Reflecting on one's current state

Bismillah.

O son, so typical of a self-blaming soul nafs lawammah - one's conscience and concern with moral rectitude - I am yet again lamenting on my lower nafs. I will not be surprised if my words have not inspired you so much. How can one who is in a bad state give good counsel to another? How can warid (divine inspirations) comes without proper wirid (regular invocations). Ah...but we are told not to give up invoking Him regardless of our states. I sure find this aphorism from the venerated Ibn Atha'illah soothing to my bruised soul. May you find comfort therefrom too. Nothing is difficult for Allah and all we hope for is His Mercy.

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If someone's state does not lift you up

and his words do not lead you to Allah

- then do not keep his company!

It may be well that you are in a bad state -

but to keep company with someone worse than you

would allow you to see good in yourself.

No action from a heart without attachment is insignificant

No action from a heart full of desires is great

Good actions are the results of good states

Good states come from grasping the reality

of the stations where you alight.

Do not give up invocation of Allah

because you are not present with Allah in it.

It is worse to forget to invoke Him

than to be inattentive while invoking Him.

He might raise you up from invocation with heedlessness

to invocation with wakeful attention

and from invocation with full attention

to invocation with presence

and from invocation with presence

to invocation with withdrawal from all that is other than the Invoked.

That is not difficult for Allah.

- Ibn Atha'illah as-Sakandari

Al-Hikam text credit: AriefBillah