Part 13

rejoice over your downfall; the enmity of the devil is ancient, as it started from the day on which Allah,

“And [mention] when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam’; so they prostrated, except for Iblis. He

refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers..”

TE HE GREATEST OF TRIALS is when your enemies’

And the envy of Shaytan started from the moment it was said, “Will You place therein one who will do harm therein

and will shed blood.” [a/-Bagarah 2: 30)

On the other hand, the joy of your peers [i.e. those who wish

SEEDS OF ADMONISHMENT AND REFORM

good for youl is the greatest joy of all; therefore the envious ones’ greatest revenge is when you neglect or overlook [your religious obligations}, so if you wish to avenge your enviers, you must rectify yourself and your affairs. Nevertheless, observe how you have rejected the opportunity yourself, and allowed your enemies to gloat over your mistakes and shortcomings. As one poet said:

Enemies cannot do harm to an ignorant, as much as the ignorant does harm to himself

Woe to you, succeed in overcoming your desires as you shall praise the consequences of your safety. As one poet said:

A person is pleased when tasting the sweet, but the sweet becomes bitter after it causes harm So taste the bitter if ultimately it shall benefit you, and never opt for a sweet that shall fetch you harm

Beware of sins, for if they did not have any punishment other than feeling the shame of meeting your Lord while you carry these sins upon you, it would have been enough. The best moment of Ya‘qiib (‘alayhi as-salam) was when he saw Yusuf (‘alayhi as-salam) [after their separation] and the most difficult moment to the brothers of Yusuf (‘a/ayhi as-salam) was when they met him [after they had wronged him}. If the heart was pure it would be in a tumult when a sin was committed, but if the sin was repeated often then it would pass by the heart without being noticed or rejected. When the sin is alien to the heart, the heart feels a foreign presence that it finds discomfiting. But when the heart is used to the sin, the heart will become accustomed to it, and will accept without a second thought. This is like the example of a person who wears a black garment, since he will not be concerned if he spills black on It.

O you whose sins have wounded him, you know the ointment that shall soothe you. If you could not afford paying a wailer [i.e. if you could not weep over your sins] then suffice by lowering yout head out of sorrow and regret [i.e. show humility and regret] because the one in calamity does not go unnoticed. If you could not achieve the glory of Mu‘adh (radiyAllahu ‘anhui)', then at least be not unable to taste the humility of the three who stayed back? {so that Allah might be merciful to you because of your humble state].

Take strong will to be your guide, if you did not know the way; the bafflement of the seeker may lead him to the water of Madyan. Walk in the valley of the night [engage in night prayer], dismount in the valley of humility while showing the greatest state of wretched humbleness, and be attentive so that the chants of the attivers [i.e. the pious] may move your hearts. Those who took the path may facilitate the arrival of the one detached [from his Lord] for how many ate those from the first generation (Le. generation of the Prophet ()) who eventually became leaders of

1 Mu‘adh bin Jabal: ibn ‘Amr ibn Aws al-Ansari al-Khazraji, Aba ‘AbdurRahman, one of the foremost Companions known for his knowledge of legal rulings and the Qur’an. He was present at the pledge of ‘Ugbah and witnessed Badr and the following battles and was martyred due to a plague in the year

2 See the full story of the three companions in the safiir of the ayah, “And [He also forgave] the three who were left alone [i.e, boycotted, and then regretted their error] to the point that the earth closed in on thera in spite of its vastness and their souls confined [i.e anguished] them and they were certain that there is no refuge from Allah exccept in Him, Then He turned to them so they could repent, Indeed, Allah is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.” {al-Tanbab 9:118}.

3 ‘The city of Prophet Shu’ayb (‘alayhi as-valdm).

SEEDS OF ADMONISHMENT AND REFORM

armies?! Do not get bored ftom standing [i.e. at the door of Allah’s Forgiveness and Mercy] even if you ate reprimanded, and do not stop apologising [for your sins] even if you are rejected. When a gate is opened for the incomes [i.e. attained Allah’s Love and Pleasure] rush to it fervently, lay down the head of humility and stretch out your hands while begging your Lord by saying,

Wile Gis “be charitable unto us”

so that the answer you may hear is

a ee Ne SY

“No blame will be upon you today”

The Love of Allah, Most High

tachment and asceticism [i.e. removing the love of this

worldly life from your heart]; Hell is kept away from you if you abandon the [temptation] of this worldly life; love cannot convince of its sincerity unless it is inscribed into the soul, because the authority of love never accepts bribes.

