Teaching & Spirituality

Life of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gailani

Books compiled by Al-Shaykh Al Sayyid Abdul Qadir Jilani Al-Hassani Al-Hussaini (RA)
S. Abdul Qadir Gillani – Preaching
Writing & Teachings
S. Abdul Qadir Gillani – Parting Admonitions
Spiritual Developments

Books compiled by Al-Shaykh Al Sayyid Abdul Qadir Jilani Al-Hassani Al-Hussaini (RA)

Saiyidena Ghousul Azam devoted his time to many religious works, of which the following are known.

‘AL GHUNYA LITIALIBIN’ Comparison of ‘Sunni’ laws with those of other schools of Muslim law mainly relating to prayer. Fasting, Haj, Zakat and such other subjects.

‘AL FATH RABBANI’ A collection of 62 sermons delivered by him during the period 545-546 Hijri

‘FATUH AL GHAIB’ A collection of 78 sermons on various subjects complied by the Shaikh’s son, Seyed Abdul Razak, followed by his dying deposition and his pedigree from his father and mother’s sides. (An English translation of this by Maulvi Aftab-ud-Din Ahmad has been published by Maktaba Nawai Waqat Lahore, West Pakistan) Extracts of this translation appear in the chapter on Preaching and Teaching in particular and the other chapters in general.

‘SIRUL ASRAR – SECRETS OF SECRETS’ The contents are too diverse to describe here, but include: The shops of the spirit in the body; Division of knowledge into knowledge on the tongue and knowledge in the inner core; The number of the sciences; Explanation of the Sacred Law [Shari’a], the Spiritual Path [Tariqa], Direct Knowledge [Ma’rifa] and Reality [Haqiqa]; Concerning the people of spiritual culture [tasawwuf]; The difference between the ascetics and the people of intimate knowledge; Meanings of the term tasawwuf; The five tokens of bliss; The tokens of misery; The four domains, the spirits, the manifestations, and the intellects and so on. This is a most important book for anyone traveling the spiritual path. Twenty-four sections.

‘HISB: BASHAIR AL KHAIRAT’. A collection of mystical prayers.

And held and plat the Hazrat’s foot on his (Ali Bin Hiti’s) neck. All other persons present there stepped forward and bent down their necks.

When Saiyidena Ghousul Azam made this declaration, the Walis all over the World heard it spiritually and they too bent down their necks simultaneously in submission and in acknowledgement of His superiority and leadership. Three hundred Walis and 700 Rijal-il-Ghaibs (hidden persons) some of whom while dwelling on earth could even fly about in the air, also bent down their necks. On this declaration the Walis of the World saw with their spiritual eyes the flag of the rank of ‘Qutub’ planted in front of him with the crown of ‘Ghouse’ placed on his head. They also saw him making the aforesaid declaration, donning a robe, which denoted a higher spiritual rank. The robe, embroidered with flowers, symbolised Shariat and Haqiqat. As he was making the declaration, divine halo appeared to shine from the heart of Ghous-ul-Azam.

When the Walis had bent their necks acknowledging Hazrat’s sole suzerainty, their hearts too appeared to glow brilliantly than before; signifying that their knowledge and status had become higher on account of their submission and acknowledgement. Sultanul Hind Khawaja Moin-ud-din Chishti was at the time in a cave in the hills of Khorasan, when he too heard this declaration with his spiritual ears. He said that the feet of the Ghous-ul-Azam were on his eyes and head as well. For this particular submission; Hazrat Khawaja Miunuddin became the spiritual head of India (vide ‘Tafrith-ul-Khatir’).

For those in doubt it should be clarified that there is not the slightest tinge of egoism in the aforesaid declaration. Hazrat had completely mastered his lower self and by his conduct, sermons and writings to wean mankind from all low desires and passions, he could not have for a moment think of self exaltation. It was the manifestation of Divine will that he was obliged to make this declaration so that the Walis in particular and the mankind in general may know to whom to turn for guidance in spiritual advancement.

S. Abdul Qadir Gillani – Preaching

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the world, the first and last, outwardly and inwardly, as many times as the number of His creations and equal to the measures of His words and to the weight of His throne, and to the extent of His own pleasure and to the number of all thins single and in pairs, and things that are wet and dry, and of all that our Lord has created and spread for ever, and in all its purity and blessedness. Praise be to Him, Who has created and then made complete and who has made thins according to their measure and guided them to their goal; to Him who cause death and gives life, who makes one laugh and weep; who gives food and drink; who gives one good and bad luck; by Whose command, the seven strong heavens stand and the mountains are fixed like pegs, and the spread out of the earth is staged and in Whose mercy no one can be disappointed and from Whose planning and enforcement of order and dignity and command, no one can escape, and to Whose service no one can be averse, and of Whose blessings no one can be devoid of.

He is praised, because He has been loving and is offered thanks, because he affords safety. He confers benefits on us, protects and keeps us safe, gives us life and keeps away from us all that injures and gives us trouble, and all these just out of His mercy and compassion and as an act of absolute favour, and because of His will to give us standing protection in our expressions and actions both private and open and in our reticence and in our plight and in our pleasure.’

‘Surely he is the Absolute Doer of whatever He likes and orders whatever He wills, and knows whatever is hidden, and is informed of all affairs and conditions, both of sins and errors as well as acts of obedience and states of nearness of Him, and I ears and accepts all prayers from whomsoever, He likes and wills, without any contentions and hesitation. His favours on his servants are in abundance and ceaselessly at all hours of nights and day and in all conditions, as He has said ‘If you enumerate the favours of Allah you will not be able to count them’ And whatever of blessings is with you, it is from Allah.’

Blessings be then upon His chosen Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon hum), and any one who follows what he has pronounced receives guidance and whoever turns away from him is misguided and perishes, the truthful Prophet of recognized truthfulness, abstainer from the World, and seeker of the High, the one who has been, from among all his creatures, the selected one, with whose advent the Truth has come and with whose appearance, falsehood has disappeared and with whose light the earth is illuminated. Blessings pure and abundant are upon him as also on the pure among his offsprings and companions, and his followers, together waits His favour.

‘Three things are indispensable for a believer in all conditions of life’ said Hazrat Ghousul Azam.

He should:

1. Keep the commandments of Allah;
2. Abstain from forbidden things; and
3. Be pleased with the decree of Providence.

‘A Muslim’ he said, should follow faithfully, in the footsteps of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and should not create innovations and remain obedient to Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him). He should not ascribe any partner to Him nor ascribe any evil to Him but should maintain His truth without any doubt, and remain patient and firm without running away.

‘Apply to Allah for your needs, but do not feel annoyed; but wait. Be united in obedience and do not be disunited. Love on another and do not bear spite towards one another. Keep free from vices and do not be contaminated or defiled by them. Beautify yourself with obedience to your Lord. Do not keep away from the doors of Your Master and do not refrain from being attentive to Him. Do not delay your repentance but return to Him. Do not feel weary of seeking forgiveness from your creator at any time during day and night. If you do so, may be, mercy will be shown to you and you will have good luck and be kept away from hell fire. Be united with Allah and enjoy His blessings.

‘The first thing which a man of intelligence should see is the condition and composition of his own self, and then of the other creations and inventions. Then he would infer from them the existence of their Creator and Originator, because, creation indicates the creator, and the underlying strong power is the pointer to the wise Actor behind it, because all things are in existence through Allah.’

‘In every thing there is an attribute from the attributes of Allah, and every name is a sign for one of His names. So surely you are between His names and His attributes and works, inwardly through His power and outwardly through His wisdom. He is manifest in His attributes and concealed in His person. His person is concealed in His attributes and His attributes are concealed in His works. And He had revealed His knowledge through His will and expressed His will in movements. And He has concealed His skill and His workmanship through His will. So He is hidden in His invisibility and He is manifest in His wisdom and power. There is nothing like a likeness of Him and He is bearing and seeing.’

‘Keep away from disobedience to Allah, the exalted, and the Glorious, with utmost effort, and cling to His door with truth. And apply all your power effort in obeying Hum with apologies and entreaties, showing your readiness, in silence with down cast looks not looking at people nor following your animal desires, nor seeking any recompense, whether of this world or of the hereafter, nor yet any promotion to higher positions or honorable stations. And know it for certain that you are His servant, and all that the servant possesses belongs to his Master, so that he cannot any thing against Him.’

‘Observe good manners and do not blame your Master. Every thing is in an appointed measure with Him. What he puts forward, no one can push back and whatever He keeps back, no one can push forward. Nothing keeps you off from the favour of Allah and His direct blessings, excepting your reliance on people, and means, and arts and crafts, and earnings. Thus people become a barrier to you. Thus, so long as you remain with people, that is, you yearn for their gifts and favours and solicit from them with expectations at their doors, you are then associating Allah’s creation with Him.’

‘Then, when you have renounced your hopes with the people and your associating them with your Lord, you would have thrown away polytheism. If you have discarded your reliances on your earnings, ability, and power, then you testify Allah that He is the Giver of livelihood, and Creator of causes of care and of strength for earning and Giver of power over everything good.’

