24th Ramadhan 1430H (Ramadhan Tausiyah by Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani)

Bismillah.

If someone is content with the hereafter, he will find that he has made the better choice. If someone is content with little, much will come to him. If someone is content with lowliness, honor will come to him. Be content with less, until your condition is transformed. If someone humbly submits to the divine decree (qadar) and is content with it, he will be raised up by Allah, the One who has power (al-Qadir) over all things. Humility and good behavior will draw you close (to Him), while arrogance and bad conduct will keep you at a distance. Obedience will improve you and bring you close, while disobedience will spoil you and drive you away.

O young man! Do not trade religion (din) for figs (tin)! Do not trade your religion for the figs of sultans, kings and wealthy people, or for a morsel of forbidden food (haram). If you eat at the expense of your religion, your heart will turn black. And how could it not turn black, when you are worshipping creatures? O wretched failure, if you had any light in your heart you would be able to distinguish between what is unlawful (haram), what is legally dubious (shuhba) and what is indifferently permissible (mubah); between that which blackens your heart and that which illuminates it; between that which brings your heart near (to your Lord), and that which keeps it at a distance.

O ignorant one, I am familiar only with earning (kasb) or total trust (tawakkul) in the Lord of Truth. Acquiring by earning comes at the beginning of faith (iman) then with strength of faith comes acquisition from the Lord of Truth, after the disappearance of intermediaries between you and Him. When the heart becomes strong, acquisition is from the Lord of Truth by way of the hands of cretures, at the command of the Lord of Truth. What I mean when I say "the disappearance of intermediaries" is the disappearance of the heart's attachment to intermediaries and the idolatrous worship (shirk) of those who are merely carrying out the commandment of Allah, so that one takes from them but turns a deaf ear to their praise and their blame, their acceptance and their rejection. If they give, one sees the working of Allah in them, and likewise if they refuse to give.

The people (of the Lord) are deaf, dumb and blind to any but Allah. They have only Him as their Supporter (Nasir) and Deserter (Khadil), their Giver (Mu'ti) and Witholder (Mani'), their source of Harm (Darr) and their source of Benefit (Nafi'). Kernel without shell, purity upon purity, goodness upon goodness - such are they who expell all created beings (khala'iq) from their hearts. Nothing remains within them except Allah. What remains in them is the silent remembrance (dhikr khafi) of Him and no other. O Allah, bless us with knowledge ('ilm) of You!

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.

23rd Ramadhan 1430 (Ramadhan Tausiyah by Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani)

Bismillah.

You must strive to ensure that you are wholly obedience, for if you do this, you will come to belong to your Lord in your entirety. Disobedience is maintaining the existence (wujud) of the lower self (nafs) while obedience is causing its nonexistence (fuqdan). Satisfying the desires of the flesh (shahawat) is maintaining the existence of the lower self, while refraining from them is causing its nonexistence. You must refrain from the desires of the flesh and not satisfy them, except in compliance with the decree of Allah, not of your own volition and craving. Accept such objects of desire with the hand of abstinence under compulsion and duress. Let the hand of abstinence drag you to accept the object of desire and convey it to the lower self. Abstinence (zuhd) is an essential necessity prior to knowledge ('ilm) of your condition (hala). Abstinence is appropriate in the darkness, and acceptance and enjoyment in the light. This (present condition of yours) is darkness, so when it departs from you, you will see the light. Power (qudra) is a state of darkness (zulma), while your dependance on the Empowering One (Muqaddir) is a state of light (diya'). Your first stage is a condition of darkness, then when illumination (kashf) comes from Allah and you are firmly established in His presence, you will reach the stage of light. When the radiance of the moon of knowledge (ma'rifa) comes, it will dispel the darkness of the night of destiny (qadar). With the rising of the sun of knowledge ('ilm) of the Lord of Truth, the decrees of destiny (qadar) and the darkness will disappear altogether. You will see clearly what is around you and what is distant from you. As He makes things plain to you, what was previously obscure to you will come to be obvious. He will enable you to distinguish between the bad and the good, between what belongs to others and what belongs to you. You will differentiate between the wish (murad) of creatures and the wish of the Lord of Truth. You will see the door of creatures and the door of the Lord of Truth. There you will see which no eye has ever seen, which no ear has never heard of and which has never occured to any human heart. Your heart will eat the food of direct witnessing (mushahada), drink the wine of intimate friendship (uns) and be invested with the robes of acceptance. Then it will be sent back to the people, for the sake of their welfare and to lead them back from their wandering astray, their desertion of their Lord and their disobedience to Him. It will be sent back together with strong protection, permanent safekeeping and permanent security.

O you who do not understand this and do not believe in it, you are a shell with no kernel, rotten wood that is fit only for the fire, unless you repent, have faith and believe.

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.

22nd Ramadhan 1430H (Ramadhan Tausiyah by Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani)

Bismillah.

