DISCOURSES OF SULTAN-UL-ASHIQEEN
(Part 14)

July 2026

Does one have to work hard while he is Trusting Allah?

Someone asked, "Is there no struggle when trusting in Allah, or is struggle abandoned at that particular stage?"
Sultan-ul-Faqr VII Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen replied: Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani has narrated a saying of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) that Faqr and Sufism are the names of struggle. This question was derived from my statement when I said, "When the Prophet received prophethood, he left the affairs of the world. When a Fakir receives the seat of Divine guidance and persuasion, he leaves the world."
Firstly, keep this in mind that while performing worldly duties, one’s attention should remain towards Allah. Secondly, consider that if the Holy Prophet left worldly affairs, was there no struggle in his life? His struggle in matters of religion was a hundred times greater than that of the world. When a spiritual guide sits on the seat of Divine guidance and persuasion, he strives for the religion; every single moment is spent in struggle, every single moment in work. The examples are right in front of you. It does not mean you go and sit comfortably at home in the name of religion, having trust that Allah is sending sustenance. In religion, there is one hundred times more struggle; one must bear the burden every single moment. And furthermore, in the world, relationships can be maintained with hypocrisy, but in religion, that cannot happen. Hard work is part of life. When you strive in your outward life but place your trust in someone other than Allah, i.e., in your own hard work or in your physical body, then that is wrong. But the struggle must be done.

The Life of a Spiritual Guide and Service to Religion

So, the question was asked: when the spiritual guide stops earning, does Allah still provide him with sustenance? They are struggling for the sake of religion; their entire attention is spent on the work of religion, and there is no rest during the day nor rest at night. Look at the life of Prophet Mohammad; he worked tirelessly throughout the 23 years. Show me any such moment that the Prophet spent idly. Similarly, such is the state of a spiritual guide in preaching and guidance. I am talking about a Sarwari Qadri spiritual guide; his life is characterised by struggle.

Presence of Inward (Huzoor-e-Qalb)

The inward remaining attentive towards Allah Almighty is called the presence of inward. Keeping one’s attention on Allah Almighty is called the presence of the inward, meaning constantly thinking about Him. As far as the Holy Quran is concerned, in sura al-Mu'minun, verses one and two, it is stated:
قَدْ اَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ ۔  الَّذِیْنَ ہُمْ فِیْ صَلَاتِہِمْ خٰشِعُوْنَ ۔ (Surah Al-Mu'minun 23:1-2)
Meaning: Certainly, the believers have attained their goal, those who observe khushu in their prayers (i.e., say it with the presence of inward). (23:1-2)
The word ‘believer’ (Mumin) is used, not ‘Muslim’. Then there is the saying of the Prophet, “There is no prayer without the presence of inward.” Meaning, without the presence of inward or without attention towards Allah Almighty, there is no prayer. Then the Prophet said, “Prayer is the Miraj of the believers.”

Prayer and the Presence of Inward

It means, just as the Prophet returned after experiencing the Miraj, the prayer is the ascension of the believers. The prayer that is ascension is for the believer, not for the Muslim. Now, what is the difference between a Muslim and a believer? Let us look at this from the Quran as well. Once, the Prophet was distributing the spoils of war, meaning he was sharing the spoils, when some Bedouin people, meaning villagers, came who had recently become Muslims. They requested the Prophet, "Master! We are also believers, therefore, bestow upon us as well what you are bestowing upon the other believers.” The Prophet had not yet even been able to give an answer when Gabriel arrived with this verse:
قَالَتِ الْاَعْرَابُ اٰمَنَّا  ط  قُلْ لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوْا وَ لٰکِنْ قُوْلُوْٓا اَسْلَمْنَا وَ لَمَّا یَدْخُلِ الْاِیْمَانُ فِیْ قُلُوْبِکُم  ط (Surah Al-Hujurat 49:14)
Meaning: The Bedouins say: ‘We have believed.’ Say: ‘You have not believed. Rather say: We have accepted Islam. And the belief has not yet gone into your inwards.’ (49:14)
That is, they are still only Muslims; they have not become believers. They are still at the stage of declaration with the tongue; they have not yet reached the level of affirmation with the heart. This difference between a believer and a Muslim is explained in sura al-Hujurat. Allah Almighty explained it right then. Iqbal has said:

Explanation: Lack of presence of inward is the secret of your death. If you are alive, then you are not without presence.