‘Thus you turn towards Him and throw yourself before Him, the Mighty and the Glorious, when he lifts the veil that intervenes between you and His favour and opens the door of sustenance by His favour at every time of necessity, who is also a fried of the patient as a protection from Him, the Mighty and the Glorious in order to keep you clear from any inclination towards what is besides Him. He thus pleases you by his favours. Thus, when he removes from your heart every purpose and every desire and every pleasure and every object, there remains nothing in your heart excepting His purpose.’

‘Thus He wants to bring to you your allotted share which cannot escape from you and which is not meant for any one else from among his creation. He will create in you a desire for that share and will direct it to you, so it will reach you at the time of your need. Then He will give you strength to be grateful to him and he will direct it to you and give it to you as your sustenance so that you may be grateful to Him and may recognise and know it. Thus this will increase your desire for aloofness from people and distance from men and for emptiness of your heart from whatever is besides Him.’

‘Then when your knowledge has been strengthened as also your certainty, and your heart has expanded and is illuminated, and your nearness to Allah and your position with Him, and your trustworthiness and worthiness in the matter of guarding His secrets have been increased thereby, you will be given knowledge before hand as to when your share will come to you as a sign in your favour, and as an exaltation of your dignity. This is a favour from Him and an act of kindness and guidance. Allah the Exalted and Glorious says ‘Those who strive hard for US, we will most certainly guide them in our ways.’

And fear Allah and He will teach you then, He will invest you with the power of controlling the Universe, with a clear permission, which will have no obscurity in it and with clear signs which will be bright like the bright sun and with sweet words which will be sweeter than all sweet things, and with true revelation without any ambiguity and will be free from any evil suggestion of the animal self and from the promptings of the devil, the accursed.

‘O child of Adam, I am Allah, nothing deserves to be worshipped excepting me. I say to a thing ‘Be’ it will likewise come into being. Obey Me, I will make you so that if you say to a thing ‘Be’ it will likewise come into being.’ And He has endowed this gift to many of His Prophets (peace be upon him) and Awliyas and people specially favoured from among the children of Adam.

Verily there is nothing excepting Allah and yourself and you are the addresser. The self of man is opposed to Allah and inimical to Him and all things are subordinate to Allah. The Self of a man really belongs to Allah as a creation and as a possession and the self of man entertains presumptions, wherefrom arises false hopes and passions and sexual pleasure. So if you ally yourself with Truth by opposing yourself and becoming hostile to it you will belong to Allah said to Prophet Dawood (peace be upon him) ‘Dawood I am your unavoidable Resort, so hold firmly to this Resort. True servitude consists in your becoming inimical to your own self for my sake.’ It is then that your friendliness towards Allah and servitude to Him will become a proved fact. And it is then that you will get your share of things holy, wholesome, and pleasant. ; You will then become dear and honourable and everything will become your servant and render you homage and will be afraid of you; because all of them are subordinate to their Allah and in harmony with Him, since He is their Creator and Originator and they acknowledge their servitude to Him.’

Allah says, ‘And there is nothing that does not glority Him with His praises, but you do not understand their prayers.’ ‘Do not follow your low desires because they will lead you astray from the path of Allah.’ ‘Shun your low desires because there is nothing that contends with me in my kingdom excepting the carnal desire of man.’ And there is a famous incident related to Abu Yazid Bustami that when he saw Allah the Almighty in his dream, he asked Him ‘How can one get at you?’ Allah said, ‘Discard yourself and come to me.’ Thus all good, lies in fighting one’s self in everything and in all conditions of life.

‘Get out from your own self and be away from it and be a stranger to your sense of self and surrender everything to Allah. Become His gatekeeper at the door of your heart and keep his commandment by admitting whomsoever he permits to be admitted, and honour His prohibition by keeping away from every thing, which He forbids. Do not will anything, which is not the will of Allah. Any will of yours, which is not the will of Allah, is the wilderness of the fools. It is death for you and a curse of falling away from the sight of Allah and of screening Him away from yourself if you are in this wilderness. Always guard the commandment of Allah and abstain from His prohibitions and surrender to Him always in all that He has ordered and do not associate with Him anything from His creation. Polytheism consists not merely of idol worship. It is also polytheism if you follow the desire of the flesh to adopt anything of this world and of the hereafter in association with Allah. Because whatever is besides Allah, is not Allah. Thus when you are engaged in anything, which is besides Him, you are undoubtedly associating that other thing with Allah.

Therefore, be aware and do not remain indifferent; seek and then alone will you attain security. Do not ascribe any condition and position of yours to your own self and do not claim anything among these, for yourself. Thus, if you are placed in any condition or raised to any position do not speak of it to any one. Because in the changing circumstances from day to day, the glory of Allah manifests itself in an ever-new aspect and Allah intervenes between His servants and their hearts. It may be that the thing about which you may speak may be removed from you and the thing, which you think to be permanent and abiding, may under go a change so that you will be put to shame before those to whom you spoke about them. You should rather reserve the knowledge of this within your own self and should not communicate it to others. Then if the things continue in existence, know it to be the gift of Allah and ask for power to be thankful and for an increase in the favours of Allah. But if the thing ceases to exist, it will bring progress and light and wakefulness and regard. So do not ascribe any shortcoming to His decree and His procedure and do not entertain doubt about His promise.

All good lies in being regardful of the existing condition and in being contended with it and in warding off desires for any thing, which is besides it. Because such things must be either one that is allotted to you or one, which is allotted to nobody, but has been created by Allah as a trail. So if it is destined for you, it is bound to come to you, whether you like it or dislike it.

It is not proper, therefore, that any unmanned lines should be manifested from you or by any greed in your desire for it, because it is disapproved by the standards of intelligence and knowledge. If it is destined for another man, why should your, bear ill will for a thing, which you could not get, which is never destined to reach your hands? It is a thing, which but to fall to the lot of any man to whom it is only a trail. How can an intelligent person like and approve that he should call for himself a trial and yet actively seek for it. Thus it is proved that good and safety lie wholly in paying regard to the existing condition. When Allah the Mighty and Glorious gives you wealth and you are diverted by it from obedience to Him, He screens you away, on account of it from Himself both in this world and as well as in the hereafter. And it is also possible that He may take away the gift from you and change you and reduce you to poverty as a punishment for your turning away from the Giver.

And if you engage yourself with obedience to Him and become indifferent towards the wealth, Allah will make a free gift of it to you and will not lesson it even by an atom. Remember wealth is your servant and you are the servant of the Lord. Therefore, live in this world under His loving care and in the hereafter honourably and in the garden of Abiding residence in the company of the truthful (Siddiq) the witnesses (Shahids) and the virtuous (Salih).

Do not ask from Allah, the Mighty the Glorious, any thing other than forgiveness of your past sins and protection from sins in the present and the future and the power of goodly obedience, in order to perform His commandments and to abstain from prohibited things and to be pleased with even the bitterness of the decree of Providence and to be patient in the fact of abundance of comforts and gifts and lastly to die achieving a good end of the life in order to become united with the Prophet, Siddiques and Shahids and virtuous men, who are a goodly band of companions.

‘He has kept the knowledge of things hidden from you and He is alone in His knowledge of good and evil of things. Allah knows what is good and what is bad and you do not know.’

Never be proud of your own deeds. The best course for you is to give thanks and praise to the helper and to praise Him continuously and to ascribe your achievement to Him in all conditions of your life unless it is evil, and sinful acts, should be ascribed to your own self.

You should ascribe to your own self injustice and bad manners and blame yourself for these, for it is your own self, which had deserved these things more than any one else, since it is the seat of all-evil is also your self. When all grants prayer of a servant of His and gives him what he asks for, His own purpose does not thereby become frustrated. On the contrary such a prayer is in conformity with the object of the Lord and occurs in time. So the acceptance of the prayer and the fulfillment of the needs take place in due time and in accordance with a set plan which Destiny has arranged before hand in the beginning of time which have been marking time for fulfillment at the appointed hour.

D not say, I will not pray for anything to Allah because if the prayed for object has been allotted to me, it will surely come to me whether I ask for it or not. Whereas if it is not in my lot, He will not give it to me even if I ask for it. No, You should ask from Him all that you want and need of good things of this world and of the hereafter, provided there be nothing in it which is forbidden and injurious, because Allah has commanded us to ask from Him and has urged us to do so in that respect. ; He says in Holy Quran ‘Call on me, I will accept your prayers.’ ‘Ask from Allah His favours.’ ‘Ask from Allah while you are fully confident of the acceptance of your prayers.’ You should persist in your prayers to Him, so that if it is a thing, which is allotted to you, He will send it to you after you have asked for it, and thus increase your faith and certainty in realising His unity. He will help you in keeping away from soliciting from people and in diverting you to Him in all your conditions and in enhancing your confidence that all your needs are fulfilled by Him.