P ARADISE IS GIVEN TO YOU in trade of worldly de-

O you who seeks his Lord, detach yourself from the love of yourself, for your heart is too fragile and weak to have your Lord and yourself therein at the same time; it is either to keep Allah by Himself or yourself alone; and when you forget your love for yourself, only then will you find Allah in your heart. When Ibraheem was ina state of rigorous self-denial, his strength manifested itself the day he said “I have nothing to request from you.” Indeed, the moment his body entered into a new realm after his detachment from the [worldly] catapult was more gratifying than

* Shuab al-Iman (1077): “When when Ibrahim (‘alayhi as-salém) was about being thrown in fire when Angel Jibra’ll asked him if he would like him to do anything to help him but Ibrahim replied: I have nothing to request from you, I only ask Allah.”

SEEDS OF ADMONISHMENT AND REFORM

any other moment. Indeed, it was a journey at which the feet of contentment walked across the land of longing. As the poet said:

I visited you as I was longing for you, but even if the land had been full of embers I would still have walked on it to reach you

The attributes of the Creator are shown in the beauty of Perfection. Hearts steeped in His love. The price is deat; it is proclaimed that the blood of the devotee is the price for achieving nearness to the Lord. The love that is steadfast responds by saying: if our hearts were to shed their blood, it would be nothing compared to one look [from the Lord] upon us. Love [of the devotee] is placed in the hands of tribulation, while the veins of desires ate cut off with the knife of humility, and all the while the Beloved (i.e. Allah) asks them: Will you be patient enough to endure the trials? the souls reply back,

Me 6 Bee g ee nuke “They said, ‘No harm. Indeed, to our Lord we will return,”

As the poet said:

I devoted myself and my heart to your love. May Allah never free my soul from your Love Here I am, upset with myself for your sake. T even despised my life after you left me If the ember of yearning is blazing in my heart. Our meeting shall be the water by which you shall extinguish it.

The people (i.e. the devotees) are unaware of their own existence due to their complete devotion to the One who brought

The Love of Allah, Most High

them into existence. When someone knocked on the door of Abi Yavid? asking, "Is Abi Yazid at home? Abi Yazid replied from, inside his house: Abii Yazid himself is searching for Abii Yazid but cannot find him! Indeed, no one can recognise the secret code of devotees except a person of that ilk. Only ask Layla about the state of her lover whose nickname was the Madman of Layla’ (in his love for her)? Their love was so deep that they even enjoyed the anguish that ensued from such a love, just because they knew that this was what their beloved wanted.

Even the actions of the beloved, regardless of their kind, are loved; when Haram ibn Malhanat* was stabbed he said: I have won, by the Lord of Ka‘bah. And Swaid ibn Shu‘bah’ said while he was on his bed suffering all kinds of trials and sickness: By Allah, I would not like Allah to lessen my trials even by the equivalent of the size of a small nail. As the poet said:

‘They wonder at a heart that longs for agony, they ate unawate that in reality it is sweeter than honey

The beloved is always loved, even if he tortures his lover, be-

? Famous ascetic and pious worshipper from the early generations.

3 Layla and Qais are two famous lovers whose love was platonic. Duc to the excessive love that Qais had for his lover he spent his life writing platonic poetry about Layla to the extent people named him the madman of Layla.

4The Maternal uncle of Anas ibn Malik who was murdered by ‘Amir Ibn alTufayl at the infamous incident of the “well of ‘Awanah.” Upon which the Prophet invoked Allah against ‘Amir for thirty nights and so ‘Amir after these thirty nights suffered plague and died.

5 "There are two people hold the same name. In any case, both of them are pious people from the early generations.

SEEDS OF ADMONISHMENT AND REFORM

When the knowledge is rooted in the heart, all calamities become bearable. If such knowledge is mixed with love [for Allah] then calamities will surely have no effect whatsoever because a devotee enjoys the pain he suffers for the sake of his beloved. Some people passed by a person whose fingers were cut due to a disease. When they advised him to seek treatment, he replied: even if you were to cut me into pieces, my love for Him would increase even more. As one poet said: