n not complaining
The Shaikh (may ALLAH be well pleased with him, and grant him contentment) said:
Let me give you a piece of advice: Never complain to anyone about your luck,
whether he be friend or foe, and do not accuse the Lord (Almighty and Glorious
is He) of treating you badly and making you suffer misfortune. You should rather
proclaim your blessings and your gratitude. Better even to tell a lie by
expressing gratitude for a benefit you have not received, than to state the
plain fact of your situation truthfully but as a complaint. Who is totally
without the grace of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He)? ALLAH (Exalted is He)
has said:
And if you count the favor of ALLAH, you will never add it up. (16:18)
How many blessings you enjoy without acknowledging them for what they are! Do
not settle for any mere creature as your confidant and intimate companion, and
tell no one about your problems. It is rather with ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious
is He) that you should be on intimate and confidential terms, and any
complaining you do should be about Him and addressed to Him. Recognize no other
party, for none has any power to bring you loss or gain, income orexpenditure,
honor or disgrace, promotion or demotion, poverty or affluence, movement or
rest. All things are the creation of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He). They
lie in the hand of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) and the way they function
is at His command and by His leave. Each runs its course until a time appointed,
and everything is regulated by Him. There is no advancing what He has postponed,
and no putting back what He has brought to the fore. ALLAH (Almighty and
Glorious is He) has said:
If ALLAH afflicts you with some hurt, none can remove it but He; and if He
desires any good for you, none can repel His bounty. He causes it to reach
whomsoever He will of His servants. He is the All-Forgiving, the
All-Compassionate. (10:107)
If you complain about Him (Almighty and Glorious is He) while you are in good
health and already enjoy some blessing, just wanting to get more and shutting
your eyes contemptuously to the benefit and well-being you have received from
Him, He will be angry with you and deprive you of both. He will give you
something real to complain about, doubling your trouble, intensifying the
chastisement and detestation and loathing you must suffer, and casting you down
out of His sight.
You should be very wary of complaining, even if you were being dissected and
having your own flesh clipped away with scissors. Beware, beware, and yet again
beware! ALLAH, ALLAH, and yet again ALLAH! Escape, escape! Take care, take care!
Most of the various disasters that afflict a human being are due to his
complaints against his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). How can one have any
grievance against Him, when He is the Most Merciful of the merciful, the Best of
all judges, Wise, Aware, Gracious, Compassionate; when He is Kind to His
servants and not a cruel slave-master; when He is like a wise, sympathetic and
kindly family doctor?
Would you find fault with a tender-hearted mother? The Prophet (ALLAH bless him
and give him peace) said: "ALLAH is more merciful toward His servant than a
mother toward her child."Be on your best behavior, you poor wretch! Persevere in
the face of misfortune, even if you are incapable of patience. Then be patient
even if you are incapable of conforming with good grace. Then conform with good
grace if you are there to be found. Then cease to exist if you are nowhere to be
found. O philosopher's stone, where are you, where can you be found and seen? Do
you not heed His words (Almighty and Glorious is He):
Fighting is prescribed for you, though it be hateful to you. But it may happen
that you hate a thing which is good for you, and may happen that you love a
thing which is bad for you. ALLAH knows, and you know not. (2:216)
Knowledge of the reality of things has been kept from you under wraps, and you
have been kept from it behind a screen. So do not misbehave yourself, whatever
your likes or dislikes. Follow the sacred law in whatever may befall you, if you
are in the state of piety [taqwa] which is the first step. Follow direct orders,
without exceeding them, if you are in the state of consecration [wilaya] and the
extinction of desire [khumud wujud al-hawa], which is the second step. Harmonize
gladly with the divine action and become totally absorbed in the state of
Badaliyya, Ghawthiyya, Qutbiyya and Siddiqiyya, which are the ultimate stages.
Stand clear of destiny's path; get out of its way. Give up self and desire. Keep
your tongue from complaining. Provided you do this, then if what is meant for
you is good, the Lord will grant you extra pleasure, happiness and joy; and if
it is bad, He will keep you safe in His obedient service while it runs its
course. He will absolve you of blame, and keep you unaffected while it lasts,
until it is all over for you and becomes a thing of the past–as night ends with
the dawning of the day, and as the chill of winter takes its leave when summer
comes around. Here is an example for you, so note the moral well.
There are so many sins and errors and outrages, so many kinds of offenses and
faults that cause defilement.
To be worthy of the company of the Noble Lord, one must be purged of the
impurities of sins and failings. No one is granted an audience at His court
unless he is unstained by the filth of pretentiousness and self-conceit, just as
no one is fit for the company of kings without being cleansed of all impurities
and every kind of stench and dirt. Misfortunes have an expiatory and
purificatory effect. As the Prophet (ALLAH bless him and give him peace) so
truthfully said: "One day's fever is atonement for a year [of sin]."
Twenty-second Discourse from Futuh al-Ghaib
On the testing of the believer's faith
The Shaikh (may ALLAH be well pleased with him, and grant him contentment) said:
ALLAH is always testing His believing servant in proportion to his faith. Thus
if a person's faith is very great and steadily increasing, his trial will be
great as well. The trial of a Messenger is greater than that of a Prophet,
because his faith is greater. The trial of a Prophet is greater than that of a
Badal, and the trial of a Badal is greater than that of a Wali. Each is tried
according to his faith and certitude, on the basis of this saying of the Prophet
(ALLAH bless him and give him peace): "We, the Community of Prophets, are the
people most severely tried, then others according to the perfection of their
faith."
ALLAH (Exalted is He) subjects these honorable masters to incessant testing, so
they will always stay in His presence and never relax their vigilance, for He
loves them. They are the people of love, who love the Lord of Truth, and the
lover never likes to be far from his beloved. Affliction serves as a clamp for
their hearts and a noose for their selfish natures, checking their tendency to
drift away from their true goal and to place their confidence and trust in
others instead of their Creator.As this becomes a permanent condition for them,
their passions melt, their selves are broken, and truth is distinguished from
falsehood. Then cravings, willful desires, and the appetite for pleasure and
comfort in this world and the hereafter, all retract toward the sphere of the
self, while toward the sphere of the heart come trust in the promise of the Lord
of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), cheerful acceptance of His decree,
satisfaction with His gifts, patient endurance of His trials, and the feeling of
safety from the evil of His creatures. Thus the power of the heart is
strengthened, and it acquires control over all the limbs and organs of the body.
Tribulation fortifies the heart and certitude, verifies faith and patience, and
weakens the self and the passions, because whenever suffering comes, and what it
meets with in the believer is patience, cheerful acceptance, and surrender to
the action of the Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), the Exalted Lord is
pleased with him and thanks him. Then he also receives help, additional
blessings and success. ALLAH (Exalted is He) has said:
If you are thankful, I will give you more. (14:7)
When the self is moved to apply to the heart [qalb] for satisfaction of some
carnal appetite or indulgence in some pleasure, and the heart agrees to this
request without authorization and permission from ALLAH (Exalted is He), the
result is disregard for the Lord of Truth, polytheism and sinful rebellion.
ALLAH (Exalted is He) will therefore condemn them both to disappointment,
trouble, subjection to other people, sickness and disease, injury and disorder.
Both the heart and the self will get a share of this If the heart will not give
the self what it wants, however, until it receives permission from the Lord of
Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) through inspiration [ilham] in the case of
Saints, or explicit revelation [wahy] in the case of Envoys and Prophets
(blessing and peace be upon them) and acts accordingly in giving or withholding,
then ALLAH rewards them both with mercy and blessing, well-being and
contentment, light and wisdom, nearness to Himself, affluence, security from
disasters and help against enemies.
This you must know and remember it well! Be ready for trouble if you rush to
respond to the self and to passion! Far better to pause in such cases, and await
the Lord's consent (Glorious is His Majesty), so that you may remain safe in
this world and the hereafter, if ALLAH (Exalted is He) so will.
Twenty-third Discourse from Futuh al-Ghaib
On contentment with one's lot from ALLAH
The Shaikh (may ALLAH be well pleased with him, and grant him contentment) said:
Be content with straitened circumstances and steadfastly persevere therein,
until the prescript of destiny expires and you are promoted to a higher and
finer level. There you will be comfortably installed and made secure, with no
worldly or otherworldly problems, no persecution or harassment. Then you will
progress beyond this stage to something even more delightful and wholesome.
