention upon you, feeding you, quenching your thirst, and anointing you with perfume. It will seat you at the door, to watch and wait for the questing seekers who will come. As soon as each of these arrives, it will take him by the hand, and place his hand in your hand.

Once you have truly experienced all this, you must come forth and present yourself to your fellow creatures. You must be in their midst like a medical doctor in the midst of the sick, like an intelligent person in the midst of the insane, and like a tenderly loving father in the midst of his children. Before you have reached this stage, however, you are unworthy of respect. You are merely a hypocrite [munafiq] as far as they are concerned, a servant at their beck and call. You imagine that you are providing them with therapy, when you are actually treating them as objects of worship [mushrik bihim]. The therapy you offer them will turn out to be a punishment for you, because it is administered in ignorance and it does more harm than good.

Speak only about things that really concern you, and stop talking about things that are no concern of yours. If you were truly aware of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), your fear of Him would be much greater, and you would do far less talking in His presence. This is why the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has told us:

When someone really knows Allah, his tongue becomes weary.

That is to say, he becomes incapable of speech. The tongue of his lower self [nafs] is dumb, and he can only speak with the tongue of his heart [qalb], his innermost being [sirr], his spiritual content [ma’ani], his true sincerity [sidq], and his pure serenity [safa’]. The tongue of his falsehood is dumb, while the tongue of his truthfulness is capable of speech. Dumb is the tongue of his talking about things that are no concern of his, while capable of speech is the tongue of his talking about things that really do concern him. Dumb is the tongue of his quest for his own self-interest, while the tongue of his quest for the Truth [Haqq] is capable of speech.

In the initial stage of acquiring direct knowledge [ma’rifa], the faculty of speech is brought to a halt, and the person’s entire existence [wujud] simply melts away. He becomes extinct [fani] to himself and to everything else. Then, if it be so willed by the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), He will resurrect him. If He wishes him to be capable of speech, He will create a tongue for him to use, and He will cause him to speak with it. He will cause him to utter whatever words of wisdom [hikam] and whatever secrets [asrar] He wishes him to utter. That person’s speech will then come to be a remedy within a remedy, a light within a light, a truth within a truth, a rightness within a rightness, a purity within a purity, because he will speak only at the behest of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), through the medium of his heart. If he should speak without such a command, he would perish, so he will not speak at all unless he is obliged to do so, because he receives an order and is moved by an irresistibly compelling action. If it comes about in this manner, well, the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) is far too Generous [Akram] to find fault with someone who follows an overwhelming motivation, in which there is no element of lower self [nafs], of passionate desire [hawa], of natural inclination [tab’], of satanic influence [shaitan], or of willfulness [irada]. No more would He chastise him for this, than He would take a corpse to task for uttering an articulate sound, or a dreamer for witnessing and experiencing the enactment of a sexual fantasy in his sleep. There have in fact been plenty of cases where spoken words were heard to issue from corpses, well after the time of death.

In case someone should take it upon himself to address his fellow creatures in any fashion other than the one we have just described, it would be far better for him to remain silent than to speak. None but the brave should dare to place himself in the front rank. Anyone who joins the front rank, without having either courage or skill, is doomed to perish.

Woe unto you! You claim to love Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), when you actually love anything but Him. Your false claim will be the cause of your destruction. How can you lay claim to love, when there is no visible sign of it about you? Love [mahabba] is like a fire in a house with neither door nor key; its flames emerge from up on top of the lover [muhibb]. He locks the door of his love and tries to keep it hidden from view, while it reveals itself to him in a language peculiar to him, in a form of speech peculiar to him. He does not wish to share the company of his beloved [mahbub] with anyone else, and this is one of the major signs of his genuine sincerity.

O liar, O jester! You had better hold your tongue, for you are not one of these. You are not a lover. The lover has faith [iman], but he also experiences agitation and disturbance. The beloved has a feeling of calm tranquillity, dwelling in the chamber of grace and sleeping therein. The lover is in a state of exhaustion, while the beloved is in a state of comfortable relaxation. The lover is a learner [muta’allim], while the beloved is a learned scholar [‘alim]. The lover is imprisoned, while the beloved is at liberty. The lover is crazy, while the beloved is perfectly sane.