And if it is not in your lot, He will give you self sufficiency with regard to it and will give you pleasure with Himself, the Mighty and the Glorious, inspite of your poverty. And if you are in the midst of poverty and illness, He will make you pleased to reconcile yourself with such affliction.

And if it is a question of debt He will turn the heart of the lender from an attitude of severe demand into that of gentleness towards you; and of deferment and of provision of facility up to the time when it is convenient for you to repay the debt or make a reduction of it, or to a mood which will make him write off the debt. But if it is not written off in your behalf or reduced in this world, Allah, the Almighty, the Glorious, will give you in the life after death a considerable amount of reward in exchange for what He has not given you in response to your prayers in this world, because He is generous, free from want and merciful. He will not disappoint one who prays to Him to this world and in the hereafter. So it cannot but bring in some benefit and acquisition, sooner or later.

A saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him) runs to the effect that the believer will see in the record of his deeds, on the Day of Judgement, some acts of merit which he had not performed nor was aware of them. So he will be asked, ‘Do you not know where these are from.’ So it will be said to him. Surely this is in recompense of your petitions which you made in your prayers to Allah, the Mighty, the Glorious whom you were remembering and acknowledging His unity, keeping things in their proper places, and giving a person his due, and discarding the assumption of Might and power to your own self and renouncing pride and vanity and boastfulness. All these constitute good deeds, for which there has been a reward in the eye of Allah, the mighty, the Glorious.

Do not say O penniless man; from whom the world and its people have turned away their face, who is without any fame, and is hungry and thirsty, Whose body is meager of clothing, who wanders about every corner of the world, in every mosque and in every desolate place and is yet turned away from every door, and who is fed up and disappointed with all the desires and longings of his heart, that Allah has made me so poor and deprived the world from me and brought about my fall and has forsaken me as an enemy and made me distracted and denied me of any composure of mind and has not given me enough in this world and has reduced me to obscurity and has not made my name exalted among people and my brothers, while He has given other plenty of His blessings and made them superior to me and to the people of my house, although both of us are Muslims and believers, and have our common mother in Eve and common father in Adam, the best of mankind.

Well, Allah has dealt with you in this manner because your nature is pure and the moisture of the Mercy of Allah is to come to you incessantly in the form of patience and cheerful surrender.

Certainty and reconcilement and knowledge and the light of the faith and of monotheism are to be heaped on you. Then the tree of your faith with its root and seed will be established and it will become firm and grow and spread out shady branches, shooting forth twigs. Thus, every day it will enlarge a will grow without need for any manure to help its growth and development. The things which Allah has allotted to you will come to you in due time whether you welcome it or are averse to it. So you should not be greedy or eager for what will be yours. And do not feel sorry for what is meant for another person and not for you. What is in your possession must be either of the two, yours or another person’s.

Now if it were yours it will come to you and you would be drawn towards it and the meeting will take place very soon. And what is not yours, you will be turned away from it and it will turn away from you, and so there will be no meeting between your and the thing. So be occupied in the best manner with what you are after in the time present before you in obeying your Lord. Do not raise your head nor pay any heed towards what is besides Him. God says in the Holy Quran, ‘And do not stretch your eyes after that with which we have provided different classes of them (of) the splendor of this world’s life, that we may thereby try them; and sustenance (given) by your Lord is better and more abiding.’

‘So certainly Allah has forbidden you to pay attention to anything else but that, on which He has maintained you and has given you your provision of obedience, and has bestowed on you out of His all, otment provisions and favour. And He has warned you that whatever is besides possess a trait with which He has been trying them (others) and that your cheerful acceptance of your portion is better for you and purer and preferable. So let this be your way and resort; your objective and longing through which you will attain every object and reach every station to receive blessing, freshness and joy. Allah has said in the Holy Quran, ‘No soul knows what is in store for them of that which will refresh the eyes, a reward for what they did.’ So there is no deed beyond the five prescribed ways of service, eschewing all sins. There is nothing greater and more honourable and more liked by and pleasing to Allah than what we have mentioned for you already. May Allah by his favour give you and us the power to do what is liked by him and is pleasing to Him?

Therefore, cultivate patience and cheerful submission; pay regard to the present and practice obscurity; remain quiet, composed, and silent; Be aware; Make good your escape; Make haste, Fear Allah; And again fear Allah; Cast down your looks; Turn away your eyes; Be modest; till the destined reaches its appointed time and you are taken by your hand and brought to the forefront.

Then will be removed from you all that you feel heavy, after which you will be made to plunge in an ocean of favours and kindness and mercy; and will be clothed with the robe of light and Divine secretes and rare knowledge. Then you will be made near and spoken to, and given gifts, and made free from need, and made courageous and exalted, and addressed with the words, ‘Surely you are in our presence to day in honourable and faithful one.’

Then guess and appraise from the condition of Yoosuf when he was addressed through the tongue of the king of Egypt, its chief. Apparently it was the tongue of the king that was speaking, but in fact, the speaker was Allah, who was speaking through the tongue of knowledge. To Yoosuf was given the material kingdom, namely the kingdom of knowledge both spiritual and intellectual, and of nearness to Allah, and of distinction and high position before Allah. Thus it is that Allah says ‘And thus did we give to Yoosuf power in the land, he had mastery in it wherever he liked.’

The land here stands for Egypt. With regard to kingdom of Spirit, Allah says, ‘Thus (it was) that we might turn away from him evil and indecency, surely he was one of our sincere servants.’

With regard to the kingdom of knowledge he says, ‘This is what my Lord has taught me; surely I have forsaken the religion of a people who do not believe in Allah.’ When you are thus addressed O truthful one, you are given an ample share of great knowledge and blessed with strength, goodness, power and saintliness, and an order which affects the spiritual and non spiritual matters and are vested with the power of creation, with the permission of Allah, of things in this world even before the coming of the hereafter. Then in the hereafter, you will be in the abode of peace in Paradise. And the sight of the countenance of Allah will be an additional favour, which is an objective without limit or end.

It is a parting advice of mine that you should never complain about any mishap that may befall on you to any one either a friend or a foe. You should not blame your Lord for what He does to you, and for His test of you. You should rather give publicity to what good happens to be with you and to express your thankfulness on that account. Who is there that is devoid of the blessing of Allah? The mighty and Glorious says ‘And if you count the blessings of Allah, you will not be able to enumerate them.’ How many are the blessings with you, but you do not recognise them, you should look to no body else, because in nothing else is there harm of good or appropriation or renunciation or honour or dishonour or elevation or fall or poverty or affluence or movement or pause. Matter is the creation of Allah, and in the hand of Allah lays the source of its movement by His command and permission. It continues to exist up to a time fixed by Him. And every thing exists according to a measure so fixed by Him. Whatever He has made posterior can by any means be made anterior and whatever He has made anterior can by any means be made posterior. If any harm is to befall you, no one can avert it excepting Him. And if any good is to accrue to you, no one can withhold His favour.

Thus if you complain against Him while you are in comfort enjoying some of his blessings in your desire for an increase of them, shutting your eyes to what has been bestowed upon you as very poor you will offend Allah. He will remove them from you and make your own false complaint real and double your misery and intensify His chastisement and anger and displeasure for you. He will make you fall off from His sight. Therefore, beware of complaint, even if your flesh is cut into pieces by means of scissors. Save yourself, Fear Allah, Fear Allah, Fear Allah.

Verily most of the various calamities that befall the son of Adam are due to complaint against his Lord. How can one complain against Him? He is the most Merciful of the merciful ones and the Best of all judges Patient, Aware, Compassionate, Merciful, and kind towards His servants. He is not unjust to His servants and is like a patient, affectionate, loving, and kind physician related to the patient. Can any fault be found in an affectionate and kindhearted father or mother? The holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has said, ‘Allah is more merciful towards His servants than a mother is towards her son,’ O’ poor man; show the utmost of good manners. Exhibit patience at the time of calamity, even if you become exhausted by patience. Hold on to patience, even if you get exhausted through your cheerful submission to and harmony with Allah.

In the self of a man, there are various kinds of sins, faults and blemishes, on account of which he becomes unworthy of the company of Allah. Unless purged of impurities of sins, no one can kiss His threshold. None other than those who are purified from the dirt of self-conceit can kiss His threshold just as no one can be worthy of the company of kings, except those who are cleaned of impurities, bad smell and dirt. Thus, calamities are atonements and purifiers. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has said, ‘The fever of one day is an atonement for the sins of a whole year.’