Sultan Bahoo on Inward Presence

Whereas, Sultan Bahoo said:

Explanation: Sultan Bahoo is explaining the following Hadith in this quatrain: لَا صَلٰوۃَ اِلَّا بِحُضُوْرِ الْقَلْبِ (No salat without the presence of inward). He elaborates: Worship is not acceptable in the court of Allah if it lacks inward presence, whether it is adhan, salat, fast or zakat. Even if fasts are kept during the day, and supererogatory prayers are offered at night, presence cannot be achieved. It can only be through the purification of the self and inward. If a person does not annihilate the self, then union with Allah, His vision and presence cannot be achieved.

Seeking a Perfect Imam and Spiritual Guide

Now, where do we search for such an Imam who can teach us Divine presence? Iqbal says:

Explanation: You are inquisitive about the true leader of your era who can lead you on the right path and show you the reality. May Allah guide you Himself and reveal His secrets upon you the same way He has unveiled on me.

Explanation: The righteous Imam of your era who deserves this title is the one who diverts your attention from the material world (towards Allah) and makes you disgusted of the short-lived pleasures of the world.

Death Before Dying and the Vision of the Beloved

Explanation: He has the power to enliven your soul by giving death to the self. Hence, he is blessed with ‘death before dying’, leading to the vision of Divine beauty before doomsday. The Divine beauty captivates you so completely that the life of this world loses its charm. Elevating you to the status of ‘die before you die’, he shows you the face of the Beloved, so that dying feels easy to you and life becomes difficult for you.

Explanation: He should make you realise that the time you have spent without the desire and struggle for the Divine vision and union is wasted, thus making you eager to achieve them. For this, he leads you on the path of Faqr and makes you strong like a sword, i.e., you renounce everything for Allah and cross every hurdle with perseverance and strength. (Iqbal and Faqr)
May he give you the realisation of loss: I have nothing; I have done nothing. A believer is like a poor, humble servant in the court of Allah Almighty, and says that I have done nothing. What work have I done? Nothing at all. I am just passing life like this, doing nothing. ‘Saan’ is the tool used to sharpen a knife. When a knife is sharpened on a whetstone, you know that sparks fly. By placing you on the whetstone of Faqr, may he make you like a sword.

The Reality of Inward Presence Explained

This conversation was about the Imam and the presence of inward. You must have understood it well. Let me explain it to you again in simple words. Call it the inward (Qalb), call it the inward (Batin), call it the inside. Remaining present from the inside at all times in the court of Allah Almighty, thinking about Allah Almighty, and keeping attention towards Allah is called the presence of inward. Those who constantly see Allah Almighty in their inward possess the highest degree of inward presence.
In the end, I will say a few things; it would be very kind of you to ponder them. Do not just listen, but understand by pondering. Iqbal, while describing the state of prayer regarding the presence of the inward, says that in Faqr, there is always the presence of the inward. He says:

Meaning, if there is no vision of You in prayer, then my standing up, meaning performing Qiyam, is also blindness, and performing prostrations is also blindness.

Explanation: O Allah! Come and bless me with Your vision in an entity I could behold. Thousands of prostrations await restlessly within me. (Iqbal and Faqr)

Oneness of Being (Wahdah al-Wajud) and Oneness of Witnessing (Wahdah al-Shuhud)

This was the discussion about the presence of inward. Now I talk about Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, Mujaddid Alf Sani, who is acknowledged as the reviver of the second millennium. He opposed Oneness of Being most strongly and presented the theory of Oneness of witnessing in its place. Oneness of witnessing holds that everything is a shadow of Allah, a reflection. We say that we are from the light of Allah, a part of His existence; this is Oneness of Being. He strictly opposed Oneness of Being but never opposed Ibn Arabi, who was the greatest Imam of Oneness of Being and described everything in writing. So, Mujaddid Alf Sani opposed Oneness of Being. His personality is unanimously agreed upon among the sects of the people of sharia, and among modern religious scholars who have acquired both worldly and religious knowledge, he is acknowledged as well. Iqbal also wrote a poem on him in The Call of the Marching Bell (Bang-e-Dara), and he is acknowledged within the spiritual orders as well. His affiliation was with the Naqshbandi order. The interesting thing is that the Naqshbandis outside the subcontinent believe in Oneness of Being, whereas those inside the subcontinent believe in Oneness of witnessing, and he stood for Oneness of witnessing against Oneness of Being. I have a lengthy discussion on this in the chapter of ‘Tawhid (Oneness)’ in the book Shams-ul-Fuqara (Sufism the Soul of Islam), and I prove that the real Oneness is Oneness of Being. According to him, Oneness was Oneness of witnessing.