If someone claims to love Allah, then seeks from Him something other than Himself, he is lying about his love for Him. As for one who has come to be loved (mahbub) who has arrived as a guest and be drawn near, he is told: "Ask, express your desires and say what you wish to have, for you are empowered." The lover (muhibb) is constrained, while the beloved (mahbub) is at ease. Deprivation for the lover, and gifts for the beloved. The servant continues to be a lover, for he is in a state of bewilderment (hayaman), separation and fragmentation, and of having to earn for the sake of nourishment. Then when the transformation occurs and he comes to be a beloved, the state of affairs is completely changed as far as he is concerned. He receives affectionate attention, comfort, ease, affluent provision and control over creatures. All of this comes by virtue of his patience and steadfastness in his state of love. The servant's friendship (suhba) is for Allah, and the love (mahabba) of Allah for His servant is not like the love of one creature for another. As for our Lord: "There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing." (Quran 42:11)

You must practise vigilant awareness of Allah and oblige your lower self (nafs) to observe the rights (huquq) of the Lord of Truth and His creatures. If you wish for all that is good in this world and the hereafter, you must be keenly aware of the fact that Allah knows all about you. You must oblige your lower self to work. You must oblige it to carry out the commandments of Allah and forbid it to commit sins against Him. You must train it to endure with patience when misfortunes come your way, to be ready to accept the (divine) judgements and decrees when they come, and to be grateful when blessings arrive. If you do this, the obstacles will disappear from your path. You will be guaranteed the companionship of Allah. You will meet the Escort (rafiq) on the road and you will meet the Helper (mu'in). You will find the Treasure (kanz) that will follow you whichever way you turn. You need not worry about where you are, or where you have stopped, because wherever you alight, you will glean (ainama saqatta laqatta). You will have at your service the law (hukm), knowledge ('ilm), destiny (qadar), humans (ins), jinn and angels. All things will fear you, because of your fear of Allah, and all things will obey you, because of your obedience to Allah. When someone fears Allah, all things are afraid of him and when someone does not fear Him, He makes that person afraid of everything. When someone serves Allah, He makes everything serve him, because He does not allow one atom of the work of any servant of His to go to waste. 'As you pay allegiance, so shall allegiance be paid to you. According to how you are, so shall you be treated.'

O Allah, treat us with Your generosity, Your beneficence, Your tolerance and Your grace, in this world and the hereafter and: 'Give us in this world good, and good in the hereafter, and guard us against the torment of the fire!' (Quran 2:201)

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.

21st Ramadhan 1430H (Ramadhan Tausiyah by Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani)

Bismillah.

If someone wishes to receive contentment with the judgement (qada) of Allah, let him practise constant remembrance of death, for remembering death makes afflictions and misfortunes seem insignificant. You must not be distrustful of His intentions toward yourself, your property or your children, but say: "My Lord knows me better than I do." If you always maintain this attitude, you will experience the pleasure of contentment and compliance. Misfortunes will depart, root and branch, and in their place you will receive blessings and delights. When you are compliant and happily content in conditions of adversity, blessings will come to you from all sides and from everywhere. Woe unto you, O you who are neglectful of Him! You must not be distracted from Him by seeking anything but Him. How often you ask Him to provide you with affluence but this may be a temptation for you, without you realizing it. You do not know the good in anything, so keep silent, conform, and ask Him to grant you contentment with His actions (af'al) and gratitude under all circumstances. Affluent provision is a temptation in the absence of gratitude, while shortage of sustenance is a temptation when patience is lacking. Gratitude will bring you more blessings and draw you closer to your Lord, while patience will put your heart on a firm footing, give it support and assistance, and help it to succeed. It will then have a praiseworthy outcome in this world and the hereafter. Resistance to the Lord of Truth is unlawful (haram); it darkens the heart and the face.

Woe unto you! O ignorant one, instead of letting your lower self (nafs) work in opposition, you should keep it busy pleading with the Lord of Truth. Keep it preoccupied with this, until the times of tribulation are over and the fires of misfortune are extinguished. O you who claim to seek the Lord of Truth, where do you stand in relation to one who is familiar with the treasure houses of His mercy (rahma) and His love (mahabba)? So plead with Him when you are on the road, before attaining to Him. When you are perplexed, say: "O Guide of the perplexed, guide me!" When you are put to the test and incapable of patience, say: "My God (Ilahi), help me, give me patience and grant me relief!" As for when you have arrived, and your heart is admitted to His presence and drawn near to Him, there is then no need to ask, no use for the tongue, but only silence and witnessing. You become a guest, and the guest does not express his own wishes. He behaves with good manners, eats what he is offered and accepts what he is given, unless he is told to say what he would like, in which case he makes his wishes known, in obedience to an order, not of his own volition. Asking is appropriate when one is at a distance, and silence when one is near.

The people of the Lord are acquainted with none but the Lord of Truth. Influential people (arbab) have lost all connection with them, and material concerns (asbab) have been discarded from their hearts. Even if they are deprived of food and drink for days or months, they do not care and remain unaffected because the Lord of Truth is their Sustainer (Mughadhdhi) and He gives them whatever nourishment He wishes.

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.

20th Ramadhan 1430H (Ramadhan Tausiyah by Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani)

Bismillah.