Regard good and evil as two fruits coming out from two branches of one single tree. One of the two branches yields sweet fruit and the other bitter. So you leave cities and countries and their outskirts where fruits plucked from this tree are sent, and keep away from them and their people. But approach the tree itself and become its guard and attendant servant, and acquire knowledge of these two branches and of the two varieties of fruits emerging there from and remain near the branch, which yield the sweet fruits. Then it will be your food and your course of strength. But beware, lest you should approach the other branch and eat the fruit thereof, because its bitterness shall kill you. When you persist in this attitude, you will be in ease, in security and safety from all misery because troubles and tribulations are born of this bitter fruit. ‘O, you who believe, be patient and excel in patience and remain steadfast and be careful of your duty to Allah.’ He has commanded you to be patient, O, believer, then to see one another cultivate patience. To be steadfast and to remain on guard and to make this incumbent on yourself. He further warns you against discarding patience in the words ‘Be careful of your duty to Allah’ when referring to discarding this virtue. Thus good and safety lie in patience. And the holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has said, ‘Patience stands in the same relation to faith, as the head stands in relation to the body.’ And it is also said ‘for everything there is a reward according to a measure but for the reward of patience, its prize has no measure.’ And Allah says, ‘Verily the patient will be given their reward without any measure.

S. Abdul Qadir Gillani – Writings & Teachings

Despite innumerable handicaps Hazrat Shaikh ul Islam by the dint of his labour, became, an acknowledged teacher of Quran, Fiqh Hadith and Arabic literature and all their subjects. Hazrat has himself referred in his famous Qasida the extent of knowledge acquired by him. He says ‘I acquired knowledge to such an extent that I became a Qutab and reached perfection through the grace of Allah’.

Once Ajami swore that he would divorce his wife if he could not, for a short time, be engaged in worshipping Allah in such a manner that none else on earth could do likewise. The learned men of Iraq were questioned as to what the man was to do, so that he might not have to divorce his wife. No one could devise a suitable plan. The question at last was referred to Hazrat and he said that such a person should instead go to Mecca and get the Mutafe Ka’aba vacated and make seven circuits around it. In this manner also could his vow be fulfilled, because no one on earth at that time will be engaged in worshipping Allah in that manner in that holy spot.

One of his Murids, during the course of a discussion between dervishes said Hazrat Shaikhul Islam Ghousul Azam was bestowed with the superior spiritual rank than Hazrat Ba-Yazid Bustami, He was so confident about his assertion that he swore that if his assertion was wrong he would divorce his wife. Divorcing one’s wife was considered the greatest penalty for any wrong committed, as such a course would deprive the person concerned of the blessings of a truly married life.

He came and narrated to him about his vow regarding his superiority over Hazrat Ba-Yazid Bustami. He questioned his Murid the wisdom of taking oath to divorcing his wife, lest he went wrong. The Murid replied that it was due to his extreme love and reverence for his Shaikh that he could not accept the superiority of anybody else. Hazrat then replied ‘you need not divorce your wife. Your belief on my superiority over shaikh Ba-Yazid is borne our by the following facts.

i. Hazrat Ba-Yazid Bustami had not under taken preaching of the faith and had not rendered any service towards Fiqh and had given any Fatwas; Whereas I had done; all these.

ii. ‘He had not reach that stage of spiritual advancement and perfection in a married state to comply with Sunnah, whereas I have done so.

‘There are many other points of distinction but for the purpose of our oath he said, ‘I confine to these two reasons only’.

Questions on the law of Shariat were addressed to him from all parts of the Muslims World and he would answer them promptly. Saiyidena Ghousul Azam devoted his time to many religious works, of which the following are known.

‘AL GHUNYA LITIALIBIN. Comparison of ‘Sunni’ laws with those of other schools of Muslim law mainly relating to prayer. Fasting, Haj, Zakat and such other subjects.

‘AL FATH RABBANI A collection of 62 sermons delivered by him during the period 545-546 Hijri

‘FATUH AL GHAIB’. A collection of 78 sermons on various subjects complied by the Shaikh’s son, Seyed Abdul Razak, followed by his dying deposition and his pedigree from his father and mother’s sides. (An English translation of this by Maulvi Aftab-ud-Din Ahmad has been published by Maktaba Nawai Waqat Lahore, West Pakistan) Extracts of this translation appear in the chapter on Preaching and Teaching in particular and the other chapters in general.

‘HISB: BASHAIR AL KHAIRAT’. A collection of mystical prayers.

and held and plat the Hazrat’s foot on his (Ali Bin Hiti’s) neck. All other persons present there stepped forward and bent down their necks.

The stages of spiritual advancement and Human conciousness are divided into three categories rising upward in the scale of evolution.

i. Nafs Ammara.-Un-ruly animal self.
ii. Nafs Lawwama.-Struggling moral self.
iii. Nafs Mutmainna.-Composed Allah realised self

In the first stage ‘Ammara’ man is animal-like, restless with bestial urges, impatient of restrictions and indifferent to any pricking, of concience. By a systematic course of religious training, of which obedience to command and Prohibitions is the chief feature, he develops a sense of propriety and impropriety and repents for falling into error each and every time. This if THE ‘LAWWAMA’ state That. State which begins with a faint dawning of the moral scnse and ends in a complete surrender of the animal ego in man, is the third and the highest stage viz ‘Mutmainna’. The struggle between the lower and the higher self having now ended, the pilgrim enters a condition of perfect peace, of purity, of rectitude and of knowledge. To indicate the experience starting from the thresh old of this stage, further on, the Sufis have coined three more terms.

‘FANA’. A COMPLETE SUBJUGATION OF THE ANIMAL SELF.

At this stage, man ceases to be disturbed by an urge of desire. The only urge left in him, is prayerful surrender of his whole being. ‘BAQA’. This means a restoration of the self to a new consciousness this time not of the flesh, but of the spirit. The urges of the self are no longer from animal passions, but from the controlled spiritual region of Allah, invariably beneficial to humanity and creation. ‘LIQA’. This is the stage wherein man’s spiritual knowledge rises to such a high pitch that the rewards for his faith, sincerity and devotion no longer remain a matter of belief, but becomes a palpable certainty and an experience, as if he had undergone them already. His faith in Allah reaches a point wherein it appears to him that he is seeing Him face to face. Such a man becomes free from all fears of the nature and from all sorrows of the present and past.

In such a state, man is free from all hesitation and obscurity of judgement and doubts and misgivings. In this state, the devotee feels tinted by the attributes of Allah in the manner of a piece of iron, eventually the colour transforming to that of fire if retained there at long enough. In moments of commotion such a man’s feelings assimilate Divine powers, so much so, that this rapture produces the pleasure and blessings of Allah or his displeasure brings in the wrath and curse of Allah. Events seemingly contrary to the laws of nature occur through his action. Having received such powers from Allah, he could even possess a power of creation. He could create events and even determine the course of history.

After a pilgrim had entered the state of Fana which in the language of the Quran is called ‘ISTI-QAMA’, the next two stages of BAQA and LIQA follow as a matter of course. The reason is that, when a person becomes completely void of attachment to creation and desires and personal will, he automatically enters the state of BAQA.

As long as a man is not confirmed in the state of ‘Fana’ self annihilation and his surrender to Allah does not become a spontaneous act, he cannot be deemed to be in the state of ‘BAQA’; which requires that all acts of devotion and surrender should become natural acts, not needing any effort. When such a state is attained, the man feels that all that belongs to him are really Allah’s. While other people of the World may enjoy the satisfaction of their personal desires, such a person would relish the worship and remembrance of Allah.

Thus, when the pilgrim is confirmed in this state of ‘BAQA’ and it becomes the warp and woof of his very being, a light would appear to descend from heaven and the mist of uncertainty would altogether be lifted from his heart, and filled instead with sweet feelings of love never experienced before. This would be accompanied frequently by a highly pleasant shower of divine communication diffusing a heavenly sweet aroma and atmosphere of coolness like that of spring breeze.

At this stage, the devotee would become so immersed in ecstacy that he would be prepared to sacrifice his all for the sake of Allah even his honour and very life. His heart becomes so much filled with light Divine that it would appear as if he is experiencing the effect of the rays of the midday sun within his bosom, and as if Allah himself had descended on his heart with all His glory. These are the signs of the state of ‘LIQA’. It should also be remembered that, while attainment of FANA’ is the result of Human effort, the two higher stages of ‘BAQA’ and ‘LIQA are the gifts of Allah proceeding from His grace.

The pilgrim’s spiritual struggle takes him up to the stage of ‘FANA’ only. Thereafter, Divine grace takes him by the hand and carries him to the higher planes.

There are four varieties among men, One is who has no tongue and no heart, and he is a man of ordinary position, dull and lowly, who does not count with Allah and one who has nothing good him. He and people like him are like chaff which has no weight, unless Allah covers then with His mercy and guides their hearts towards faith in himself and moves the organs of their body in obedience to Himself. Beware that you do not become one of them nor entertain them nor yet stand among them. These are the people of chastisemont and wrath of Allah; they are the inhabitants of Fire and its inmates. Let us seek refuge of Allah from them.

You should, on the contrary, endeavour to be equipped with Divine knowledge and to be among the teachers of good and guides of religion. So beware that you should approach and invite them to obedience to Allah and warn them sinning against Allah. You will, then be a fighter in the cause of Allah and will receive the rewards of the Prophet and the messengers of Allah. The Holy Prophet (may peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) said to Hazrat Ali ‘If Allah gives guidance to one person through your guiding him, it is better for you than that on which the sun rises’.