When a little boy catches sight of a snake, he emits a loud scream. When the snake-charmer catches sight of a lion, he emits a loud scream and runs away in terror. As for the lion itself, it plays with the other lions and sleeps alongside them. Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

Observe your duty to Allah. Allah will teach you. (2:282)

The lover [muhibb] is dutifully devout and well-mannered as he stands in waiting at the door. He must make sure that his heart, as well as the limbs and organs of his physical body, is on its best behavior. Once he has achieved the proper state of refinement, he may enter within through the door of nearness. The law [hukm] refines behavior at the door, and knowledge [‘ilm] provides refinement inside the door. If a person behaves correctly at the door of the law, knowledge will accord him a friendly reception, take him into its care, provide him with instruction, supply all his needs, and keep him safe. The law is a communal doorway, while knowledge is a special door. If a person achieves an excellent standard of conduct and worshipful obedience at the communal doorway, he will come to be someone who enjoys a friendly reception behind the special door. He will come to be numbered among the company of the loved ones [mahbubin].

There is nothing really worth talking about, until you can speak at length while sticking closely to the spiritual path [tariq], practicing real servitude [‘ubudiyya], and keeping a watch on your own lower self [nafs] with the eye of scorn and disdain. If a person can see and acknowledge his own deficiency, he will come to experience perfection, but if someone admires his own perfection, he will end up with nothing but deficiency. You must therefore turn about and face in the opposite direction, for only then you will hit the mark. You must seek good advice, for only then you will find the right track. You must be patient, for only then will you achieve success, find what you are seeking, and be carried forward to your goal. You must practice patience, for only then you will be treated with patience. You must accept with good grace, for only then will you be accepted with good grace. You must behave correctly, for only then will you be treated correctly. You must offer the greeting of peace, for only then will you be greeted with peace. You must be ready to comply, for only then will you be given helpful guidance. You must serve, for only then will you be served. You must stick close to the door, for only then will it be opened for you. You must not be too hasty, for only then will you obtain results. You must act with generosity, for only then will you be treated generously. You must draw near, for only then will you be drawn near. You must do well, for only then will you be treated well.

When the heart travels on the feet of dedicated efforts and exertions, covers the distance to its Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), and finally attains to Him, it becomes firmly established in His presence, and for it there is no longer any question of going back. It moves out of the realm of Divine Wisdom [Hikma] and into the realm of Divine Power [Qudra], out of the realm of instruments [alat] and material means [asbab], and into the realm of the Maker [Sani’] and Originator [Musabbib]. It moves away from its own will [mashi ‘a] and toward the Will of its Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He); away from its own movement and rest, and toward the movement and rest of its Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He).

O seekers of this world! As long as you are constantly engaged in the search for her, you are doomed to weary labor. This world goes looking for those who try to run away from her. The harder a person runs in the effort to get away from her, the harder she runs after him. Then, if he turns around and gives her his attention, she draws the obvious conclusion from his insincerity. She therefore brings him under her control and puts him to work in her service, then eventually kills him off. If he does not turn around and give her his attention, on the other hand, she draws the obvious conclusion from his genuine sincerity, and so puts herself at his service. In order to derive benefit from this world, you must first become detached from her and actually run away from her. Yes, you must run away from her, for she is an extremely cunning, deceptively enchanting, and utterly lethal witch. You must separate from her with your hearts, before she separates from you. You must become detached from her, before she detaches herself from you. You should not take her as your wife, but if you do marry her, you must not let your religion [din] be stipulated in the contract as her dower [mahr], for if you do so, the marriage will very quickly end in divorce. She will then be entitled to keep your religion, since it was stipulated in the marriage contract that your religion would be her nuptial gift [sadaq]. The religion of the hypocrite [munafiq] is the dower of this world, while the blood of the martyred believer [mu’min shahid] is the dower of the hereafter, and the blood of the lover [muhibb] is the dower of the nearness of the Lord [Mawla].

Woe unto you! As long as you go on behaving as the servant of this world, she will injure you and do you no good at all. Once the tables are turned, however, so that she is now the one behaving as your servant, she will prove to be quite useful to you, and will cause you no harm. You must drive her out of your heart, for only then will you get to see her good side, the service she can provide, and how humble she can be. She displays herself to the heart of the believer [mu’min] in her most charmingly beautiful form, wearing every kind of adornment, so he asks her: “Who are you?” To this she replies: “I am this world, and you love dirhams and dinars [gold and silver coins]!”

