Abdul-Qadir Gilani

[Goljano Lion]

Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) is not so unjust to you that He would take away what He has allotted you and give it to someone else! The very idea betrays your ignorance and unfairness to your brother. It would make better sense for you to be envious of the earth, which is a storehouse of treasures and hoards of all kinds of gold and silver and precious stones, amassed by the ancient kings of 'Aad and Thamud, by Chosroes and Caesar, rather than to envy your neighbor, be he a believer or an immoral type. For whatever he has in his house cannot amount to even a millionth part of what the earth contains

[Goljano Lion]

Your envy of your neighbor invites the following comparison: A man sees a king with all his might, his armies and his entourage, his possession and control of vast estates, from which he collects taxes and exploits the revenue. He sees the king enjoying all kinds of luxuries, pleasures and gratifications, but he does not envy him any of this. Then he sees a dog acting as servant to one of the king's dogs, standing, squatting, barking, and being given leftovers and scraps of food from the royal kitchen, on which he subsists. The man starts to envy this dog, becomes hostile toward it, wishes death and destruction upon it and wants to take its place, for mean and petty reasons, not in a spirit of asceticism, religious piety and humble contentment. Was there ever a man more foolish, stupid and ignorant?

[Goljano Lion]

Furthermore, you poor wretch, if you only knew what a lengthy reckoning your neighbor will have to undergo on the coming Day of Resurrection! If he has not been obedient to Allah in respect of all the benefits He has granted him, if he has not discharged his obligations where these are concerned, by obeying His commandments and observing His prohibitions as they might apply, and using his advantages in support of His service and obedience to Him, how he will wish that he had never been given a single atom of it all, that he had not seen a single blessing on any day ever! Have you not heard the words of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) as they have come down to us in the tradition: "There will be groups of people who will surely be wishing, on the Day of Resurrection, that their flesh might be cut away with scissors, in view of the reward they see given to those who have borne misfortune

[Goljano Lion]

Your neighbor will therefore come to wish he had been in your place in this world, in view of the lengthy reckoning and interrogation he must undergo, and his having to stand in the heat of the sun for fifty thousand years at the Resurrection, on account of the comfort he enjoyed in this world, while you are at a distance from all this, in the shade of the Throne, eating and drinking, enjoying yourself, cheerful, happy and relaxed, on account of your patient endurance of worldly hardships, constraints, troubles, suffering and poverty, your contentment and readiness to comply with your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) when His plan and decision meant poverty for you and affluence for others, sickness for you and good health for others, hardship for you and ease for others, humiliation for you and honor for others. May Allah include us, and you, among those who bear misfortune with patience, who give thanks for blessings, and who entrust their affairs to the Lord of heave

[Goljano Lion]

The Shaikh (may Allah be well pleased with him, and grant him contentment) said:

Allah is always testing His believing servant in proportion to his faith. Thus if a person's faith is very great and steadily increasing, his trial will be great as well. The trial of a Messenger is greater than that of a Prophet, because his faith is greater. The trial of a Prophet is greater than that of a Badal, and the trial of a Badal is greater than that of a Wali. Each is tried according to his faith and certitude, on the basis of this saying of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace): "We, the Community of Prophets, are the people most severely tried, then others according to the perfection of their faith."

[Goljano Lion]

Allah (Exalted is He) subjects these honorable masters to incessant testing, so they will always stay in His presence and never relax their vigilance, for He loves them. They are the people of love, who love the Lord of Truth, and the lover never likes to be far from his beloved. Affliction serves as a clamp for their hearts and a noose for their selfish natures, checking their tendency to drift away from their true goal and to place their confidence and trust in others instead of their Creator.

[Goljano Lion]

As this becomes a permanent condition for them, their passions melt, their selves are broken, and truth is distinguished from falsehood. Then cravings, willful desires, and the appetite for pleasure and comfort in this world and the hereafter, all retract toward the sphere of the self, while toward the sphere of the heart come trust in the promise of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), cheerful acceptance of His decree, satisfaction with His gifts, patient endurance of His trials, and the feeling of safety from the evil of His creatures. Thus the power of the heart is strengthened, and it acquires control over all the limbs and organs of the body. Tribulation fortifies the heart and certitude, verifies faith and patience, and weakens the self and the passions, because whenever suffering comes, and what it meets with in the believer is patience, cheerful acceptance, and surrender to the action of the Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), the Exalted Lord is pleased with him and thanks him. Then he also receives help, additional blessings and success. Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

If you are thankful, I will give you more. (14:7)

[Goljano Lion]

When the self is moved to apply to the heart [qalb] for satisfaction of some carnal appetite or indulgence in some pleasure, and the heart agrees to this request without authorization and permission from Allah (Exalted is He), the result is disregard for the Lord of Truth, polytheism and sinful rebellion. Allah (Exalted is He) will therefore condemn them both to disappointment, trouble, subjection to other people, sickness and disease, injury and disorder. Both the heart and the self will get a share of this

[Goljano Lion]

If the heart will not give the self what it wants, however, until it receives permission from the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) through inspiration [ilham] in the case of Saints, or explicit revelation [wahy] in the case of Envoys and Prophets (blessing and peace be upon them) and acts accordingly in giving or withholding, then Allah rewards them both with mercy and blessing, well-being and contentment, light and wisdom, nearness to Himself, affluence, security from disasters and help against enemies

[Goljano Lion]

This you must know and remember it well! Be ready for trouble if you rush to respond to the self and to passion! Far better to pause in such cases, and await the Lord's consent (Glorious is His Majesty), so that you may remain safe in this world and the hereafter, if Allah (Exalted is He) so will