Woe unto you! You imagine you can pass yourself off as genuine. Were it not for the law (hukm), I would descend upon you, O hypocrite, and expose you to shame. Do not risk your neck with me, for I am not shy of anyone except Allah and His righteous servants. When the servant really knows Allah, creatures fall from his heart and scatter away from it, just as dry leaves scatter from the trees, so that it is left entirely free of creatures. He becomes blind to the sight of them and deaf to the sound of their speech, as far as his heart and his innermost being (sirr) are concerned.
When the self (nafs) becomes tranquil (mutma'inna), it is entrusted with the safekeeping of the limbs and organs of the body. The heart travels to the Lord of Truth to seek what is in His presence. Then it goes to this world, which becomes a manager for the self and looks after its interests. This is the customary procedure of Allah with respect to those who seek Him. When it is time for them to receive all their alloted shares, this world comes to them in the shape of an ugly, gray-haired old woman, to give them their allotments in full. She is a maidservant, not a concubine (surriyya). They take from her what she has for them, and pay no attention to her.
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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