The other kind of person is he who has got a tongue but no heart; he speaks wisdom, but does not act according to it. He calls people to Allah but himself flees from him. He abhors defects in others but he himself persists in having similar defects in himself. He shows to others his piety, but contends with Allah by committing major sins. When he is alone, he is like a wolf in clothes. The Prophet has warned and said ‘The thing to be most afraid of and which I am afraid of in respect of my followers is the learned men who do evil’. We normally seek the refuge of Allah from such learned men. So you should keep away from such a man and turn away from him, lest you should be misled by the sweetness of his talk contaminated by the fire of his sin, which will consume you, and the filth of his heart, which will smother you.

There is a third category of man who has a heart but no tongue but he is true believer. Allah has screened him away from his creation and hung around him His curtains to provide him and insight into the blemishes of his ownself, and enlightened his heart to make him aware of the mischief in mixing up with people and of the evil of talking and speaking and in ensuring safety in silence and retirement in a corner in keeping with what the prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Whoever kept silent attained salvation’. Surely the service of Allah consists of ten parts, nine of which are in the silence’. Thus this man is a friend of Allah in his secret, and is protected and possessed of safety and abundant intelligence. He is the companion of the Beneficient Allah, and is blessed with his favours.

So mind you, you must keep company with such a man and with him and endear yourself to him by fulfilling the needs which he may want. If you so do, Allah will love you and choose you and include you in the company of His pious servants and shower His blessings, if it pleases Him.

The fourth category of man is one who is invited to the World invisible, clothed in dignity, as it is related in the Hadeeth. ‘Whoever learns and acts upon his learning and imparts it to others, is invited to the World invisible and made great’. Such a man is possessed of the knowledge of Allah and his sign; and his heart becomes the repository of the rare secrets of His knowledge kept hidden from other to be released only to those whom He has selected. He is drawn towards Himself and expands his heart for the acceptance of these secrets in order to make him a worker in His cause to invite Allah’s servants to the path of virtue and to act as a warner against chastisement of evil deeds as a guide and accepted intercessor who verifies the truth of others.

Such a person achieves culminating point of perfection among mankind and there is no station above this, excepting that of prophethood. Therefore, it is your duty to be aware that you do not oppose such a person and be averse to him or to keep away from him. Do not be hostile to him or avoid accepting him. Be attentive to what he says and admonishes.

When you find in your heart any hatred or love for a person, examine his actions in the light of the book of Allah and the practice of the Prophet. Then, if these are not in accord with these two authorities, be happy to seek refuge in Allah and His prophet. But if his actions are in accord with them but you are opposed to him, then realise that you are opposed to your law desires. You are hating him on account of your low desire unjust to him on account of your hatred towards him and thereby rebelling against Allah, the Almighty the Glorious and His Prophet and opposing both the Quran and Hadith.

Turn therefore towards Allah repenting for your hatred and ask Him for love for that man and the others and from the friends of Allah and His Walis and the pious among His servants. You would then please Allah.

Make your life after death your capital investment and your worldly life its profit. Spend your time, first of all, in acquiring your life after death. Then if any surplus time is left, spend it in acquiring worldly life, and in seeking your livelihood. But do not make your wordly life your capital investment and your life after death, your profit, trying to utilise any surplus time left, to obtain your life after death by fulfilling obligations of five prayers, like putting different things all together in a single melting pot, and thereby upsetting the order of various obligations and the intervals of fulfillment lying between them you become so exhausted and agitated, you resort to sleep neglecting your duty of prayers, like a dead body at night and make use of the day to serve your animal self and desires, and Satan. It is tantamount to your selling you’re hereafter in exchange for your worldly life, having become a slave of your animal self.

You are commanded to ride your animal self and discipline it, to exercise and traverse on it towards the paths of safety. Thus is the way to life eternal and submission to its Lord. But you act otherwise by succumbing to its urges and handing over to it, its own reins to follow its low desires and enjoyments. You thereby allign yourself with its passions and miss the best things of this life and of the hereafter. You enter on the Day of judgement the poorest of men and a great loser.

On the other hand if you correctly, traverse the path of the hereafther as your capital investment you will gain in your wordly life as well as in the hereafter. Your destined portion of this world’s life would have come to you with all its pleasantness and you would have been secure and respected. Thus, the prophet has said, ‘Surelly Allah gives facility in this World’s life on the intention pertaining to the hereafter, whereas the felicity of hereafter is not given on the intention pertaining to this world’s life’. Intention for the hereafter is submission to Allah because such intention is the very soul of Allah because such intention is the very soul of service.

So when you obey Allah with obstinacy both in life and in seeking the abode of hereafter, you are among the choosen ones of Allah loving Him and yearning for the life hereafter. Paradise and nearness to Allah will be your reward. The world will be at your service and the portion allotted to you therein will in full measure because everything is subordinate to its Creator and Master. But if you become engrossed in worldly life and turn your face away from the hereafter; The Lord will be displeased with you. You will lose the hereafter and the world will be disobedience to you in that you will encounter trouble and difficulty in obtaining your allotted portion that emanates from Allah. The truth of the saying of the Prophet "The world and the hereafter are two co-wives. If your please any of the hereafter are two the other become angry with you establishes itself Allah the Mighty Glorious says ‘Surcly there are among you, who desire this world’s life and some other are among you, who desire the hereafter’. Safety lies in following the book of Allah and the practice of the prophet, and destruction, in what is besides them. With the help of these two, the servant of Allah rises towards the state of ‘Wilayath’.

IT IS INCUMBENT ON A BELIEVER THAT HE SHOULD FIRST FULFIL THE OBLIGATROY DUTIES. WHEN HE FULFILS THEM, HE SHOULD OBSERVE ‘SUNNA’ THE PRACTICE OF THE PROPHET. IT IS ONLY WHEN HE HAS COMPLIED WITH THESE,THAT HE SHOULD EXTEND TO OBSERVE OPTIONAL AND EXTRA DUTIES. SO WHEN, ONE HAS NOT PERFORMED HIS OBLIGATORY DUTIES, BUT ENDEAVOURS TO OBSERVE ‘SUNNA,’ IT WILL BE FOOLISHNESS AND STUPIDITY. IF HE OBSERVES ‘SUNNA’ AND ‘NAFAL’ OR SUPEREROGATORY DUTIES BEFORE HE HAS PERFORMED HIS OBLIGATORY DUTIES, THESE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FROM.

His example is like that of a man who is asked by the king to serve him. But he does not go to the king but stays to serve the chief, who is under the king, and his power and sovereignty. It is reported by Hazrat son of Abu Talib (Allah be pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) said, ‘THE INSTANCE OF A MAN WHO SAYS SUPEREROGATORY PRAYERS WHILE HE IS IN ARREARS WITH REGARD TO HIS OBLIGATORY PRAYERS, IS LIKE THE INSTANCE OF A PREGNANT WOMAN WHO CARRIES THE BABY WITH HER BUT WHEN SHE APPROACHES THE TIME OF DELIVERY, ABORTION TAKES PLACE. THUS SHE NO LONGER REMAINS PREGNANT NOR DOES SHE BECOME A MOTHER. ‘SIMILAR IS THE CASE OF THE PRAYING MAN FROM WHOM ALLAH DOES NOT ACCEPT SUPEREROGATORY PRAYERS SO LONG AS HE HAS NOT PERFORMED HIS OBLIGATORY PRAYERS. It is similar to the business of a man who thinks that he can not have any profit, unless he has first laid his hand on the capital, similar to the supererogatory prayers of one, which will not be accepted unless he has first fulfilled to his obligatory prayers.

Similar is the case of one who discards the Sunna but takes to supererogatory Prayers outside the obligatory duties. Among the obligatory duties the discarding of unlawful things, of associating any thing with Allah, of taking exception to His dispensation and decrees, of responding to people’s voice and following their wishes and of turning away from the commandment of Allah and from obedience to Him. The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) has said ‘No obedience is due to any man where sinning against Allah is involved.

S. Abdul Qadir Gillani – Parting Admonitions

Hazrat Ghousul Azam lived an extraordinary sternous and glorious life mainly engaged in service to mankind during day time and occupied at night in prayer in contemplation of Allah. It is beyond common comprehension to assess his nearness to Allah, which by sheer devotion and sacrifice he had attained. His examplary life was transparently glorious. Every lunar month, an angel in the guise of an Arab, used to wait upon him and inform him of the good and bad events that would take place in its course. In 560 A.H. in the month of Ramzan the said Arab bade him farewell thereby indicating that Hazrat would. not-survive to see the next Ramzan. In the beginning of Rabi-ul.Akhir of 561 A.H. he fell ill. The illness grew worse daily and it became evident that his end was drawing nearer.

His son Sheikh Abdul Wahab requested him to declare his parting admonition. He then said. It is incumbent on you to fear Allah and not to fear anyone else excepting Him and not to hope for anything from anyone else excepting Him. Entrust all your needs to Him and do not rely on anyone else excepting Him. Ask everything you need from Him and do not place your trust on anyone else, besides Him. He further said "when the heart becomes right with Allah, nothing is felt missing and nothing comes out of the man".

