You must practise surrender (taslim) and delegation (tafwid) and the renunciation of your own power and strength, your stubbornness and your idolatrous worship (shirk) of creatures and your own self. You must become accustomed to servitude ('ubudiyya) which means carrying out the (divine) commandments, observing the prohibitions and bearing misfortunes with patience. The foundation on which this rests is the affirmation of Unity (tawhid) and the superstructure consists of righteous deeds (a'mal saliha). You need to lay a firm foundation for anything you build.
Your intention is not clearly formed, so how can you express yourself? Your silence is not complete, so how can you begin to speak? This kind of speech is addressed to the people on behalf of the Messengers (rusul) because they were the people's preachers (khutaba') and then when they had departed, the Lord of Truth appointed as their deputies the scholars who put their learning into practice, making them their heirs. Anyone who wishes to be in the position of the Messengers must be the purest of all people of his time, and the most learned of them in the law (hukm) and knowledge ('ilm) of Allah. You consider this to be a simple matter, you who are so ignorant of Allah, His messengers, His saints (awliya) and the righteous ones (salihun) among His servants! O you who are ignorant of your lower selves (nufus), your natural impulses (tiba'), your situation in this world and the hereafter, woe unto you! You must stay dumb and quiet until you are made to speak, raised from the dead, resurrected and brought forth.
Note: Extracts from lectures given by Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani in Ramadhan 545 A.H. Reference: The Sublime Revelation (Al-fath ar-Rabbani) Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland.
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