Virtues Of The Righteous
Virtues Of The Righteous
O Muslims, beware of judging anyone. Verily, Almighty Allah has kings in the form of servants, just as there are servants in the form of kings. The Almighty often clothes His servant in the robe of servitude (`ubudiya) before Him and makes him a servant in his own eyes but a master in the eyes of others. Know that whoever thinks that his nafs is better than that of a pharaoh, displays arrogance. There is no debtor more procrastinating in the repayment of a debt longer than the nafs. There is no greater enemy than Satan. There is no adversary stronger than desires. Nothing repels the Almighty’s favours like arrogance, for rain accumulates only in the lowlands and not on the tops of the mountains. It is the same with the hearts of the arrogant: mercy descends from their hearts and settles in the hearts of those who are modest. Be aware that it is those who do not accept the truth who are arrogant and not those who dress gracefully and beautifully. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Arrogance is ingratitude for the truth.” That is rejection of it and contempt for others. Do not think, however, that arrogance is inherent only in high-ranking or wealthy people. Sometimes it can be inherent even in someone who has no food for dinner. Pride only ruins and never restores. This is because it is an arrogant attitude towards the creations of Almighty Allah.
Know that no matter what heinous affairs sinners may be involved in, you must not consider yourself to be better than them. If a murid considers himself better than a dog or a fly, he is devoid of the perfection of elevated people (sheikhs). You can be angry with sinners because, having left the truth, they have followed falsehood and have been distanced from the path of Allah the Most Perfect. Anger in this state will be anger for the sake of Allah [1]. Indeed, it is possible that sinners may repent and turn to Allah and their position become better than ours. Ash-Sha`rani f asked his mentor Ali al-Khawwas f, “How can I, as a scholar in quest of knowledge, consider myself to be lower than the ignorant and the wicked?” His mentor replied, “In actuality, the superiority of some people in relation to others lies not in their essence (i.e. in their bodies) but rather in their attributes. Think about the words of the Almighty (meaning), “Say, O Prophet: ‘I, too, am a man like you and revelation is sent down to me.’” (Sura Al-Kahf, ayah 110) The Almighty did not distinguish between people and the Prophet ﷺ except in the receiving of revelations and with regard to submissiveness before the Almighty, for whose sake all people are created. From this it is clear that people’s dignity in relationship to one other is only in that which is dependable and unchanging. But knowledge and the human condition are changing.” Therefore, O Muslims, if you are deprived of knowledge, then the dignity through which you saw yourself as being above ignorance will leave you. In the presence of the prophet Musa , two people began to boast of their noble birth and lineage. One of them said, “I am so and so, the son of so and so,” and enumerated his ancestors to the ninth generation. Then the Almighty sent a revelation to the prophet Musa , “Tell him, ‘All your predecessors are burning in the fire of Hell and you will follow them as number ten.’”
Know that three deeds are among the actions of the honourable: first, they love to spend their means on the needy; second, they love to help vulnerable Muslims; third, they love modesty and bearing the difficulties of others. Abu Said narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The scholars of the Merciful, may He be exalted and glorified, are the possessors of humility and modesty. And the scholars of rulers [2] are the possessors of pride and arrogance.”
It was also said, “Modesty is a divine favour that is not envied and insolence is an affliction that evokes no pity. Dignity lies in modesty, and one who seeks it in pride will never find it."
The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever likes people to exalt him by standing let him ascend to his seat in the Hell." Covenants were taken by righteous predecessors that they would honour people according to their level of modesty. Therefore, the most deserving of respect and cordiality is one who is most submissive to the Almighty and shows modesty in relation to others.
My master Abdulqadir al-Jilani f said, “I achieved knowledge of Allah not through nocturnal vigils and daytime fasts but through generosity, modesty, soundness of heart, appeal to the Creator with the language of abasement and need, recognition of the mercy and blessings of Almighty Allah and renunciation of my own strength and power to do anything at all."
Almighty Allah gives the possessor of humility the opportunity to draw near to Him. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever the Almighty reveals Himself to, will certainly be humble." When a servant of the Merciful manifests oppression against someone or enters into dispute with him, it becomes evident to us that he is not one of those whom the Almighty has brought closer to Him.
CHAPTER 20
COUNSEL
Know, O Muslims, verily religion is edification as stated in the hadith, “Religion is nasihah (sincere advice)." Companions asked, "To whom?" The Prophet ﷺ replied, "To Allah, His Book, His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and the common folk.
There are ethical rules that a mentor must adhere to. These include:
- Sincerity of intention to give guidance only for the sake of Allah and not with the aim of gaining fame or lulling one’s anger.
- To advise in secret and not in the presence of people, for in the latter situation it is transformed into exposure.
- To show kindness and gentleness during advice, so as not to upset the instructed.
- The mentor must himself follow what he instructs, so as not to fall into the disgrace of Almighty Allah. The Lord said (meaning), “O you who believe, why do you say what you do not do? It is severely hateful in Allah’s sight that you say what you do not do.” (Sura As-Saf, ayat 2-3) The most needed guidance is that by which a person will instruct his nafs so that it does not lead him into the gates of evil and not cast him into the perdition evoked by repudiating the righteous (awliya) of Almighty Allah. If he is to repudiate them out of his own ignorance, then he must first acquire proper knowledge by reading books written by true `ulama about the life activities, instruction and worship of these righteous ones. After all, one is forbidden to repudiate that which one does not know.
Almighty Allah said (meaning), “Do not follow that of which you have no knowledge. Surely, the ear, the eye and the heart - each one of them shall be asked about.” (Sura Al-Isra, ayah 36) That is, you should not follow what you yourself do not know. Verily, the Almighty will ask you about all the deeds that these parts of the body have perpetrated.
In the end, it comes down to three things: follow that of which the righteousness is utterly clear to you; distance yourself from that of which its falsehood has become clear to you and turn to one who is knowledgeable about what is doubtful to you.