During his illness he expressed "I am the core without the shell". "Others have come to me so make room for them and show courtesy to them "Here is great mercy. Do not make the place con-gested for them". He was also heard saying "upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessing May He protect me and you and turn with mercy to me and to you. I begin with the name of Allah unceasingly". He kept on saying this one day one night. I do not fear anything or any angel, or even the angel of death. Addressing the angel of death, he said it is not you who has befriended me but one who has been bounteous to me.

During his illness his son Sheikh Abdul Aziz was with him and enquired often his pain and condition. Hazrat said, "Let not any one ask me about anything about my being turned over and over again in the knowledge of Allah". Sheikh Abdul Aziz further asked him about his disease. To this, he "said, "Surely no one, be it a man, a Jin or an angel knows and understands my disease. The knowledge of Allah is not diminished by the command of Allah. The command changes but knowledge does not change. The Command may be abrogated but not so is, knowledge.T "Allah" causes things to pass away and establishes what Helpleases] and with Him is the basis for the book. The Quran says," And He is not questioned what He does, and it is they who are questioned.

Once he said "I wanted death which has no life in it and a life which has no death in it". So I enquired what kind of life and death he was alluding to the death that has no life in it, is the death of my own species. I do not see in it either benefit or harm. My death from my ownself, my own desire, my own purpose, and my own wishes in my worldly life and my life after death is all that I could see. I do not live in any of these nor am I bound in them. As for the life that has no death in it, it is my life with the act of my Lord assimilated in such a manner that I have no existence in it, and my death in it, is my existence with him.

There is no wali. Sheikh or Alim who has not proved the glory of Hazrat Ghousul Azam. Hazrat Sheikh Wali-Ullah has said that although Hazrat Ali was the first "Majzoob" among "Umat-Mohammadi" yet the only person after him who had accomplished the path of Jazb successfully was Saiyidina Abdul Qadir Jilani, who fully imbibed within himself the ways and attributes of the Holy Prophets. (Peace be upon him.)

Sheikh, Abdul Wahab was told by Sheikh Abdul Razzak and Sheikh Musa that Hazrat on the evening before his death uttered aloud raising his hands and stretching them out was heard saying; "And on you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings". Repent and join the line. Presently I will be coming to you". He said" Between myself and you, and the creation there is distance as between the heaven and the earth. So do not identify me by any one of them nor any one of them by me".

His son Abdul Jabbar asked him what part of his body was ailing? He said "All parts of my body are ailing excepting my heart which has no pain in it. It is in sound condition with Allah. As death approached Him he was saying, I seek the help of Allah with "LA-ILA.HA.ILLALLAH MUHAMADUR RASOOL ALLAH". There is no object of worship excepting Allah and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah. Glory be to Him and be He exalted, the Everlasting, who does not fear annihilation. Glory be to Him who has established His superiority through His power and over powered His servants by means of death. There is no object of worship excepting Allah and Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon Him) is the Prophet to Allah. He was continuously repeating Allah, Allah, Allah and his voice grew fainter and fainter and stuck to his palate, then came to him the ultimate moment to breath away from this world of woe to the Infinite Beyond. His breath ebbed out slowly and peacefully. His exalted soul then loft his body He was no more. It was 11th Rabi-ul-Sani. This date is commemorated by his admirers upto this day and is known Girrwani Sharif. May He Allow His blessings to benefit us-and grant us all the Muslims a good end without abasing us and putting us in trial, ‘and may He thus enable us to join the men of piety Ameen, Ameen, Ameen.

The illustrious lustre that rejuvenated Islam by the majesty and sublimity of his examplary mission was dead, But he re-lives in the heart of every true Muslim.

Here are some records that speak to his unpar-alled eminence:-

Hazrat Sheikh Ahmed Shahindi Mujadid Alif Sani Naqshabandhy in his letter No. 123 written to Noor Mohammed Tehari has said that after Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Imam Hassan, and Hazrat Imam Hussain, the spiritual leadership remained in the dynasty of Hazrat Ali and all the twelve Imams were virtually the Ghouse of their time. This exalted spiritual position after these twelve Imams devolved, by means to Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani only and none else has been bestowed this high honour. All the Sheikhs and Walis seek spiritual guidance and derive light from him, that is why Hazrat has said "My Sun has come to stay and will shine for ever"

It has been said by Abu Bakar Haware-Al-Lib Tahee in page 114 of Tabbqat-ul-Kubra written by Abdul Wahab Sharrani that before the Hazrat’s birth, there would be seven Awtads in the world and the eighth will be Abdul Qadir al-Jilani. He replied that he would be one from Ahle Baith direct descendant of the Holy Prophet and appear In Baghdad in the fifth century. He further stated that he would not only be the Qutub-ul-Aqtab of the world but also the Qutub of all time. The Walis of the world will be guided to their goal through his indispensable help and care.

Sheikh Suleman Ahmed Almaghrabi Al Shazli in his book named "Uzama-El-Awlia" has stated that after the Holy Prophet, his Ashabs and Ahlebaith, the highest rank among walis, is held by Hazrat Ghousul Azam Abdul Qadir Jilani, followed by:-

1. Marouf-Al-Karkhi

2. Junaid-Al-Baghdadi

3. Ahmed Bin Humbal

4. Suleman Al Ghazali

5. Syed Ahmed Rifa-ee

6. Zinoon’Al-Misri

7. Rabiathul Adavriya

8. Bayazid-al-Bustami

Abdul Hassan Al Shazull always sought spiritual help and guidance from Hazrat Ghousul Azam. He always acknowledged his spiritual superiority. He had also heard from all the Meshaikhs, particularly Sheikh Ali-ul-Khawass, about the exalted spiritual status of Hazrat Ghousul Azam. This has also been reaffirmed by Sheikh Tajuddin Bin Ataullah in page 5 of the book Uzam-al-Awlia and Tariqa Shazuliya.

Once Al Sheikh Abu-us-Salam-bin. Mushaikh was asked about the spiritual status of the world. He said that the highest in rank and dignity was Hazrat Ghousul Azam Abdul Qadir Jilani. He was the Qutub-uz-Zaman, Imamul-Makan and Baz-Al-Ashab. His status amongst the Walis of the Ummatee Muhammadi was like that of Hazrat Khizar in the Ummatee Israil. As such, Hazrat is also known as Khizar" Muhammadi.

Sheikh Baqa Bin Battu, Sheikh Abu Second Quality and Sheikh Ali Bin Abi Nasar Hiti, who were Qutubs of their time, held high regard and reverence for him. Whenever the intended to see him in his Madrassa, they would wait outside and ask for his permission through one of his servants and would never enter the gate until permitted. Hazrat Ghousul Azam would ask them to sit by his side, but out of regard for him, they would seat themselves at a distance from him. Whenever he happened to go out of his Madrassa, these famed Sheikhs would accompany him on foot and hold the reins of his horse. Out of extreme love for him, they would conduct themselves as servants would do and would even sweep the surroundings of his Madrassa.

Sheikh Abu Nassar has stated that once Hazrat Ghousul Azam visited the tomb of Sheikh Mahrouf-Al-Karkhi and after salutation said, "Aye Sheikh Mahrouf, I am one step ahead of you". After a long time he happened to go to his tomb again and after salutation said "Aye Sheikh Mahrouf, I am now two steps ahead of you". Upon this the Sheikh’s spirits while responding to his salutation, replies, "Ya Sayed Ahle Zaman (Leader of the time) may peace be upon you". This incident was a manifestation of Hazrat’s state in superlative spiritual ecstacy.

Moulana Abdur Rehman Jami, in his famous books ‘Nafahat-ul-Inns’, has said that Hazrat Khawaja Mohiyuddin Chishti was a great devotee of Hazrat Ghousul Azam. When he spiritually heard his dictum of "my foot is on the neck of all Walis" he replied that it was on his eyes as well. Al Sheikh Sadiq Alsheobani, in his ‘Manaqib-e-Ghousia’, in reference to what Abil Abbas had heard from other Mashaikhs, has stated that Saiyidina Abdul Qadir Mohiyuddin Jilani, is as distinguished amongst the Walis as is the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) amongst the Prophet’s. The famous writers of Islamic literature have acknowledged his illustrious literary services and contributions towards Islamic learning. Hafiz Zia-ud-Din has referred to him in his Tabaqat "as ‘Alama-tul-Hcen’ Scholar of his time. Hafiz Abu Saeed Samnani in his history refers to him as Mujtahid-fil-Ilm, Professor of Absolute knowledge. Imam Abu Abdullah Shibli has referred to him as Aziz-ul-Ilm possessor of abundant knowledge.

Hafiz Imdad-ud-Din Ibn-Kasser in his history says that Hazrat had a perfect knowledge of Hadith and Islamic Law. Murtezae Nazami in his book ‘Jami-ul-Anwar’ written in Turkish and translated by Isa Band Banji, has narrated about the services rendered towards the revival of the religion by Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani during a period when political choas was adversely affecting the religious advancement of the Muslims of that time.