Woe unto you! You lay claim to knowledge, yet your joy is the joy of ignorant, and your anger is like theirs. Your happiness lies in this world and the attention you receive from creatures, so it makes you forget the (divine) wisdom (hikma) and hardens your heart. The believer (mu'min) rejoices only in Allah, not in anything other than Him. If rejoicing is inevitable, rejoice. If it is because of something worldly, dedicate it to the obedient service of Allah. Let it be useful to the servants of the Lord of Truth and help them to perform their works of obedience. You must continue to feel fear, until your heart and your innermost being are told as He told Moses and Aaron (Harun) (peace be upon them both):

"Fear not, for I am with you both. I hear and I see." (Quran 20:46)

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.

19th Ramadhan 1430H (Ramadhan Tausiyah by Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani)

Bismillah.

O hypocrite! Allah is the One who reveals (al-Muzhir) things to any of His servants He wishes. He is the One who invites them (al-Munadi). He is the One who unites (al-Jami') the hearts of creatures with whomever He wishes among His servants. He is the One in charge (al-Musakkhir). You would like to use your hypocrisy to bind people's hearts to you, but nothing will come of this.

O young man! You must leave your desires (shahawat) beneath your feet and turn away from them with all of your heart. Then if any part of them is destined for you in the foreknowledge (sabiqa 'ilm) of Allah, it will come to you in its proper time, when you will be welcome to enjoy it to the full. You will therefore take it with the hand of dignity, not with the hand of degradation. At the same time, you will receive from the presence of Allah the reward for having abstained from it, and He will regard you with respect, because you were not greedy and importunate in seeking it. Whenever you run away from your alloted shares (aqsam), they cling to you and come chasing after you, so it is not really possible to abstain from them. It is nevertheless essential to avoid them before they are due to arrive.

Learn from me about abstinence and acquisition. Do not sit in your corner with your ignorance for company. Apply yourself to study, then go into seclusion. Apply yourself to the study of the law (hukm) of Allah and put it into practice, then isolate yourself from everyone, with the exception of a few individuals who are learned (ulama') in Allah. That you should mingle with them and hear from them is better for you than secluding yourself. When you encounter one of them, you should stick to him and learn from him how to acquire knowledge ('ilm) and experience (ma'rifa) of Allah. You must acquire this learning by hearing it from their mouths. Knowledge is received from the mouths of men, from these men who are learned in the law (hukm) and knowledge ('ilm) of Allah. Once you have accomplished this, you should go into solitary seclusion, without self (nafs), devil (syaitan), passion (hawa), natural inclination (tab'), ordinary habit ('ada) and attention to creatures. When you have truly attained this isolation, you will be surrounded by the angels and the spirits (arwah) of the righteous (salihun) and their noble influences (himam). If you isolate yourself from creatures in this manner, well and good. Otherwise, your isolation is a form of hypocrisy and you are wasting your time for nothing. You will be in hellfire in this world and the hereafter; in this world in the hellfire of misfortunes, and in the hereafter in the hellfire prepared for hypocrites (munafiqun) and unbelievers (kafirun).

O Allah, grant pardon, forgiveness, tolerance, forbearance and renewed grace. Do not expose us to disgrace. Do not chastise us for our sins. O Allah, O Generous One (Karim), You have said: "And He it is who accepts repentance from His servants, and pardons evil deeds." (Quran 42:25) Relent toward us and pardon us! Amin.

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.

18th Ramadhan 1430H (Ramadhan Tausiyah by Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani)

Bismillah.

When a person's knowledge prevails over his passion (hawa) that is useful knowledge. How could it not be useful, when it locks the doors of creatures and opens the door of the Lord of Truth which is the greatest door of all? When the servant has accomplished this shutting and opening, the crowd departs from him and seclusion comes to him. Robes of honor come to clothe his heart. The keys come to him. The outer shell falls away from him and the kernel (lubb) remains. The way of passion is blocked, barred and suppressed, while the way to the Lord of Truth is opened and the highroad becomes plainly visible to him; the highroad of his purpose, which is the highroad of the Prophets (anbiya) who have gone before. What is this highroad? The highroad of pure clarity with no murky confusion. The highroad of the affirmation of Unity (tawhid) with no idolatrous association (shirk). The highroad of submissive obedience (istislam) with no contention. The highroad of truthfulness (sidq) with no falsehood. The highroad of the Lord of Truth without creatures. The highroad of the Originator (Musabbib) without secondary cause (sabab). This is the highroad taken by the commanders of the religion (umara addin), the sultans and kings of real knowledge (ma'rifa) who are the men of the Lord of Truth, His close friends (asfiya') and noblemen (nujaba'), the supporters of His religion, fighters in His cause and lovers in His cause.

Woe unto you! How can you claim to follow the road of these people (of the Lord) when you are an idolatrous worshiper (mushrik) of yourself and other creatures? You have no faith (iman) while your fears and hopes are attached to those who inhabit the face of earth. You have no abstinence while there is anything in this world that you desire. You have no affirmation of Unity (tawhid) while you see any but Him on your path toward Him. The knower ('arif) is a stranger in this world and the hereafter, and an abstainer (zahid) from them both and from everything whatsoever apart from the Lord of Truth; he has no interest in anything but Him.

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.