Humility

The joy found in being a slave cannot be found in claiming lordship. In fact, the perfect and accomplished men prefer the station of slavehood because to be a Divine lover is a mark of humility, whereas belovedness is the station of pride.

Actually, “I am Abduhoo” is more significant than “I am the Truth” and “I am the Exalted.”

The Night of Ascension

Our beloved Holy Prophet Mohammad reached the distance of two bow length and even closer, he reached Divine closeness through the power of Divine love. He still said “I am Abduhoo (Divine slave)”. How can we normal humans be arrogant of anything?

Allah took the Holy Prophet to the utmost height of human elevation on the night of ascension. The furthest point that lies within the human spirit’s potential. And Allah says:

And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. (50:16)

Yet, sadly, when a person attains any outward or inward excellence, they often abandon humility. They fall into satanic arrogance, descend in the sight of Allah, and make the grave mistake of considering themselves superior. In reality, every blessing and every form of excellence is purely a gift from Allah and not an achievement of the person. Allah says:

So, (O assembly of jinn and men,) which of your Lord’s blessings will you deny? (55:13)

The night of ascension was a mystery and it will remain a mystery. Within this mystery lies a profound perfection: the beloved (Holy Prophet) stood in the Presence of the Divine, where Abduhoo arrived at the Divine Court riding al-Buraq (heavenly steed), carrying the gift of absolute humility. There, in the Divine Presence, he reached two bow-lengths or even nearer meaning the ultimate limit of closeness.

Allah says:

The (Prophet’s) eye did not turn aside, nor did it exceed the bounds. (53: 17)

His eye did not turn towards either realm or the blessings within them. Upon his lips was praise and glorification, and the nearer he drew, the deeper his humility became.

Satan’s Pride

We all know the ancient example of pride and arrogance: Those that bowed down to Prophet Adam were humble and those that did not were arrogant.

Years of worship rendered meaningless. So, worship alone is not a guarantee of salvation if it contains hypocrisy, arrogance, or vile traits of the self. Seek the perfect spiritual guide who purifies one from the diseases of self and grants worship its true essence: humility and heartfelt submission. Find the perfect spiritual possessing the Divine light of guidance who can keep disciples focused towards Allah and grant them humility like soil.

The Holy Prophet entrusted Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman with the names of hypocrites. Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭab, a dear Companion, asked him “Is my name among them?”

This is true humility: the Imam of justice, the confidant of the Holy Prophet, the Amir al-Mu'minin is fearful for his own state before Allah. This kind of humility is what sustains a person.

This was the Companions’ level of humility. Consider the arrogance of Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab. They were deprived because of it.

Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab

At the Battle of Badr, two young boys attacked Abu Jahl and left him severely wounded after waiting for the opportunity. When the disbelievers fled and a Companion was about to sever his head, Abu Jahl expressed a final wish: that his head be cut close to the shoulders, leaving the neck long, so when the heads were placed together, this head would appear the highest. Similarly, Abu Lahab would say that he could have accepted Islam, but he held a grievance: That Allah favored the nephew instead of the uncle. Arrogance is the trait that renders a person wretched and deprived.

My spiritual guide Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen has the titles ‘The living portrait of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, Sun of Faqr, The glory of Faqr, The Sultan of invokers of Hoo (ھُو).’ given to him in the Mohammadan Assembly and he holds the station of ‘Sultan-ul-Faqr’. Despite all these titles he considers himself inferior to the average human being and his disciples are witnesses of this. People come to Saints because of their humility and compassion. They drink the potion of Divine love and reach Divine union and vision.

Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen says:

Sultan Bahoo says:

In his book “Hayat-o-Taleemat Syedna Ghaus-ul-Azam,” Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen records the sayings and teachings of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, among which the following are included:

Dhul-Nun al-Misri

Once, Dhul-Nun al-Misri was traveling and saw some boys playing along the way. Upon seeing him, one boy said, “Look, a hypocrite is passing by.”

Hearing this, he stopped and addressed his own self, saying: “You heard it with your own ears. I have told you a thousand times that you are a hypocrite, yet you did not believe it. Now you believe it. These are the children of Muslims, and the children of Muslims do not lie.”

This is humility like soil. As long as man considers himself correct, he remains wrong in the eyes of Allah. And as long as he remains fearful even after performing acts of worship, he will be close to Allah. My spiritual guide Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen once gave us the following advice:

Someone wisely said that a fruitful tree bends low. Likewise, the more Allah blesses you, the deeper you should walk in humility.

Every act of worship and righteous deed humbles the heart and brings one closer to Allah, just as Rumi has said:

Meaning true excellence is not that the faults of others become clear to you. Real excellence is that you focus on other’ virtues while focusing only on your sins, weaknesses, and shortcomings.

May Allah give us the shield of humility and protect us from Satanic whispers and attacks of the self.

The Perfect Spiritual Guide

Similar to how a doctor cannot perform procedures on himself, a person cannot treat the diseases of his self and become pure. For this, in accordance with the Holy Prophet’s life, there is a need for a spiritual guide. One who not only understands the diseases of the self but also knows the path to permanently remove them. A spiritual guide who traveled this path and succeeded and is able to grant his disciples spiritual strength so they purify theirselves, sanctify their inward and enlighten their soul.

That spiritual guide is Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen who is the present leader of Sultan Bahoo’s Sarwari Qadri Order and the 31st perfect spiritual guide. He is the leader of this era, adorns the throne of Divine guidance and persuasion, and blesses each person that comes to him with his enlightened personality and spiritual company. Hence we should acquire Ism-e-Allah Zaat with or without pledging allegiance to Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen so that we can enrich ourselves with Divine gnosis, vision and union.