7/30/2019 Al-Fath Ar-Rabbani (22nd Discourse) - Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani

1/1

A certain wise man (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) is reported as having said:

"Everything that distracts you from Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) is unlucky

(mash'um) for you." If remembrance (dhikr) of Him distracts you from Him, it is unlucky for

you. Prayer (salat), fasting (sawm), pilgrimage (hajj) and all acts of charityall of this is

unlucky for you. If His blessings distract you from Him, then they are unlucky for you. You

have repaid His blessings with sins against Him and resorting in important matters to othersinstead of Him. Falsehood and hypocrisy have gained control of you in action and at rest, of

your outer form (sura) and your inner content (ma'na), by night and by day. Satan has

cunningly deceived you and has made lying and wicked deeds appear attractive to you. You

are lying even in your ritual prayer (salat), because you say: "Allahu Akbar (Allah is

Supremely Great)!" But you are lying, because in your heart you have a god (ilah) other than

Him. Whatever you rely on is your god. Everything you fear, or look to in hope, is your god.

Your heart is not in harmony with your tongue. Your deeds do not match your words. Say

"Allahu Akbar" a thousand times with your heart and once with your tongue. Do you not feel

ashamed of saying: "La ilaha illa'llah (There is no god but Allah)," when you have a thousand

objects of worship (ma'bud) besides Him? Repent to Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) for

everything you are involved in.

O you who impart knowledge, though you are satisfied with it in name alone, without thepractical application, what good can it do you to say, "I am a scholar," since you are telling a

lie? How can you feel at ease with yourself, when you are instructing others to do what you

yourself do not practice? As Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:

Why do you say what you do not do? (61:2)

Woe unto you! You tell people to be honest, while you are false. You tell them to affirm the

divine Unity (tawhid), while you are a polytheist (mushrik). You tell them to be sincere,

while you are a hypocrite. You tell them to give up sins, while you are committing them. The

sense of shame (haya') has departed from your sight. If you had any faith, you would feel

ashamed. As the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said:

The sense of shame is part of faith (al-haya'u mina'l-iman).

You have no faith (iman), no conviction (iqan) and no loyalty (imana). You have betrayed

knowledge ('ilm), so your loyalty has vanished and you been recorded with Allah (Almighty

and Glorious is He) as a traitor. I know of no remedy for you except repentance and

persistence therein. When a person has genuine faith in Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He)

and His decree, he surrenders all his affairs to Him, and makes no one a partner (sharik) toHim where they are concerned. Do not associate creatures or material means (asbab) with

Him, and do not be obliged to them instead of to Him! Once the person has really achieved

this, He delivers him from misfortunes in all his spiritual states (ahwal), and he now

progresses from faith (iman) to conviction (iqan). Then saintship (wilaya) will come to him,

(then) Badaliyya, and then Ghawthiyya. Perhaps Qutbiyya will come in the last of his

spiritual states. The Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) will glory in him (yubahi

bihi) in the presence of all His creatures, be they jinn, human beings, angels or spirits

(arwah). He will promote him and draw him near. He will give him authority over His

creatures. He will grant him sovereignty and power. He will love him and cause His creatures

to love him.

(Twenty-Second Discourse, Al-Fath ar-Rabbani by Abdul Qadir al-Jilani)