A certain righteous man (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him) is reported as having said: “Once in a dream I saw a very good-looking woman, and when I asked her who she might be, she said to me, “I am this world,” so I said to her: “I take refuge with Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) from you and your wicked ways.” To this she responded by saying: “You must feel a repugnance for dirhams and dinars, then you will be well protected against any wickedness of mine.”

O liars! It is one of the essential prerequisites, for anyone who is truly honest [sadiq] about wishing for his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), that he must feel a strong repugnance for everything apart from Him, in both the outer [zahir] and the inner [batin] spheres. The outer sphere is this world with its carnal satisfactions, its sons and all that they possess, the praise and applause of one’s fellow creatures, and their approval and acceptance. The inner sphere is the Garden of Paradise and all the blissful joys that it contains. Provided that someone genuinely meets this standard, his wish will be fully realized. His heart will then draw near to his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) and, having come to be a participant in His nearness, he will be completely devoted to Him. Once this stage has been reached, along will come this world with its particular nature, and along will come the hereafter with its peculiar character. The former will come with its finery, and the latter with its substance. They will both become maidservants ready to serve him. Their beauty will be for the benefit of the lower self [nafs], not of the heart. The food of this world and the food of the hereafter are for the benefit of the lower self, not of the heart. It is the food of nearness [to the Lord] that is for the benefit of the heart.

This to which I offer an invitation is the Will of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) for His creatures, not that to which you would invite us.

O hypocrites! The sensible person is one who examines the ultimate conclusions, and who is not deceived by the way things appear at the outset. The sensible person is one who merely asks to borrow this world and the hereafter, both of which are handmaidens for the people [of the Lord], whom they serve and whose words they hear and obey. The sensible person fetches the two of them and listens to what they have to say for themselves. He hears how this world describes itself, and he hears how the hereafter describes itself, then he purchases from each of them whatever is useful to him. He takes sparingly from this world, because it is so impermanent, and he turns his back on the hereafter, because it is new-fashioned [muhdatha], a created entity [makhluqa], which acts as a screen between its Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) and anyone who goes after it and makes it, rather than Him, the object of his longing. To such a person this world will say: “Do not seek me, and do not take me as a wife, for I keep moving from palace to palace, from king to king. As soon as I get married to someone, I murder him and seize his property. Be on your guard against me, for I am a glutton for short-lived marriages [dhawwaqa], a treacherous killer. I do not fulfill the contract a person makes with me.” As for the hereafter, it will say to him: “I am branded with the mark of buying and selling. To put it in the words of my Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He):

Allah has bought from the believers their persons and their goods, Paradise being theirs for the price. (9:111)

–I see upon your face the mark of nearness, so do not purchase me, for Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) will not let you stay with me.”

Once he has really experienced all this, when he has abandoned both this world and the hereafter, and has turned his back on both of them, preferring to go in search of his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), this world will then be restored to him, so that he may enjoy his allotted shares thereof, free from the pressure of need. The hereafter will also be given back to him, so that it may serve him as a lady housekeeper [qahramana].

Listen to this, O seekers! Listen to this, O you who are sick! What I have been explaining to you is a remedy for your ailments, so put it to good use! Whenever someone becomes detached from something, that thing comes looking for him. You must become detached from all objects of creation [makhluqat], so that the Creator [Khaliq] will love you. One who is beloved in the sight of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) may well be compared to an invalid in the clinic of a kind and gentle physician, who takes him into his personal care.

O my people, accept the advice I am offering you! You must detach yourselves from this world, for your fondness and love for it will set up a barrier to keep you from the hereafter, from the nearness of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), and from the delight of the eyes of your hearts. Getting stuck with this world will block you off from the hereafter, while getting stuck with the lower self [nafs] will block you off from the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He).

O ignorant ones! Do not consume the fruits of this world at the expense of losing the fruits of the hereafter. The hereafter is a princess [sayyida], for whom this world is a female slave [mamluka], and the slave must follow and obey the owner. The one is lowly, while the other is lofty, and the lowly must follow and obey the lofty. You must not consume the food of this world without first taking the antidote [tiryaq], for it is food that has been poisoned. What is this antidote? It is the practice of abstinence, of detaching yourself from this world and moving on, as far as your heart is concerned, from the ocean of wisdom [hikma] to the ocean of power [qudra], from the medicine [tibb] to the physician [tabib], who will show you how to tell the difference between the part that is poison and the part that is edible meat. Surely you must have heard, or maybe even seen for yourself, how the snake-charmer [hawwa’] grabs hold of the snake [hayya], slaughters it, cooks it, draws the poison out of it, and then finally eats the meaty part of it.

The Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) makes the poison of this world available to the unbelievers [kuffar] who commit sinful offences against Him, and who settle for others apart from Him. As for the believers, how could He fail to treat them favorably, when they are His guests? He behaves with them as the lover would behave in dealing with the beloved. For them He singles out the sweet from the midst of the bitter, the pure from the midst of the contaminated. For those who are sought after [muradun], He provides choice food and drink, clothing, and everything else they may need.

The would-be ascetic [mutazahhid] is still working at his abstinence, and there will be times when he fails to keep it up. There will be times when he makes the effort, and times when he gives up trying. As for the truly practicing abstainer [zahid], for him the business of abstinence has already revealed all its secrets, so he can readily distinguish the pure from the contaminated. That which is pure calls out to identify itself to him, and that which is contaminated calls out to him likewise.

The people [of the Lord] have had all their avenues united, so there is only one direction left for them to take. The avenues still open to their fellow creatures have become too narrow for them to consider, while the direction of the Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) has opened wide for them. They have blocked the avenues of creation [khalq] with the hands of their own truthfulness [sidq], and they have opened up the avenues of the Creator [Khaliq] with the hands of their hearts. The result, of course, is that their hearts have grown wider and greater and more splendid, and that now the force of dignity is stationed at the doorways of their hearts, preventing anyone from entering into them except their Owner [Malik] and Creator. Every single one of these people [of the Lord] is like the sun and the moon in this world. These two are the sources of this world’s light, and contact with their surfaces would cause everything on earth to catch fire.

You are dead bodies. Why are you walking about on the face of the earth? You must be sensible, for as long as you have no sense you cannot be one of the men of valor. You cannot recognize the men of valor, the chieftains of the Truth [Haqq] and the great ones among them. The way you talk is a sure sign of what is in your heart. The tongue is the heart’s interpreter [al-lisanu tarjumanu ‘l-qalb].

When you happen to feel love for one person and hatred for another, you must neither love the former nor hate the latter because of your lower self [nafs] and your natural inclination [tab’]. You must rather judge between the two of them on the basis of the Book and the Sunna. Then, if these criteria are favorable to the one whom you have regarded with affection, you must continue to feel that affection, but if they are unfavorable, you must abandon the affectionate feeling. If they prove favorable to the one you disliked, however, you must give up the feeling of hate, while if they are unfavorable you must continue to hate the person.

Woe unto you! You feel hatred for me because I speak the truth, and because I make you face the truth. No one hates me and ignores me unless he is ignorant of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), someone who is given to an awful lot of talk, but very little in the way of action! And no one loves me unless he is well aware of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), someone who is given to plenty of action and very little talk! The nearness of the Truth [Haqq] has nourished me so well that I need nothing else. There is so much water all around me, while I am like a frog in a kettle. I say whatever I have to express. I wait for the water to flow through, and I talk. When that happens, you hear the news about you and the news about other people.

When will you ever repent, O you backsliders, O you rebellious sinners? You must become reconciled with your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) through the medium of repentance. Were it not for the sense of shame that I feel in the presence of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) and of His knowledge [‘ilm], I would get up and grab one of you by the hand, and I would say to him: “You have acted like this and you have behaved like that, so now you must turn in repentance toward Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He).”

There is no point in talking to you or conversing with you, until your faith [iman] has grown strong, and likewise your certitude [iqan] and your intimate knowledge [ma’rifa] of your Master [Mawla] (Almighty and Glorious is He). Only when you have reached that stage will you have a firm grip on the most secure handle [bi’l-‘urwati ‘l-wuthqa], which signifies the attainment of your heart to contact with Him. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) will then point to you with pride [as a member of his community] in the presence of all the religious communities.

O you who believe according to your tongue, how long will it be before you believe with your heart? O you who are a believer [mu’min] according to your public appearance, how long will it be before you are a believer where your private life is concerned? Salvation comes with the faith of the heart. This is the really useful thing. There is no benefit at all in faith of the tongue combined with the unbelief [kufr] of your heart. The faith of the hypocrite [munafiq] is the faith of those who are afraid of the sword.

