6.
Traps of Satan
Ghauš-e-A’ẓam رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ said, ‘Once I saw Satan sitting
afar and throwing dust onto his head. Satan then said crying, ‘O ‘Abdul Qādir!
I am disappointed to have failed to lead you astray. I replied, ‘O the accursed
one, shove off! I can never be heedless of you.’ Satan said, ‘This mindset of
yours is the most troublesome for me.’ He then revealed to me many traps and
tricks. I asked him about them, he replied that those were the worldly traps
whereby he hunted people like me.
In order to be safe from them, I
kept striving for a whole year until all the traps broke. Then lots of things
appeared to me. I asked as to what those things were, I was told that those
were the things which caused heedlessness. I then strived for another year
until all those traps also broke.’
(Bahĵat-ul-Asrār, pp. 166)
Keep
trying to rectify yourself
Dear Islamic brothers! Indeed it is
very difficult to subdue Nafs and Satan. Our Ghauš-e-A’ẓam عَلَيْهِ رَحْمَةُ اللهِ الْأَكْرَم had to struggle hard for many
years so as to subdue Satan. Here, there is a great lesson for those who give
up hope and utter such disappointing sentences as ‘I have made many efforts
staying in the company of Prophet’s devotees in the Madanī environment, I
travelled with Madanī Qāfilah as well, but I could not yet overcome Nafs and
Satan.’ Such Islamic brothers and everyone else should keep struggling hard
throughout their life for their rectification seeking help from Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ.
7.
Ghusl for forty times in a cold night
It is stated in Bahĵat-ul-Asrār that
Shaykh ‘Abdul Qādir Jīlānī رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰى
عَلَيْهِ said, ‘اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ,
I spent many years in the jungles of Karkh. I used to survive on tree leaves
and herbs. Every year, a person used to come and give me a wool gown to wear.
In order to get rid of the love of the world, I endured many hardships. I
remained anonymous; people would consider me dumb, unwise and insane due to my
silence. I used to walk on thorns barefoot, enter terrible caves and horrific
valleys without any fear. The world used to appear to me in a beautiful form, but
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ, I never turned my
attention towards it. My Nafs used to plead to me that it would obey whatever I
liked and sometimes it used to argue with me. Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ
gave me victory over it.
For a long time, I stayed on the
plains of Madyan and kept battling against my Nafs. For one year, I consumed
the things lying on the ground and did not drink water. For the other year, I
drank only water and did not eat anything. Then for one year, I neither ate nor
drank anything. I would encounter extreme hardships. One night, I was tested in
extremely cold weather, I would repeatedly fall asleep and Ghusl became
obligatory on me (due to nocturnal emission). I would immediately go to the
river and make Ghusl over there. On that night alone, I had to make Ghusl forty
times (in icy cold water).
(Bahĵat-ul-Asrār, pp. 164-165)
Hardship
turns into ease
Quoting Shaykh ‘Abdul Qādir Jīlānī رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ, ‘Allāmah Imām
Sha’rānī قُدِّسَ سِرُّهُ النُّورَانِي
has written in the book Ṭabqāt-ul-Kubrā, ‘At the beginning, I faced many
hardships; when those hardships reached their peak, I lay on the ground and
kept reciting verses 5 and 6 of Sūrah Alam Nashraḥ which are as follows:
فَاِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا ۙ اِنَّ مَعَ
الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا ؕ
So,
without doubt, there is ease with hardship. Without doubt, there is ease with
hardship.
[Kanz-ul-Īmān (Translation of
Quran)] (Part 30, Sūrah Alam Nashraḥ, Verse 5 & 6)
By the blessing of these verses of
the Holy Qurān, all those difficulties were removed.’
(Ṭabqāt-ul-Kubrā, Vol. 1, pp. 178)
We
should also try
Dear Islamic brothers! Surely, one
has to make sacrifices to achieve something. Our own Shaykh ‘Abdul Qādir Jīlānī
عَلَيْهِ رَحْمَةُ اللهِ الْأَكْرَم
also made many sacrifices and struggled hard in order to attain the closeness
of Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ and pleasure of His
Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ
وَسَلَّم, overcome his Nafs and Satan, remain safe from sins and distant
from the love of the world, enjoin good and gain many rewards by preaching and
thus bringing countless disbelievers into the fold of Islam.
Although we cannot bear as many
hardships as our Ghauš Pāk رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰى
عَلَيْهِ did, we can at least make a little effort without giving up
hope.
8. 25
Years in the jungle
O those who have utmost devotion for
Shaykh ‘Abdul Qādir Jīlānī رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰى
عَلَيْهِ! He (رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ)
spent twenty-five years in the jungles of Iraq enduring extreme hunger and
thirst to gain the pleasure of Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ.
If only we also travel with the Madanī Qāfilahs of Dawat-e-Islami to propagate
the Islamic teachings and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet صَلَّى
اللهُ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم throughout the world!
صَلُّوا عَلَى الْحَبِيب صَلَّى اللهُ
تَعَالٰى عَلَى مُحَمَّد
9.
Picking bits of food from the floor and eating them
The king of Baghdad, Shaykh ‘Abdul
Qādir Jīlānī رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ stated:
I would intend to pick up the fallen things, leaves and grass to eat, but I
would leave them making self-sacrifice for others who would also be in search
of those things. I would remain hungry. When I became extremely weak and was
close to death, I found something lying on the floor near the flower market and
picked it up. I sat at a corner to eat it. Suddenly, I saw a non-Arab youngster
who had fresh bread and roasted meat, he sat and began to eat. When I saw him
eating, my desire for food intensified. When he would take the morsel in his
hand to eat, I would spontaneously open my mouth so that he may put the morsel
into my mouth. However, I rebuked my Nafs and asked it to be patient as Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) is with me. I clarified to my Nafs that I
would never ask the young man for anything to eat. All of a sudden, turning
towards me, the youngster said, ‘Brother! Please come and join me in this
meal.’ I refused but he insisted. My Nafs also insisted that I eat but I kept
advising it to have patience. However, I ate a little due to the insistence of
the young man. He then asked me, ‘Where are you from?’ I told him that I was
from Jīlān. He said that he was also from Jīlān. He further asked me if I knew
(Shaykh) ‘Abdul Qādir رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ,
the grandson of the famous ascetic saint (Walī) of Allah, Sayyid ‘Abdullāh
Sawma’ī رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ.
I replied that I was the same person. Listening to that, he became a little
anxious and said, ‘When I was leaving for Baghdad, your mother gave me eight
gold coins to give to you. Having reached Baghdad, I kept looking for you but
no one gave me your whereabouts until all my money was spent. I have been
hungry for three days. When I became helpless due to extreme hunger, I bought
some bread and this roasted meat with some of your money.’
He then said, ‘Your honour! Please
eat this food without hesitation because you are its owner. Previously, you
were my guest, now I am your guest.’ Giving me the remaining money he said, ‘I
apologize to you, I bought this food in the state of helplessness due to
extreme hunger.’ (Shaykh said) I became very happy when I heard that. I then
gave him the remaining food and money; he accepted and left.
(Ṭabqāt-e-Ḥanābilah, Vol. 3, pp.
250)
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