Virtues of the Righteous

Slavery has its own characteristic features: it is the rejection of all planning since in everything one should only see the predestination of Allah as well as the understanding that what is predestined by Almighty Allah is the best choice for a slave.

It is said that Ibrahim ibn Adham , having bought a slave, asked him:

• “What do you usually eat?
• “That which you will feed me,” answered the slave.
• “What kind of work do you do?”
• “The one you will require of me.”
• “What do you want?”
• “Does the desire of a slave have any meaning when there is the will of his master?”

Then Ibrahim ibn Adham mentally addressed himself: “O poor man, even for an hour of your life you have not been as submissive to Allah as this slave is in submitting himself to you!”

Imam Ali ibn al Hawas when mentoring his murid al Shaarani said to him, “From what Almighty Allah sends down to you, eat only as much as necessary and no more and give the rest to whomever Almighty Allah wishes. Do not waste your energy in managing your affairs but rather ask the Creator to organise them in the best way.”

Then ash Shaarani asked him, “But should I ask the Almighty for the sustenance which is permitted?” To which his mentor answered, “Yes, ask in the following way: O my Allah, send me down sustenance to be grateful for and cover my flaws in both worlds, O Most Generous, O Most Noble!” and added, “Abstain from impatience and anxiety in comprehending the testings of Allah. After all, the Creator will endow a slave who consigns all his affairs to Allah with the necessary knowledge and relevant actions, so much so that such a slave of Allah will certainly become an imam leader who people will follow. Truly, Allah is powerful over everything”

One of the signs of slavery is also the ability to conceal in public one’s needs when poor and one’s material wealth when well to do. Both these attitudes must be considered equivalent by a slave of Allah, as he who is truly submissive should be strict with himself, adhere to the precepts of religion, be generous to those in need and not seek pleasure. Scholars say that “A person remains a true slave of Allah until he seeks a servant for himself. However, when he begins to search for a servant for himself, he loses the quality of slavery before the Lord.”

Slavery has an etiquette whereby a person should not be unduly anxious in regard to the following circumstances: in feelings of hunger, nakedness, poverty and humiliation. According to this etiquette, a slave should not repudiate any of Allah’s predeterminations but dutifully accept them. That is to say, the truly submissive must rely solely on the Almighty’s mercy: do not put any food aside in reserve and do not turn in your need to anyone other than Almighty Allah.

Slavery (`ubudiyya) is an inseparable quality of a slave of the Almighty, just as Dominion (rububiyya) is an inseparable and permanent attribute of the Perfect Almighty Allah.

This is why everyone who through his knowledge and good deeds did not become more needful of his Lord and show simplicity and modesty to others fell into spiritual perdition. He who indeed counts on his wealth is in reality poor, he who seeks satisfaction through a high position in society is contemptible, he who relies on his family is an inferior and he who depends on his good deeds is bankrupt. But he who is content only with Almighty Allah, experiencing a constant need for Him and relying solely on Him in everything, is truly rich.

Perceiving oneself as the worst of all

Truly, a person’s sincere worship of Almighty Allah is revealed in the highest degree of meekness and humility together with his awareness of his weakness and need. This, together with constant pleas for forgiveness from Gracious Allah, manifests his readiness to obey and follow all of the Almighty’s prescriptions. Meekness is expressed in absolute humility of the heart, its dependency and vulnerability caused by frailty and need of the Creator. It is such submission that is the basis of heartfelt worship.

For a person who is convinced that he is worse than anyone else around him, the whole world becomes like a sheikh spiritual guide. For Almighty Allah has created everything in the universe with a special meaning. And he who is of this level observes this and studies it and tries to arm himself with its wisdom. A sinner, for example, may adopt humility and patience to troubles which Almighty Allah has sent down to him. And when an obedient slave of Allah observes a dog, he tries to learn from its patient endurance of the coarse behaviour shown to it and how it humbly accepts the absence of any store of worldly possessions, being content with the food that is in its stomach.

Thus, a truly humbled person tries to adopt from the dog its satisfaction with and gratitude towards its master, for it joyfully gnaws even on old bones thrown to it and shows goodwill to everyone who does it any good.

The obedient slave learns a kind of submissiveness and patience even from a stone which it shows when, with iron, they break it off from the rock face and trim it to the necessary shape, and then lay it under the foundations of a latrine. And from the donkey and the camel the slave of Allah adopts the sort of patience that these creatures show while carrying loads or their master.

Thus also, in watching a rooster, a sincere worshiper learns, for example, the attentiveness, zeal and generosity that he shows to his family. And when a slave observes the flame of a candle and sees how its wick burns, he gleans the following wisdom from it: how much light it provides to those nearby and how patiently it endures the torment of the fire while benefitting those around it.

One who considers himself to be worse than anyone else will be a companion of the Messenger of Allah. The benefit of such a perception is that such a person will not react with evil to someone who has treated him rudely. He will agree with others even when they are convinced of the truth of their high levels of achievement of perfection, while committing all responsibility for this to them.

This is because no one knows the secrets of others except Allah and those slaves whom the Almighty has endowed with secret knowledge. That is why we are obliged to give credence to a person who wants to tell us his secrets. For, if we consider him to be a liar, we may be demonstrating the height of pretentiousness.

Imam Afzaluddin , while mentoring imam ash Shaarani , addressed these words to him, “When you go to any meeting or visit some righteous person, avoid taking an honoured place, even if it be free. For if a respected person enters, they may move you and shame you. Yes, you may be subjected to embarrassment and your nafs will certainly make itself known and show displeasure. Know this and do not do so. But this can only be achieved when you perceive yourself as being lower than all who are around you.”

FROM THE BOOK “VIRTUES OF THE RIGHTEOUS” BY SHEIKH AHMAD-AFANDI, MUFTI DAGESTAN