O servants of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He):

Do not despair of the mercy of Allah. (39:53)

And do not despair of the Spirit of Allah. (12:87)

O you who are dead at heart, you must practice constantly the remembrance of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), the recitation of His Book, the study of the Sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), and attendance at sessions devoted to divine remembrance [majalis adh-dhikr]. Your hearts will then come back to life, just as the dead earth is brought back to life by the downpour of abundant rain upon it. When the heart is constantly engaged in the remembrance of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), it comes to be endowed with intimate experience [ma’rifa], knowledge [‘ilm], the affirmation of Divine Unity [tawhid], absolute trust [tawakkul], and a lack of interest in everything whatsoever apart from Him. The constant practice of remembrance produces good results that are constantly enduring in both this world and the hereafter.

As long as you are still attached to this world and to your fellow creatures, you will continue to be influenced by praise and blame, because your whole existence is bound up with your lower self [nafs], your passions [hawa] and your natural inclinations [tab’]. When your heart attains to contact with your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), and when your whole concern winds up with Him, only then will you cease to be subject to those influences, and you will be relieved of an enormous burden. As long as all your interest is focused on this world, and while your reliance is solely on your own strength and power, you will always feel disjointed and fragmented, exhausted and discontented.

In similar fashion, if you concentrate on the hereafter with all your personal energy, you will never make the connection. But if you devote all your attention to the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), the door to all that is needed for worldly life will be opened by the hand of His strength and by total trust in Him, and the door to acts of worshipful obedience will be opened by the hand of His helpful guidance [tawfiq].

Once you have reached the stage of applying to Him, therefore, you must apply to Him for strength and honesty in the quest for His forgiving grace and His assistance. You must plant the feet of your heart and your innermost being [sirr] most firmly in His presence, while in a state of complete detachment from the business of this world and the hereafter.

Woe unto you! Your lower self [nafs] is sick, so you must make it stick to a wholesome diet, until it is restored to good health by its Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He).

Woe unto you! How can you seriously aspire to the nearness of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), as long as your lower self [nafs] is in charge of you and your passions [hawa] are leading you along, while you are inclined to go chasing after carnal pleasures and attractions, and while the fire of your natural impulse [tab’] is burning up your devotion to duty[taqwa] and your religion [din]? Be sensible! This is not the behavior of someone who believes in death and is aware of it with certitude. This is not the behavior of someone who is consciously looking forward to the encounter with the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), and who dreads the reckoning and interrogation to which He will subject him. You have no clarity of thought. You have no devotion to duty. You never enjoy a moment of calm repose, by night or by day, in the ceaseless process of trying to accumulate the benefits of this world and the hereafter, thinking about them, spending time in the company of people who have expert knowledge of them, and seeking to ingratiate yourself with such people.

As for the people [of the Lord], they attach very little importance to this world and the hereafter, and they are indifferent to the hardships of life in the realm of creation. Any one of them may be compared to a man who has dispatched his laden camel [in a caravan] to Khurasan, having already built a house over there on Mount Juraida. As he watches the progress of his caravan, and sees its commander come out to lead it, his physical body may be present as part of the scene, but his whole heart has gone on ahead to his home. The true believer [mu’min] has dispatched a shipment of goods to the hereafter, having already built a mansion over there. For all its charm, however, his whole heart yearns for the nearness of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He). This is why the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has told us:

This world is the believer’s prison [ad-dunya sijnu’l-mu’min].

The true believer remains ever true to his faith [iman], so that he comes to be one who is really aware [‘arif] of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), one who knows Him well [‘alim bihi], one who is near to Him, and one who attains to contact with Him. Having reached this stage, he prefers Him over everything else. He presents his belongings to the servants who wait in attendance at the door, all of them longing to be admitted inside the palace of nearness [to the Lord]. He gives the key to his mansion, the one in the Garden of Paradise, back to its custodian. His innermost being [sirr] approaches the gates of the Gardens, but only in order to leave them all shut. He also locks the doors of the realm of creation and worldly existence [wujud]. Then he throws himself at the door of the King, where he acts as if he were sick, and falls as if he had been flung there like a lump of meat. He waits for the feet of Gracious Favor to pass by and trample on him. He waits for a glance from the eye of Mercy, and for the hand of Noble Generosity and Kindness to be extended. Then, as he lies there in this state–lo and behold!–he suddenly finds himself inside the chamber of Nearness, in the room of Gracious Favor, in the presence of the Expert Physician, who proceeds to exercise and train him, to restore his strength and energy, to entertain him, to deck him out in fine attire and jewelry, to feed him with the food of Grace and quench his thirst with the drink of Intimate Friendship. For this is the point at which Mercy has arrived in the Palace of Nearness, and when Joy has arrived on the Balconies of Attainment.

