Islam, Iman, and Ihsan encourage us to be sincere (ikhlas), pious (wara'), ascetic (zuhd), fear Allah (taqwa), the surrender of one's self (tawakkul), steadfastness, humbleness towards Allah, calling to goodness and prohibiting evil, observing the noble Shari'ah, purifying one's heart from things that destroy it, purifying one's speech, associating with the righteous, always looking after Allah's commands with the intention of seeking His pleasure, commitment to fight one's carnel desires, and to possess a noble character.

All these qualities were preached by Abdul Qadir, where he employed the pathh of tasawwuf as a means of conveying his teachings. In his book, Abdul Qadir revolutionises the approach between the 'servant' and his 'carnal desires'. The goal and objective is to transform the forgetful self, which is preoccupied with the pleasures of this worldly life with loyalty towards Allah, to exhibiting purified desires (iradah) outwardly (zahir) and inwardly (batin).

According to Abdul Qadir iradah means to abandon something that is habitual to a person. When a person gives up something that is worldly, his desire becomes perfected. As such, iradah (the purification of self) needs to be given priority over everything else. This is so because iradah is the first step towards following a tariqah observed by the noble.

Allah prohibited His Prophet (s.a.w.) from removing and distancing people from worship and from seeking His pleasure. Allah says:

“And keep your soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His face, and let not your eyes pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this life....” [Surah Kahf 18:28]

These verses call upon the Prophet (s.a.w.) to be patient towards them by praying for them, by mixing and conversion with them, for Allah considers them as those seeking His pleasure.

It is thus evident that the reality of iradah is to seek Allah's pleasure and not the pleasure of this world or any other thing, whereas the objective of worship is to humble one's self to Allah so that one may gain closeness to Him to enjoy of His pleasure. When a person places himself amongst those who abandons the pleasures of this world and worships Allah for the sake of drawing close to Him to know Him, he becomes a murid (a disciple).

Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani elaborates that a disciple who possesses such qualities will always look to Allah and be obedient to Him, and not the opposite of what He is. He listens to his Lord and acts in accordance with the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (s.a.w.) only. He sees with the Light of Allah (Nur of Allah), and as such only visualises that which Allah decrees upon him and the rest of His creatures. He believes that whatever occurs does so by Allah only. This is evident in the following Sacred Hadith (Hadith Qudsi):

“When My servant submits to Me in every way that I have made obligatory upon him, I become his eyes and his ears.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

Entering a Tariqah (Sufi Order) requires purifying one's heart from everything other than Allah (s.w.t.), by exhibiting His greatness.

The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said:

“Verily, Allah does not look at your looks but at your hearts. Beware, there is a morsel of flesh in the body, if it is good, the who body is good, but if it is evil, it corrupts the whole body, it is the heart. (Muslim)

What fine words did this poet utter when he said:

“O you who looks at his body only;
Much have you undertaken towards its upkeep.
Did you hope to gain from that which only offers loss?
Confront yourself and perfect your imperfections;
For truly it is said of you that you are human possessing a soul, not a body.

A disciple must earnestly look after his heart and soul, so that it does not love anything other than Allah Almighty. He loves and hates solely for Allah's sake. When a servant of Allah loves a thing, he does so because of the pleasure of Allah derived from it, even through obedience. In the same way, he hates that which is disliked by Allah. This is what love and sincerity towards Allah means. According to Shaiykh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani, worship that is noble is worship that is performed with sincerity.

Abu Sulaiman al-Darani said, “O Allah! I love You, I love You, and should You cast me into Hell, I will inform the occupants of Hell that I love You.”

The same can be said of those who are afflicted (taqarrub) with Allah, just as Rabiah Adawiyah, Ibrahim Adham, Ibnul Arabi, and others were. Their hearts and souls melt in the sea of love for Allah. Such people are amongst the pure, sincere and lovers of Allah who has revealed:

“I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me” [Surah Dhariyat 51:56]

Allah has also revealed:

“... He will love as they love Him...” [Surah Ma'idah 5:54]

People of tasawwuf and tariqahs who are submerged in the love for Allah are always truthful towards Him, and are known to purify themselves from everything other than Allah. This is so because they have succeeded in attaining a very high station, notably Ihsan with Allah.