Sheikh Abdul Haq Dehalvi in his book ‘Akhbar-ul-Akhiar’ has stated that the spiritual leadership of Hazrat, Ghousul Azam was proclaimed after he had accomplished his Studies and excelled himself in all branches of Islamic learning. His exalted spiritual rank was made Known to the people and reverence and love towards him established in their minds. He was conferred with the highest rank of "Qutbiete Kubra" and ‘Willayat’ Uzma.

Reference to Hazrat has been made by various authors and writers, as the greatest of all helpers, a great preacher ‘a great educationalist’, a’ great moralist’ and great doctor’ of Muslim Law. The names of some of their writings are:-

1 Qamoos-ul-Alam. by Shamsuddin Sami

2 Daira-Tul-Muarif by Farid Wajdi.

3 Banja-Tul-Asrar by Imam Ali Nooruddin Alshanooni.

4 Nukat-ul-Asrar by Syed Adam Barioori

5 Akhbar-ul-Akhier by Sheikh Abdul Haq Mohadis Delhvi

6 Subdu-TuI-Asrar

7 Jawahi-rul-Asrar by Sheikh Sharif-ud-Din Syed Azam Yahya Ibd-Syedina.

8 Tuhfa-Tul-Asrar by Abd ul Qadir Ghousul Azam

9 Khawariq-ul-Asrar by Syed Jalal-ud-Din Bokhari

10 Aitibe-ul-Anwar by Sheikh Abdul Haq Balkhi

11 Hirzul Ashiqeen by Badu-ud-Din Shah Maddar

12 Seyd-ul-Musafireen by Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammad Junaidi

13 Safina-Tul-Awlia by Makhdoom Jehanian Jehan Gasht.

14 Tashreeh-ul-Awlia by Shahzada Dara Shikoon

15 Khulasa-Tul-Mu-fakhir by Hazrat Khawja Moin-ud-Din Chishti Ajmiri

16 Shawahid-un-Nabuat

17 Khulasa.Tul-Qadiria by Imam Abdullah Al Yafaia

18 Anis-ul-Qadiria by Moulana Jami

19 Tuhfa-Tul-Qadiria by Sheikh Shihabuddin Suhurwardy

20 Lutful Qadiria by Sheikh Baha-ud-Din Amali

21 Risal Gharibia by Sheikh Abdul Muali Baghdadi

22 Anwar Mohammadi by Sheikh Noor Ullah Qutbi

23 Risaka Awlia by Sheikh Ahmed Maghrabi

24 Asrar-ul-Salikeen by Syed Ahmed Kabar Rifai

25 Saif-ur-Rabbani by Sheikh Hashim Alvi

26 Malfoozat by Shaikh Muhammad Ibrahim Badri

27 Rooza-Tun-Nazir by Mulla Ali Alama Majid ud Din Ferozabadi

28 Al-Tabaqatul Kubra by Abdul Wahab Alsharani

29 Anwar-un-Nazir by Imam Abi Bakar

30 Nizah-Tul-Kaatir by Mulla All

31 Noor-ul-Absar by Syed Alshibli

32 Shams-ul-Makhir by Mohammad bin Mohammad Balkhi

33 Al-Bazal-Ashhab by Ajama Ibrahim al Droobi Alsalfi

34 Tuhfa-Tul-Abrar by Syed Alla-ud-Din Al Hussani Al Hammaws

35 Tuhfa-Tul-Tahiria by Syed Tahir Ala-ud-Din Al Qadiri Algilani

36 Q,aliad-al-Jawahir by Ghulam Yahya

37 Almanzela-Tul-Sultan-ul-Awlia by Syed Tahir Ala-ud-Din Al Qadiri Algilani

38 Alwikra-Tul-Qadiria by Gul Mohammad Khan Al Qadiri

39 Mahboob Subhani by Gul Mohammad Khan Al Qadiri

40 Short Life Sketch by Ismail ibn Mohammad Said Taharli

41 AlFayuzatc Rubania

S. Abdul Qadir Gillani – Spiritual Developments

TEN CHARACTERISTICS FOR SPIRITUAL ADVANCEMENT,

Those engaged in spiritual struggle and introspection and are determined to attain the spiritual goal must acquire ten traits in their character, and when by the permission of Allah they have established themselves in these and have made themselves firm, they have attained too high position,

THE FIRST CHARACTERISTIC: is that the servant should not swear by Him, truthfully or falsely intentionally or accidentally, because when he custivates this practice and restricts the tongue to refrain from it will enable him to give up swearing altogether. When he rids himself of swearing, Allah will open for him a door of His light. He will recognise the benefit of this in his heart and will find himself enacted in his rank and strength and receive praise from his brotheren and honour his neighbors. Ali will pay him respect and fear him.

THE SECOND CHARACTERISTIC; is that one should avoid speaking untruth seriously or jocularly because if he practices to avoid this evil and makes his tongue accustomed to utter no falsehood, Allah will open his heart and will clarify him with knowledge in a manner that it will appeal to him as if he never know falsehood. When he hears falsehood from others, he will regard it as a great blemish and feel ashamed of it in his ownself.

THE THIRD CHARCTERISTIC: is that one should be aware that when he promises anything to anyone he should not break his promise. Lest he should break it, he should not make any promise at all. For surely, this is a safer course in the conduct of his affairs and breach of promise belongs to the category of falsehood. So if one keeps his word or refrains from promising what he cannot keep the door of modesty will be allotted to him and love for him will be created in the minds of men of truth and he will be raised in status in the sight of Allah.

THE FOURTH IS THAT ONE SHOULD refrain from cursing any thing among creation. He should cause no harm to any thing, not even to an atom or anything lesser that even atom, because this quality is among the virtues of the good and the truthful, on the principle than one gets a good end of life under the protection of Allah and enjoys elevation to spiritual ranks, by the blessing of Allah. He is saved from degradation and protected from harm and is bestowed Allah’s mercy.

THE FIFTH IS THAT ONE SHOULD refrain from praying for any harm to be caused to any person, even if the latter deserves it. You should not retaliate either by tongue or by action but bear it patiently for the sake of Allah and seek no revenge either by word or by action. Surely this trait raises it possessor to high ranks. When one practices this quality, he attains a noble position in this world and in the hereafter, and receives love and affection. His prayers will be accepted and he will derive exhaltation.

THE SIXTH IS THAT ONE SHOULD not have any belief whatsoever on polytheism and in the hypocrisy of those who follow this wrong path. This trait constitutes perfection in following "Sunna” (practice of the Prophet) to lead him and also close to His pleasure and mercy. This it is an honourable and glorious ingress to Allah the exalted.

THE SEVENTH CHARACTERISTIC IS, that one should refrain from looking at anything of a sinful nature both outwordly and inwardly and restrain the organ of the body from it, because this is an action that accelerates reward to the heart and the organs, in the immediate worldly life, together with what Allah has kept in store in the hereafter. We pray to Allah that He may do all of us the favour of granting the power to act on these lines and thereby take away worldly desires from our hearts.

THE EIGHT CHARACTERISTIC is, that one should avoid putting any burden on any one else whether small or big. On the contrary he should try to lift the burden frem people whether on request or even asked. Surely this effort constitutes the highest of honour among the servants of Allah and emanates from nobility of the men of piety. This also provides strength to a man to adminish people to do good and shun evil.

Such acts reflect the honour and dignity of Allah’s servants and of pious men enabling them to enjoy good and shun evil. At this stage, the whole creation would appear to them as in an uniform position. When man so acts in this stage, Allah transforms his heart into a state of needlessness and ensures certainty of and reliance on Allah. Allah does not elevate any one while he is tied up with his worldly desires.

THE NINTH CHARACTERISTIC is that one should be free from want or expectations from men and feel not tempted in his heart to yearn for what is with them. Surely this state connotes needlessness from others besides Allah and deserves glorious pride and also indicates and clear reliance on Allah. It enables one to attain fear of Allah and to rigidly observe his religious practices. It is a sign of complete and exclusive attachment to Allah.

THE TENTH CHARACTERISTIC is humility. This trait elevates the station of the-servant high into eminance in the sight of Allah (glory be to Him) itiad also of the people. He derives powers over what he desires from among the affairs of the world and of the hereafter. This trait is the starting point to perfection of obedience to Allah. It leads one to attain the position of righteous people who are pleased with Allah either if in comfort or even when in difficulties. It is perfection of piety.

Humility among the servants of Allah ceases to see any one from among the people; but perceives his own superiority over himself and may be inclined to say "Perhaps this person is better than myself in the sight of Allah and is higher in position." The quality of humility acquired will tend the possessor to refer to the righteous and the learned among men, as those who have obtained what I have not, and they know what I am ignorant of, and they act with knowledge.