All created entities have now come to be beneath him, and he looks upon them with the eye of gentle sympathy, giving expression to the attributes [akhlaq] of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), because the hearts of those who have attained to Him are filled with merciful compassion [rahma] for their fellow creatures. They look with the eye of merciful compassion upon both the Muslims and the unbelievers [kafirin], upon both the common people and the special few. They treat them all with compassion, while at the same time insisting that they must observe the rules of the sacred law [shar’]. Outwardly, there is the insistence; inwardly, there is the compassion. O servants of Allah! Whenever you encounter one of these people [of the Lord], you must be ready to serve him. Take note of what I am telling you, for I am giving you sound advice.

O you who idle away your time in your houses or your hermit cells [sawami’], stuck there with nothing to keep you company but the lower self [nafs], the urges of natural disposition [tab’], the passions [hawa], and very little knowledge [‘ilm], the company you need to seek is that of the Shaikhs who put their knowledge into actual practice [ash-shuyukh al-‘ummal bi’l-‘ilm]. You must carry out their instructions and follow in their footsteps. You must act toward them with humility, and endure with patience the harsh treatment they administer, until your passions have ceased to control you, your lower selves have been subdued, and the flames of your natural urges have been snuffed out. Once this stage has been reached, you will recognize this world for what it is, since you will know it through experience. It will then become your maidservant, who must give you what she is obliged to give you. In other words, she will give you your quotas of the allotments she has to distribute. She will bring them to you while you are at the doorway of your nearness to your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). Both she and the hereafter are ready to act as maidservants for anyone who serves the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He).

When the believer’s heart is such that the affirmation of Divine Unity [tawhid] has become highly developed within it, the rate of his growth will accelerate with every day that passes. The more he grows, matures, and rises to fresh heights, the less he will pay attention to anything on the face of the earth or in heaven, other than Allah. All created beings will be at his command, while he resides in the privacy of his home and in the presence of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He). Once he has reached this stage, he will be empowered by Him and will enjoy direct access to Him, and so he will come to be the executive ruler [sultan] of his age. He will be empowered to make binding decisions, to issue decrees and to govern. The best friends of the King will be ready to serve him, and he will enjoy a close personal relationship with His Majesty.

O my people! You must believe the word of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), the word of His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), and the word of the righteous [salihin] among His creatures. Allah (Exalted is He) is surely Truthful [Sadiq], because He has said:

And who can be more truthful in speech than Allah? (4:122)

As for the Messenger and the righteous, their veracity [sidq] is derived from His veracity.

If your heart adopts a properly respectful stance at the door of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), you will no longer be guilty of associating partners with Him [shirk], your quest for Him will be over, and the quality of your behavior will be greatly improved. Patience frees one from the influence of carnal appetites. Patience causes bad habits to fade away, severs attachment to material means [asbab], and shakes off dependence on the worldly owners of such means [arbab].

You are so stupid! You are so ignorant of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) and His Messenger [rasul], His saints [awliya’] and the special few [khawass] among His creatures (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon them all). You claim to be committed to abstinence [zuhd], and yet you are actually longing to satisfy your appetites. Your abstinence is something you practice only when it is convenient. Your real longing is wholly for things belonging to this world and your fellow creatures. You feel no longing for your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). You had better beware of standing in the presence of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He)!

You must improve your attitude of mind and your behavior, so that I may guide you in the direction of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), and so that I may acquaint you with the path that leads to Him. You must strip from yourself the garment of arrogant pride, and take to wearing the garment of humility. You must practice self-abasement until you can be truly humble, then conduct yourself with humility so that you may grow in stature. Everything that you are now involved in, everything you are concerned about, all of it is nothing but a delusion wrapped up in yet another delusion!

If you reject the notion [khatir] of the lower self, the notion of the passions, the devil’s notion and the notion of this world, the notion of the hereafter will come to you. Then you will receive the angel’s notion, then finally the notion of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He). This is the ultimate stage.