The Prophet (s.a.w.) has said to this effect:

“You worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, but if you do not, know that he sees you.” (Hadith agreed upon)

Shaykh Abdul Qadir emphasised to his disciples the need to purify their souls and to abandon their carnal desires, as there is the possibility of performing sins either small or big, thus the need to wage war against ones lower desires, as has been expressed by the Prophet (s.a.w.). Allah has revealed:

“And for such as had entertained the fear of standing before their Lord's (tribunal) and had restrained (their) souls from lower desires, their abode will be the Garden.” [Surah Nazi'at 79:40-41]

Likewise what is the situation of a servant who woships Allah, experiencing Allah's love overshadowed by his sins? How can some declare their love for Allah when they perform sins? This means that their view of Allah is defective. This view defeats the concept of Ihsan (awareness of Allah's presence) because it is important for us not to view sin whether it is small or big but it is necessary for us to look at whom it was perpetuated upon. A poet has said to this effect, “Do not look down upon the small or the big, verily a hill is made up of small stones.” Therefore a disciple (murid) needs to possess determination in abandoning evil and steadfastness in loyalty towards Allah. He must have patience when facing difficulties, patience when faced with an overpowering desire, and patience in establishing inner strength.

Allah has revealed:

“O you who believe! Persever in patience and constancy; vie in such perserverance; strengthen each other; And fear Allah; that you may prosper.” [Surah Ali 'Imran 3:200]

Al-Busairi says in his poem to this effect:

“Desire (the nafs) is like a child. If it is allowed to breastfeed, it will continue breastfeeding until it grows up, and if it is stopped from doing so, it will cease doing so.”

The rank of a Muslim is his patience; the station of a mu'min is patience itself. Whereas the station of a mushin (one who possesses awareness of Allah) is murobit. To people of tasawwuf have termed it aribat, the position of murabatah, where loyalty to Allah and His pleasure is attained.

Disciples who desire to seek the station of Ihsan must fully devote their attention to Allah by abandoning everything else so that they may seek Allah's pleasure, by acknowledging one's mistakes always, seeking Allah's forgiveness and humbling one's self to Allah.

Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani said to this effect, “I draw close to Allah through a variety of ways. I pray as others do. I fast as others do. I give out Zakat (Obligatory Alms) as others do. But when I humble myself to Allah, no one does so like me. As such, I remain firm in my humility towards Allah.”

By performing more prayers, staying awake at night, sleeping less, weeping as a result of fearing Allah, or desiring Heaven and fearing His Hell, all these are aspects of humility. Abandon the glitter of this worldly life and perform righteous deeds for the Hearafter (your final destination), so that you may increase and perfect piety within you.

Allah has revealed:

“O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.” [Surah Ali 'Imran 3:102]

Whoever possesses piety in Allah will be looked after by Allah, thus preventing him from performing sins, while assisting him to always reflect upon coming before the presence of Allah. The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) was granted the opportunity to choose between this world and the Hearafter, but he replied, “Allah is Great, Allah is Great, Allah is Great.”

O disciple! Rest assured that this world will come to an end. Make it your garden (orchid) from which the fruits are picked in the Hearafter. The Hearafter is everlasting and it is there that one will see Allah.

Allah has revealed:

“Some faces that Day will beam (in brightness and beauty) looking towards their Lord.” [Surah Qiyamah 75:22-23]

Direct your deeds towards the Hearafter while making yourself a trader in this world. Do not be selfish in this world as Qarun, Haman and Nimrud were. Make the Hearafter your priority because it is the only place that exists forever.

Allah has revealed:

“Nay (behold), you prefer the life of this world; but the Hearafter is better and more enduring”. [Surah A'la 87:16-17]

Saidina Ali (r.a.) was known to spend his nights in prayer, weeping and humbling himself before Allah, when most humans are known to be fast asleep. He said, “O world! Many are attracted to your beauty but divorce you with three pronouncements, making complete the separation.”

Imam Hussein (a.s.) in his poem said to this effect, “I sought throughout the earth that which never offered any reward. The earth replied, 'O Messenger of Allah, I too discard you ever since Ali discarded me.'”

Allah has revealed:

“Those who do wish for the (things of) the Hearafter, and strive therefor with all due striving, and have faith – they are the ones whose striving is acceptable (to Allah).” [Surah Isra' 17:19]

Abu Usman al-Naisaburi said that some people have assumed some lines of a poem by al-Hari al-Muhasibi as follows, “I wept as long as I could weep while travelling. Ever since I abandon it I have not felt any discomfort such as this because I have left my country which I love.”

A Brief History of Shaykh Abdul Qadir    Index    Self-Examination and Striving (Muhasabah and Mujahadah)