Know that your appointed share will not be lost to you because you give up
chasing after it, just as you will never get what is not your share, for all
your greedy seeking, effort and exertion. Be patient, therefore, and resign
yourself to accepting your present situation. Take nothing and give nothing on
your own unless and until you are ordered to do so. Neither move nor keep still
of your own accord, otherwise you will have to bear not just your own suffering,
but that of a creature worse than you. This is because you do wrong to behave
like that, and the wrong-doer is not overlooked. ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is
He) has said:
Thus We let some of the wrong-doers have power over others. (6:129)
You are in fact in the house of a King whose command is far-reaching, whose
power is immense, whose army is vast,whose will is effective, whose authority is
irresistible, whose kingdom is everlasting, whose sovereignty is enduring, whose
knowledge is precise, whose wisdom is profound and whose judgment is just. Not
an atom's weight on earth or in heaven eludes Him, nor does the wrong of the
wrong-doer escape His notice. You are the biggest wrong-doer and the worst
offender, because you have set up a partner to Him (Almighty and Glorious is He)
by your self-willed behavior in dealing with yourself and His creation. ALLAH
(Exalted is He) has said:
Ascribe no partners to ALLAH; ascribing partners to Him is a tremendous wrong.
(31:13)
He also says (Exalted is He):
ALLAH does not forgive that any partner be ascribed to Him; less than that He
forgives to whom He will. (4:116)
Be very wary of associating anything with ALLAH; do not come anywhere near it.
Avoid it in all your behavior, both active and passive, by night and day, in
private and in public. Beware of disobedience altogether, in your limbs and
organs as well as in your heart. Abandon all sin, both outwardly and inwardly.
Do not run away from Him (Almighty and Glorious is He), for He will overtake
you. Do not quarrel with Him over His decision; He will demolish you. Do not
question the wisdom of His judgment; He will put you to shame. Do not treat Him
negligently; He will bring you to your senses and put you to the test. Do not
start innovations in His house; He will destroy you. Do not speak of His
religion to suit your own whim; He will ruin you and darken your heart, rob you
of your faith and understanding, and make you subject to your devil, your lower
self, your passions and desires, your family, your neighbors, your companions,
your friends and all the rest of His creatures, even your domestic scorpions,
snakes, jinn and other vermin. Thus He will upset your life in this world and
prolong your punishment in the hereafter.
Forty-second Discourse From Futuh al-Ghaib
On the two conditions of the self [nafs]
The Shaikh (may ALLAH be well pleased with him, and grant him contentment) said:
The self [nafs] has two conditions and no third: The state of wellbeing and the
state of tribulation. When it is undergoing tribulation, the signs are anxiety,
complaining, resentment, protest and suspicion toward the Lord of Truth
(Glorious and Exalted is He), and lack of patience, contentment and compliance.
Indeed, there is likely to be ill-mannered behavior, the association of
creatures and material objects with the Creator, and unbelief. When, on the
other hand, it is in the state of well-being, the signs are greed, impetuosity,
and the pursuit of carnal lusts and pleasures. As soon as it gratifies one
desire, it goes after another, belittling the blessings it already possesses,
such as food, drink, clothing, spouse, dwelling and means of transport. It finds
faults and defects in each one of these blessings, wanting something superior
and finer that is not part of its destined lot, while shunning what has been
allotted to it. Thus the person gets into all kinds of trouble, and wades into
many perils in a long and weary process that has no end or termination in either
this world or the hereafter. As the saying goes: "Truly the harshest of
punishments is the desire to have what is not one's allotted share."
When the self is undergoing tribulation, it wishes only to see it removed,
forgetting all about enjoyment, lust and pleasure, and wanting none of them.
Once relieved of suffering, however, it reverts to its frivolity, greed and
impetuosity, to its recalcitrant disobedience of its Lord and its dedication to
sinful rebellion against Him. It forgets all the trouble and pain, all the
misfortune it went through previously. Now it is afflicted with even harsher
trials and tribulations, because of the major sins it has perpetrated and
committed, to wean it away from these and to restrain it from sinful acts in
future, since well-being and comfort had failed to reform it, and its
safekeeping lay rather in tribulation and pain.
If the self had behaved itself well when the affliction was removed, and had
practiced obedience, gratitude and contentment with its lot, things would have
been better for it in this world and the hereafter. It would have experienced
increasing comfort, well-being, approval from ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is
He), pleasure, and help toward success.