When your heart is sound, it will pause to ask each notion as it arises: “What kind of notion are you? From what source do you come?” So it will say: “I am the notion of such-and-such….”

The majority of you are governed by a delusion within a delusion, worshipping creatures in your cells [sawami’]. This business is not something that comes about merely through sitting in secluded places [khalawat] with ignorance for company.

You must walk forth in search of knowledge [‘ilm] and scholars who put their knowledge into practice [‘ulama’ ‘ummal], until you can walk no farther. You must keep walking until your legs will no longer obey you. Then, when you have no strength left, you may sit down. Travel with your outer [zahir], then with your heart and your inner content [ma’na]. When you are utterly exhausted both outwardly and inwardly [batinan] and have to stop, nearness to Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) and attainment to Him will come to you. When the footsteps of your heart come to a halt, and all your energies have gone into the journey toward Him, this is the sign of your nearness to Him, so at this point you must surrender [sallim] and cast yourself down in submission [istatrih]. He will either build you a cell in the earth and lodge you in the desert wastes, or else He will send you back to civilization, putting this world and the hereafter, jinn, human beings, angels and spirits [arwah] at your service.

When you are standing at last in the doorway of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), you will witness something marvelous — no, I should say many marvelous things. You must forget about what you have to eat and drink, the clothes you have to wear, the situation in which you find yourself, and the praise and the blame of other people. These things are all functions of our lower selves [a’mal an-nufus], not functions of our hearts [a’mal al-qulub]. This heart should become an orchard [bustan] containing many trees and various kinds of fruit, as well as clearings and open spaces, rivers and mountains. It should have a panoramic view of all human beings, jinn, angels and spirits [arwah] put together. This is something far beyond the grasp of purely mental understanding.

O Allah, if what I am engaged in is something real and true, let the truth and reality of it be made apparent to those who follow the spiritual path [fa-haqqiqhu li’s-salikin]. But if it is something false, I beg you to erase it! If I am in the right, then build my edifice high and raise it tall, and expedite the guidance of Your creatures through my agency. Raise our hearts up toward You! How much longer must we endure this weary toil? When will our hearts have taken the final steps on their journey? When will they enjoy the banquet on the roof of the Palace of Nearness, delighting in the view of Your creation from its lofty balconies?

And Allah coins similitudes for the sake of mankind. (14:25)

When the heart is truly sound, it forgets everything apart from the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He). He is the One who exists from all eternity [al-Qadim], the One who exists to all eternity [al-Azali], the Enduring [ad-Da’im], the Everlasting [al-Abadi], and everything apart from Him is but newly created [muhdath]. When the heart is truly sound, the speech that issues from it will come to be correct and true, so that no one can refute it. Heart will speak to heart, innermost being [sirr] to innermost being, private refuge [khalwa] to private refuge, inner content [ma’na] to inner content, essence [lubb] to essence, conscience [sawab] to conscience. At this stage, therefore, the words that come from it will be for other hearts like seeds that sprout in good soft earth, not salty marshland. When the heart is truly sound, it becomes a tree with branches, leaves and fruit. It comes to contain benefits for all creatures, whether they be humans or jinn or angels.

If you acquire knowledge for the sake of this world, you will work for the sake of this world, and if you acquire knowledge for the sake of the hereafter, you will work for the sake of the hereafter. The branches are based upon the roots. “As you pay allegiance, so shall allegiance be paid to you [kama tadinu tudanu].” Every pot exudes its own contents. You fill your pot with naphtha [naft] and then expect it to exude rose water. You are unworthy of respect. You work for the sake of creatures, yet you wish to have the Creator on your side tomorrow [at the Resurrection], to enjoy nearness to Him and to look upon Him. You are unworthy of respect.

This is the obvious and most probable scenario. But if He grants you His gifts purely as a gracious favor, not for any work you have done, that is up to Him. Worshipful obedience [ta’a] is the work of the Garden [of Paradise], while sinful disobedience [ma’siya] is the work of the Fire [of Hell]. After that, the matter is up to Him. If He so wills, He may reward one of us without reference to work, or He may chastise one of us without reference to work. This is all up to Him.

Listen to me and try to grasp what I have to say, for I am the humble servant [ghulam] of those who have gone on before us. I stand in their presence. I spread out their wares and invite people to examine them. I never cheat in the process, and do not pretend that they are my own property. I begin by quoting what they have said, then I go over it from my own point of view.