Mujaddid Alf Sani’s Letters on Spiritual Guidance

Mujaddid Alf Sani used to reply to his disciples by letter. People used to ask questions by letter, and answers were sent by letter. At that time, there was no WhatsApp, nor was there a phone, so answers were given by letter. His letters are published, printed, and available in the market. In Letter No. 30, Volume Two, Part One, Page No. 101, his disciple wrote to Mujaddid Alf Sani that "The image of the Shaikh, meaning the image of the spiritual guide, has become so dominant that even in prayer he sees and knows the image of his spiritual guide as his object of prostration," meaning that when he performs the prayer, he both sees and knows the image of his Sheikh, meaning the spiritual guide, as his object of prostration. If, hypothetically, he negates it, in reality it is not negated; meaning that if he shakes his neck or shakes his mind to try to remove it from in front of him, it does not move from in front of his sight, so what should he do?

The Concept of the Spiritual Guide During Prayer

Now the disciple is worried that he is prostrating before the spiritual guide, he is standing (in prayer) before the spiritual guide. So, what is all this? So, Mujaddid Alf Sani then gives an answer, this is not a writing or letter of some ordinary person. Mujaddid Alf Sani wrote a reply to this disciple. This is a letter from the personality who is considered the source of sharia in the subcontinent. He replies, "O one with the manners of love! This wealth is the desire and longing of the seekers of Truth, and out of thousands, perhaps only one is blessed with it. A disciple with this state and condition is one who possesses capability and has complete affinity with the spiritual guide. It is probable that with a little companionship of the spiritual guide, you may absorb all his perfections."
Meaning, whoever attains this and absorbs all his perfections with a little companionship of the spiritual guide, reaches the destination quickly. He said that such a seeker of Truth is one in a thousand. Listen carefully to what he says further, "What is the need to negate the concept of the spiritual guide because he (meaning the spiritual guide) is the direction of prostration and not the one to whom prostration is made. Why do you not negate the arches and mosques (in the state of prayer, if the mosque, minaret, arch, walls, etc., or many other things are in front, even then the prayer is not invalidated)."

The Importance of Constant Attention Towards the Murshid

What is his issue with the concept of the spiritual guide? While praying, there is a wall in front, a row of people, and you prostrate at their feet. Why do you not negate all these things? Why are you negating this? Then he says, "This kind of manifestation is available to the fortunate ones so that, in all states, he considers the perfect Murshid as his means of reaching and causing to reach Allah, and remains attentive towards him at all times (meaning 24 hours, his attention and thoughts remain inwardly focused towards the spiritual guide), and not like that unfortunate group which considers itself independent and turns its attention away from the spiritual guide and ruins its own affair."
Sultan-ul-Faqr VII Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen elaborates:
I had said earlier that this is Letter No. 30, Volume Two, Part One. The page number is 101. The letter number remains the same. Search for Letter 30 in every book. While printing books, the volumes may be increased, but the letter number remains the same; it will be 30. He further states in his Letter No. 187:
"The concept of the spiritual guide is more beneficial and better than the remembrance of Allah."
I have spoken about the person who is universally accepted across all sects of the people of sharia, and modern scholars also acknowledge him. Iqbal has written in his favour. Having visited his grave, he also wrote a poem. He is accepted among the people of spiritual orders, and there is no opposition to him. He only opposed Oneness of witnessing because, in reality, a mischief (fitna) had emerged. In Hinduism, there is no fana (annihilation); there is Hulul (incarnation), and Hulul is forbidden in Oneness of Allah. In this mischief, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s elder brother, Dara Shikoh, was the patron of this group. So, to end this mischief and uphold the sharia, he presented the theory of Oneness of witnessing, and I have discussed this in detail. He never opposed Ibn Arabi; rather, he always acknowledged his greatness. His saying is:
“We are the eaters of the leftover crumbs from his dining spread.”
Now it is up to you how you connect this with the presence of inward. You should think and ponder…to be continued.

— Discourses of Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen, Part 14