When referring to an ignorant man he will say ‘oThis man offended Allah in his ignorance whereas I have offended Him in spite of my knowledge and I do not know what sort of end I shall meet and what kind of end he would meet." Referring to such a person who may be an unbeliever, he may say "I do not know whether he will become a Muslim and achieve a good end. Possibly, I will act as an unbeliever and end my life with evil deeds. Humility is the door of affection and Fear and is a trait to be acquired for one to abide with the true servants of Allah. Thus, when the servant of Allah acquires perfection in humility Allah will keep him safe from all calamities and he will attain the position of companionship of Allah, The Mighty, the Glorious,

Moreouer this state of humility constitutes the-gate of mercy with the attainment of which, the, door of pride closes, and the rope of selfconciet is cut asunder. The sense of superiority in his ownself in all matters, religious or mundane gets discarded, This is the very essence of servitude and is a sign-of devotion to Allah.

With the attainment of this stage his tongue should restrict reference to the people of the world and its vanity. He will not otherwise attain perfection Malice, and conciet, and transgression will then vanish from his heart at all times. He will be one and the same person either in secret or in the open,. both in the pursuit of his purposes in all his expressions.

Such a person will not admonish people making evil reference or by focussing an illustration of any person or persons. Nor will he like to hear such reference to any body because this weaknees tends to1 hardship to the devotees and will lead to the ruin of a spiritual life.

THE BEGIN1NG OF SPIRITUAL LIFE is to extricate one’s self from natural cravings and urges and to revert to the path of Law, to enter through the door of destiny and progress onward to return to normal urges but yet retaining the spiritual height ascended. So, you should control your urges in matters of food and drink, dress, marital relations, habitation: and tendencies and habits. You should

Follow Al-Quran and the Hadith of His Prophet (blessing and peace be upon him); in keeping with what Allah says "And accept what the Prophet has brought to you and refrain from what he forbids you to do," and "Say if you love Allah follow me, Allah will love you.

When you are so conditioned, to purge you of your desires and disobedience both outwardly and inwardly and to annihilate yourself, then there will remain nothing in you inside, excepting the unit of Allah and nothing will exist in you outside excepting obedience and servitude to Allah in what he has commanded and forbidden. Thus one so transformed in. his ways and manners, will use them a kind of garment in all his movements during night and day; when at home or abroad in comfort or discomfort and when ill or well. Whoever fights his ownself and overcome it Allah will revitalise it to resist the temptation of committing sinful acts.

This requirement of man is what the Prophet referred, liken he said "We have returned from a minor Jihad to a Major Jihad." He means this to say that the return was to resort to a struggle with One’s ownself to achieve perpetuity and recurrence a struggle against cravings and the self being engrossed in sinful acts

"And serve your Lord till ‘certainty’ (death) comes to you. Allah has commanded His Prophet

To serve Him. This implies opposition to man’s ownself because service is declined by the self, which seeks its opposite. If it be asked how the self of the Prophet of Allah could decline service in that he had no fleshly desires, Allah says "He does not speak from his own desire it is nought but revelation, that is revealed."

When He addressed His Prophet in these words, it was to affirm the applicability of this general condition on his followers. But He, the Mighty, the Glorious, bestowed upon His prophet power over his ownself so that it could not harm nor oblige him to struggle against his ownself. This exclusive power distinguishes him from his followers. So when a believer persists in a spiritual struggle like this till the imminence of death and meets His Lord with a drawn sword besmeared with the blood of his self and his desires. He gives him what He was guaranteed to him in Paradise in keeping with his words "And as for him who fears to stand befere his Lord and forbids the soul from low desires, then surely, the Garden is the abode." He makes it his abode and resting place and place of return making him secure from any transfer to any other place or any return to the worldly abode. He provides him from day to day and from hour to hour all needs of food and drink and dress and ornaments, that can never exhaust.

But as for the unbeliever, the hypocrite and the sinner who do not struggle with their ownselves and Desires in this world but follow the devil to become polluted with the unrepented sins of unbelief and practice of polytheism and so forth till death overtakes to claim them outside the pale of Islam, they will enter the fire, prepared for the unbeliever, as is indicated in His words "Then be on your guard against the fire of which men and the stones are the fuel; it is prepared for the unbeliever." So when He has made them enter it and made it their place of flight, of return and of refuge, it will burn their skins and their flesh. He will give them fresh skin as often as their skins are thoroughly burned, and change them for other skins." He the Mighty, the Glorious, will so punish them because of their unlimited alliance with their ownselvcs and desires in this world to commit sins. The inmates of fire will have their skin and flesh renewed at all times for the chastisement to continue unabated.

The inmates of the Garden on the other hand will have all needs for their comfort and pleasure provided infinitely and adequately. This was Allah’s reward awarded for their constant struggle with their ownselves to such a state as to attire them to accord with the will of Allah in relation to this world’s life. This is what is meant in the saying of the Prophet (Peace and blessing of Allah be upon him. "This world is the culture ground for the hereafter.

THE TRAVAIL OF SEEKER you must either be one or the other of two things. You are, either a seeker or the object sought for. If you are a seeker or a disciple, you become the carrier of a burden containing difficult and weighty matters. A seeker has to toil hard and is dissatisfied until he attains his object and succeeds in realising his aspired goal.

It would not be beconning of a Seeker to flee from troubles which befall him in the matter of his life and wealth and that of the members of his family and children, until he is relieved of his burden, and the load of his suffering and consequent humiliation are removed for him to become scoure for all evil and illness and sufferings and the needs of people thereto. Then only can he claim to be admitted to the category of people, who are loved by Allah and nourished by Him lavishly and become consequently His subjects.

But if you on the other hand, become instead the object of search the things sought for, then it is your own seeking and you cannot blame Allah should any calamity befall you and you thereby or should by no means entertain doubt with regard to your portion demoted in rank with Him, because He may put you in such a state in order to make yon strive to attain the status of high personages and thereafter to raise your position to the position of Awliya and Abdu.

Do you like your position to be lower than theirs or that your robe of honour and light and the blessing be other than what are theirs? Even if you feel contented of your inferior status, Allah the Mighty, and Glorious will not be pleased it, because He says "And Allah knows and you do not know." He has chosen for you what is more elevated, brighter, higher and better, but you decline strive to have it. Then if you say could it be right that the perfect devotee should have been in a state, which according to your opinion should have’ been provided for the lower as well.

Remember the favourite one of Allah, is the beloved and true devotee. The Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) was the chief among the beloved but at the same time he was the one who was most tried and tested. The Prophet has said "I have been frightened so much on account of Allah that no one else will have been threatened like me and I have been made to suffer so much on account of Allah that no one else will have been made to suffer equally; and there have come on me thirty days and nights on which I had not so much of food as could have be hidden under the armpit of Bilal."

He has further said "Surely we Prophets are most severely tried; next to us come those of lower grade and so on". "I am the best in the knowledge of Allah and most afraid of Him among you all. " Now how can the beloved be tried and feel frightened when he is the favourite and perfect devotee? This is so only because the object is to make them attain the ultimate object as already pointed out, of the higher stations above, and because the grades of heavenly life arc not raised except through good deeds in the worldly life.

Worldly life is the cultivation ground of the life hereafter. The good acts of the Prophet and the Awaliyas, after the performing what are commanded and refraining form prohibitions reflect achievement of patience and pleasure and reconcilement as a result of developing this trait. It is at this stage this trait removes away from them and they experience the blessings of Allah and His favour and lavish care till they meet the Lord in eternity.

Be blind to all other avenues and do not open your eyes to anything in those directions, because if you look that way the direction wherefrom emanates the favour of Allah, the Mighty and Glorious will not be made open to you. So shut out vision of all other directions with your realisation of the unity of Allah and with the effacement of yourself. Thus, with your fading away and your own effacement and that of our knowledge, will be opened the penetrating long ranged eyes of your heart, the abode of Allah, the Mighty, the Great and you will see Truth with the two eyes of your heart with its dazzling rays of light brought about by your faith and firm conviction. At this stage there will appear a light from your inside and manifest itself on your outside, in the manner of the light of a lamp, inside a dark house on a dark night streaking its brilliant beams through its orifices and loopholes to illuminate the outside. The self and the body will then feel at ease with this gift of Allah, debarring all gifts of others, besides Him,

YOUR SELF, So have mercy on your self and do not be unjust to it. Do not throw it in the darkness of your ignorance and your foolishness, so as to look towards the direction of created beings and of might, of power, of acquisition and of means, in order to rely on them. For if you do so all avenues will be closed against you and the avenue wherefrom the favour of Allah flows will not be made open to you by the substitution of chastisement and retribution, merited by your act of polytheism in turning towards someone for something else besides Him.

So when you have realised his unity and observed His favour and placed your hopes on Him and none else making yourself blind to the need of assistance from any, excepting Him, He will make you become close and near to Himself and will show His mercy to you. He will nourish you, and provide all for you, nurse you in disease make you comfortable and bestow gifts on you to become opulent, help you even to become a ruler. He will even make you to vanish from creation and from your ownself and also to disappear, so that thereafter, you will see neither your poverty nor your affluence.