Anyone who wishes for safety in this world and the hereafter must therefore
cultivate patience and contentment. He must give up complaining to people,
submit his needs to his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), practice obedience
to Him, wait for happiness to come from Him, and be devoted exclusively to Him
(Almighty and Glorious is He), since He is better than any other and than His
entire creation. His deprivation is actually a gift, His punishment a blessing,
His trial a remedy, His promise ready cash, His word a deed, His will a state of
being. Surely His word "and His command when He intends a thing, is to say to it
'Be,' and it is" (36:82). All His deeds are good and wise and beneficial,
although He keeps knowledge of the benefits concealed from His servants and
reserves it to Himself alone. For His servants, therefore, it is most fitting
and proper to be in a state of contentment and submission, to be dedicated to
servanthood by fulfilling commandments, observing prohibitions, and submitting
to the decree of destiny, to abandon preoccupation and combat with Lordship,
which is the source of destiny's decrees, to be silent on questions of why and
how and when, and to give up suspicion of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and
Glorious is He) in all His phases of movement and repose.
All of this rests on the authority of the Hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may ALLAH be
well pleased with him and his father), from whom it is transmitted by 'Ata'. Ibn
'Abbas said: "I was riding behind the Messenger (ALLAH bless him and give him
peace) when he said to me: 'My boy, take care of ALLAH and He will take care of
you. Take care of ALLAH and you will find Him in front of you. So when you have
something to ask, ask ALLAH, and when you seek help, seek help from ALLAH. The
pen has already run dry from writing all that is to be, so if His servants were
to strive to bring you some benefit not decreed for you by ALLAH, they would not
be capable of it, and if His servants were to strive to cause you some injury
not decreed for you by ALLAH, they would not be able to do it. So if you can
relate to ALLAH with honesty and certitude [yaqin], do so; and if you cannot,
there is much good in being patient with what you dislike. Know that help
resides in patience, joy with sorrow, and "with hardship comes ease" (94:5).' "
It behooves every believer to make this Hadith a mirror for his heart, to wear
it as his undergarment and his outer garb, to treat it as his own Hadith, on
which he should act in all conditions, be he in motion or at rest, so that he
may be safe in this world and the hereafter, and receive honor in both domains
through the mercy of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He).
Al-Fath ar-rabbani- The Sublime Revelation
Eighth Discourse
It was in the schoolhouse, in the late evening of Tuesday, the 19th of Shawwal,
A.H. 545, that the Shaikh (may ALLAH be well pleased with him) said:
The pious pretender [mura'i] wears clean clothes, but his heart is filthy. He
abstains from permissible things, and is too lazy to earn a livelihood. He eats
off his religion, and exercises no self-restraint at all. He consumes things
that are explicitly forbidden [haram]. His game may be hidden from the common
folk ['awamm], but it is not concealed from the Elite [khawass]. His asceticism
[zuhd] and obedient worship [ta'a] are all superficial. His external facade is
splendidly fashioned, but his interior is a ruin.
Woe unto you! Obedient service to ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) is
performed by the heart [qalb], not the outer mold [qalab]. All these things are
connected with hearts, innermost beings and spiritual qualities [ma'ani]. Strip
yourself bare of what you now have on, so that I may get for you from the Lord
of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) an outfit that will never wear out. Get
undressed so that He may clothe you. Take off the garment of your indifference
to the rights [huquq] of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He). Take off the
garment of your attachment to creatures and your idolization [shirk] of them.
Take off the garment of lust, frivolity, conceit and hypocrisy, of your love of
being acceptable to people and having them approach you and bring you gifts.
Take off the clothing of this world, and put on the clothing of the hereafter.
Divest yourself of your power, your strength and your very existence [wujud],
and throw yourself down before the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He)
without power, without strength, without attachment to material means [sabab],
and without idolatrous worship of any created thing. Then, if you do this, you
will see His gracious and combat with Lordship, which is the source of destiny's
decrees, to be silent on questions of why and how and when, and to give up
suspicion of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) in all His phases
of movement and repose.
All of this rests on the authority of the Hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may ALLAH be
well pleased with him and his father), from whom it is transmitted by 'Ata'. Ibn
'Abbas said: "I was riding behind the Messenger (ALLAH bless him and give him
peace) when he said to me: 'My boy, take care of ALLAH and He will take care of
you. Take care of ALLAH and you will find Him in front of you. So when you have
something to ask, ask ALLAH, and when you seek help, seek help from ALLAH. The
pen has already run dry from writing all that is to be, so if His servants were
to strive to bring you some benefit not decreed for you by ALLAH, they would not
be capable of it, and if His servants were to strive to cause you some injury
not decreed for you by ALLAH, they would not be able to do it. So if you can
relate to ALLAH with honesty and certitude [yaqin], do so; and if you cannot,
there is much good in being patient with what you dislike. Know that help
resides in patience, joy with sorrow, and "with hardship comes ease" (94:5).' "
It behooves every believer to make this Hadith a mirror for his heart, to wear
it as his undergarment and his outer garb, to treat it as his own Hadith, on
which he should act in all conditions, be he in motion or at rest, so that he
may be safe in this world and the hereafter, and receive honor in both domains
through the mercy of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He).