Blessed grace [baraka] comes from Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), and Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has bestowed many blessings upon me, such as my obedience to the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) and my filial piety [birr] toward my father and my mother. May Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) have mercy upon them both! My father abstained from the pleasures of this world, although he had the power to enjoy them, while my mother went along with him in this and approved of what he did. They were among the people of righteousness [salah], religious devotion [diyana] and compassion for all creatures, but my real concern is not with them, nor with other people. I have come to the Bearer of the Message [ar-Rasul] and the Sender of the Message [al-Mursil], and because of them I prosper. Every benefit and blessing of mine is with them and in their presence. Among creatures I wish for no one apart from Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), and among lords for none but my Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He).

O learned one, your speech comes from your tongue, not from your heart, from your outer form and not from your inner content [ma’na]. The true heart shies away from words that issue from the tongue instead of from the heart, for they sound like a bird in a cage, or like the hypocrite in the mosque [masjid]. If one of the champions of truth [siddiqun] should find himself by accident at a session [majlis] held by one of the hypocritical scholars, his whole aspiration would be to get out of there.

The people [of the Lord] can detect the signs that mark the pretenders [mura’un], the hypocrites [munafiqun], the impostors [dajjalun], the heretical innovators [mubtadi’un], the enemies of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) and the enemies of His Messenger. These signs are apparent in their faces and in their way of speaking. They flee from the champions of truth as they might flee from a lion, fearful of being scorched by the fire of their hearts. The angels take them away from the champions of truth and the righteous [salihun]. One of them may be great in the eyes of the common folk [‘awamm], but in the eyes of the champions of truth he is of no account. To the common folk he is a human being [adami], but to the champions of truth he is a cat [sinnawr]. He carries no weight with them.

O young men! First you must find the physician of the law [tabib al-hukm], for he will provide the treatment you need to cure you of your diseases. You must take the medicine he prescribes, for then you will be protected from harm. You must follow the servant on duty [ghulam], for he will escort you to the master [ustadh]. The law [hukm] is the servant of knowledge [‘ilm], so you must follow it, notice the door through which it enters, and go in behind it. You must look for the doorway of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). You must cultivate good manners in the company of the law, since the law is the servant on duty at the door. If you do not follow the law, you have no way of attaining to knowledge. Surely you must have heard the words of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He):

So whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and from whatever he forbids you, abstain. (59:7)

Provided that you cultivate well-mannered behavior in the company of the law, once you have reached the door of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), and that you are escorted by the law when you call out to seek admission, He will respond to your call. He will open unto you the door of His nearness, and He will invite you to sit at the table of His gracious favor and His generous hospitality. You will then be treated as His guests. He will converse with your hearts and entertain your innermost beings [asrar], teaching them the knowledge which He teaches only to the special few [khawass] among His creatures. Thus His law will come to be the link between Him and the rest of His creatures, while His knowledge will be between Him and you, because the law is collective in its application [al-hukm mushtarak], whereas knowledge is specific [al-‘ilm khass]. The law is a matter of faith, whereas knowledge is a matter of seeing the evidence with one’s own eyes [al-hukm iman wa ‘l-‘ilm ‘iyan].

O Allah, grant us knowledge and sincerity [ikhlas] in all our actions. Grant us insight into Your knowledge, and steadiness in our insight, and:

Give us in this world good, and good in the hereafter, and guard us against the torment of the fire! (2:201)

Praise be to Allah, by whose gracious favor good works are brought to completion!

This marks the conclusion of the text of Jala ‘al-Khawatir [The Removal of Cares], one of the literary works of the Shaikh, the Imam, the learned scholar, the pious abstainer, the dutiful worshipper, the knower by direct experience, the avoider of excess, the solitary Axis [al-Qutb al-fard], the Spiritual Helper [al-Ghawth], the Shaikh of the shaikhs and the saints [Shaikh al-masha’ikh wa ‘l-awliya’], our master and our shaikh, Shaikh Muhyi ‘d-Din Abu Muhammad ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Hasani al-Husaini, son of Abu Salih ‘Abdu’llah al-Jili. May Allah the Exalted be well pleased with him, and may He give him reason to be well pleased with us. May we derive benefit from his words, in letter and in spirit [lafzan wa ma’nan], in knowledge and in practice [‘ilman wa ‘amalan].