Al-Fath ar-rabbani- The Sublime Revelation
Eighth Discourse
It was in the schoolhouse, in the late evening of Tuesday, the 19th of Shawwal,
A.H. 545, that the Shaikh (may ALLAH be well pleased with him) said:
The pious pretender [mura'i] wears clean clothes, but his heart is filthy. He
abstains from permissible things, and is too lazy to earn a livelihood. He eats
off his religion, and exercises no self-restraint at all. He consumes things
that are explicitly forbidden [haram]. His game may be hidden from the common
folk ['awamm], but it is not concealed from the Elite [khawass]. His asceticism
[zuhd] and obedient worship [ta'a] are all superficial. His external facade is
splendidly fashioned, but his interior is a ruin.
Woe unto you! Obedient service to ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) is
performed by the heart [qalb], not the outer mold [qalab]. All these things are
connected with hearts, innermost beings and spiritual qualities [ma'ani]. Strip
yourself bare of what you now have on, so that I may get for you from the Lord
of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) an outfit that will never wear out. Get
undressed so that He may clothe you. Take off the garment of your indifference
to the rights [huquq] of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He). Take off the
garment of your attachment to creatures and your idolization [shirk] of them.
Take off the garment of lust, frivolity, conceit and hypocrisy, of your love of
being acceptable to people and having them approach you and bring you gifts.
Take off the clothing of this world, and put on the clothing of the hereafter.
Divest yourself of your power, your strength and your very existence [wujud],
and throw yourself down before the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He)
without power, without strength, without attachment to material means [sabab],
and without idolatrous worship of any created thing. Then, if you do this, you
will see His gracious One who is truly devout [taqi] does not perform his
worship of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) in an affected
manner, because it has become quite natural to him, so he worships ALLAH both
outwardly and inwardly without any affectation on his part.
As for the hypocrite [munafiq], he is always pretending, wherever he may be and
whatever he may be doing, especially when it comes to the worship of the Lord of
Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), which he fakes on the surface and inwardly
neglects. He is incapable of experiencing the conduct of the truly devout. Every
place has its motto [li-kulli makan maqal], and every job has men who are right
for it [li-kulli 'amal rijal]; for war some men are naturally suited. O
hypocrites, repent your hypocrisy! Come back from your fugitive exile! How can
you let Satan laugh at you and vent his malice on you? You may perform the salat-prayers
and keep the fast, but you do this for the sake of creatures, not for the sake
of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), and the same is true if you
give charity [tasaddaqtum], pay the alms-due [zakkaitum] and go on pilgrimage [hajajtum].
You are: "Toiling, weary" (88:3). Soon you will be exposed to the heat of a
scorching fire, if you do not come to your senses, repent and make amends. You
must follow [the traditional Islamic practices] without heretical innovation [ibtida'].
You must follow the teachings [madhhab] of the righteous predecessors [as-salaf
as-salih]. Walk on the straight highroad [al-jadda al-mustaqima]. No extremes of
religious doctrine! [la tashbih wa-la ta'til : lit., no ascription of human
characteristics (to ALLAH), and no denial of all attributes (to Him)]. Just
follow the Sunnah [exemplary practice] of ALLAH's Messenger (ALLAH bless him and
give him peace) without affectation and artificiality [tatabbu'], without
bigotry [tashaddud], without bragging [tamashduq] and intellectual
pretentiousness [tama'qul]. You should be capable of what was possible for those
who have gone before you (Almighty and Glorious is He), everything has need of
him. This is something that does not come about through passive resignation [takhalli]
and mere wishing [tamanni], but through something that becomes settled in the
bosom [fi's-sudur] and is confirmed by active work ['amal].
O young man! Let dumb silence be your custom, unobtrusiveness your habit, and
fleeing from creatures your whole aim and purpose. If you can dig yourself a den
in the earth to hide away in, do it. This should be your regular practice until
your faith has matured, your certitude [iqan] has gained a firm footing, the
wing of your truthfulness [sidq] has grown all its feathers, and the eyes of
your heart have both opened. Then you may rise up from your home in the ground
and fly into the air of the knowledge of ALLAH. You will roam through the East
and the West, over land and sea, across the plains and the mountains. You will
tour the heavens and the regions of the earth, in the company of the Guide [Dalil],
the Guardian [Khafir], the Companion [Rafiq]. So now set your tongue free to
speak. Cast off the habit of unobtrusiveness. Stop running away from people, and
come out of your den to meet them, since you can be a remedy for them without
detriment to yourself. Never mind how few they may happen to be, or how many,
and whether they come forward or back away. Be indifferent to their praise and
their blame alike. Never mind. Wherever you alight, you will glean what you can
[aina saqatta laqatta]. And you are with your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is
He).
O my people! Be aware of this Creator, and practice good behavior in His
presence. As long as your hearts are remote from Him, you will behave toward Him
badly, but when they draw near, your conduct will improve. The pages at the
palace gate indulge in foolish banter before the royal procession, but when the
king rides by, a dumb silence falls upon them and they start to behave
correctly, because they are now close to him. Each of them scurries to his
corner.
Paying court to creatures is the very same thing as turning one's back on the
Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He). You will find no salvation [falah]
until you break off relations with people of influence and means, and stop
regarding creatures as the source of benefit and loss. You are healthy yet sick,
rich yet poor, alive yet dead, existent yet nonexistent. Till when this running
away from the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) and avoidance of Him?
Till when the cultivation of this world and the devastation of the hereafter?
Each one of you has but a single heart, so how can he love both worlds with it?
How can it contain both the Creator and the creation [al-khaliq wa'l-khalq]? How
can this be achieved as a simultaneous condition in a single heart? This is a
falsehood, and as the Prophet (ALLAH bless him and give him peace) says:
Falsehood holds itself aloof from faith [al-kadhibu mujanibu'l-iman].
Each earthenware pot exudes its own contents. Your deeds are clues to the
firmness of your belief [i'tiqad]. Your outer is a clue to your inner. This is
why a certain wise man said: "The outer is the address of the inner [az-zahir 'unwan
al-batin]." Your inner is outwardly apparent to the Lord of Truth (Almighty and
Glorious is He) and to His special favorites [khawass] among His servants. If
one of these should ever come your way, you must behave decently in his
presence. Repent your sins before meeting with him, consider yourself
insignificant beside him, and relate to him with humility. If you humble
yourself for the sake of the righteous [as-salihun], you are likely to be humble
toward ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He). Humble yourself, therefore, because
when a person humbles himself, ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) will raise
him up high. Be on your best behavior with anyone who is senior to you, because
the Prophet (ALLAH bless him and give him peace) has said:
Blessed grace [baraka] resides in your seniors [akabir].
The Prophet (ALLAH bless him and give him peace) was not intending to refer to
seniority in age alone, but to advanced age combined with pious dedication [taqwa]
to fulfilling the commandments and observing the prohibitions [of the sacred
law], and constant adherence to the Book and the Sunnah [i.e., the Qur'an and
the Prophet's exemplary practice]. Of course not, because there is many an elder
[shaikh] who deserves neither respect nor salutation, and in seeing whom there
is no blessed grace. The Seniors [al-akabir] are the devout [al-muttaqun], the
righteous [as-salihun], the pious [al-mutawarri'un], who put their knowledge
into practice [al-'amiluna bi'l-'ilm] and who are sincere in their practice [al-mukhlisun
fi'l-'amal]. The Seniors are the pure hearts that turn away from everything
apart from ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He). The Seniors are the wise hearts
with experience of ALLAH [al-'arifa bi'llah] (Almighty and Glorious is He), that
know and are close to Him.
Whenever hearts abound in knowledge, they draw nearer to their Master (Almighty
and Glorious is He). Whenever a heart contains love of this world, it is
screened from ALLAH, and whenever a heart contains love of the hereafter, it is
barred from nearness to ALLAH. To the degree of your longing [raghba] for this
world, your longing for the hereafter is diminished, and to the degree of your
longing for the hereafter, your longing for the Lord of Truth (Almighty and
Glorious is He) is diminished. Be aware of your degrees, and do not assign
yourselves to a level [manzil] on which ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) has
not placed you. This is why a certain wise man said: "If someone is not aware of
his own degree, the decrees of destiny will make him aware of it [man lam ya'rif
qadrahu 'arrafat-hu'l-aqdaru qadrahu]." Do not sit in a place from which you
will be made to get up. When you enter a house, do not sit in a place in which
the master of the house has not invited you to sit, because you may be told to
move. If you refuse, you will be forced to get up, suffer humiliation, and be
obliged to leave.