Enduring Afflictions – Shaikh Abd al-Qadir al-Gaylani

The people of Allah accustom themselves to afflictions and do not get annoyed
like your annoyance. One of them used to be afflicted everyday with a tribulation
that on the day when no affliction comes his way he would say: “O Allah, what
sins have I done today that You have not sent to me my daily affliction?”
Afflictions are of various kinds; some affect the body, while some affect the heart.
Some of them are suffered in relation to
creatures, while others in relation to the Creator. There is no good in someone
who has not been subjected to suffering. Afflictions are the hooks of the True One
(‘Azza wa Jall).
A few individuals have on them remnants of sins of which they are cleaned by
tribulations and afflictions which turn into degrees that they have in the
hereafter. You have to be satisfied with the divine decree, observe the Law and
perform righteous deeds under all circumstances: in hardship and
prosperity, when it is something you love and when it is something you hate.

The Prophet (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam) is reported to have

said: “If a person is not satisfied with the decree of Allah, there is no
remedy for his foolishness”’ What He has decreed will come to pass, whether the
servant is dissatisfied or satisfied. Woe unto you! O you who protest against Allah
(‘Azza wa Jall)! Do not prattle nonsense. No one can send back or prevent the
divine decree. Submit and then you will find rest. This night and this day you
cannot turn back. When the night comes, it sets in whether you agree or disagree,
and the same is true of the day. Both come without you having a say in the
matter. The same is true of the decree of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) and His destiny.
They are either in your favor or against you. If the night of poverty comes, submit
and bid farewell to the day of affluence. If the night of what you dislike comes,
submit and say goodbye to the day of what you love. Receive with a patient heart
the night of diseases, illnesses, poverty and the loss of worldly goods. Do not
reject anything of the decree of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) and His destiny, otherwise
you will perish, your faith will vanish, your heart will become disturbed and your
innermost being will die.
Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) said in one of His books: “I am Allah. There is no god other
than Me. When someone submits to My decree, is patient with My affliction and
offers thanks for My blessings, I record him in My presence as a truthful person
and I gather him on the Day of Resurrection in the company of the truthful. As for
one who does not submit to My decree, does not endure with patience My
affliction and does not give thanks for My blessings, let Him seek a lord other than
Me”. If you do not submit to the divine decree, do not endure with patience the
affliction and do not give thanks for the blessings, you do not have a lord. Seek a
lord other than Him, but there is no lord other than Him. If you wish (for Him), be
satisfied with the divine decree and believe in destiny, whether good or bad,
sweet or bitter, for what has come your way could not have been averted through
precaution and what has passed you by could not have been made to come your
way through exerting efforts and seeking it. When faith has been confirmed in
your case, you will come to the door of sainthood. At this stage, you will become
one of the men of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) who have fulfilled their servitude to Him.
The distinctive sign of the saint is that he remains compliant with his Lord (‘Azza
wa Jall) under all circumstances. He becomes total compliance without asking
“why” and “how”, while carrying out the commandments and observing the
prohibitions. No doubt, therefore, that his company (of Allah) will last. He
becomes a front with no
back, a state of nearness with no remoteness, pure serenity with no disturbance
and goodness with no evil.
Nothing turns you away from His obedience and from the belief in
His oneness other than your sins, your ignorance and the ruinous state of your
homes and your sanctuaries. You will soon be in remorse. Hear the verses of the
Qur’an with the ears of your hearts. Rush to Him. Bid farewell to every door and
cling to the door of your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall). It is He who is the Remover of harm.
It is He who “answers the
distressed one when he calls upon Him” [from 27.62].
.)‫(ُيِج يُب اْلُم ضَطَّر ِإَذ ا َدَعاُه‬
Be patient with Him and then you will experience that which is good. Thank Him
when He responds to you and be patient when His answer to you is delayed.
Courage is an hour of patience. O Remover of harm and affliction,
remove from us our harm and our affliction, for You respond to the needy person
when he prays to You! “O Doer of what He wishes, O You who are Capable of
everything, O Knower of everything! It is You who has full knowledge of our needs
and it is You who is Capable of providing for them. It is You who knows about our
faults and sins and it is You who is Capable of erasing and forgiving them. Do not
refer us to other than You, do not send us to the door of someone other than You
and do not turn us to other than You”.
O young man, go out with your heart, stripped naked of all of your possessions.
Be secluded from the whole of you so that you will be compensated for all of that.
Woe unto you! Creatures cannot bring you any benefit or cause you any harm
unless Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) has given His approval first. Your hearts are in His hand
and He moves them as He wishes, sometimes putting them at the service of
others and sometimes giving them authority over others. Have you not heard
what Allah said: “That which Allah opens to people of mercy none can
withhold” [from 35.2].
‫(َم ا َيْفَتْح ُهَّللا ِللَّناِس ِم ْن‬
.)‫َر ْح َم ٍة َفاَل ُمْمِس َك َلَها‬
O young man, when affliction comes your way, receive it with faith, patience,
submission and a smile! Be patient with it and about it until
its days have gone and its times have disappeared. O seeker, do not escape from
the door of your Sought After One because of the arrows of His afflictions! Stand
firm and then you will find your Sought After One. When the seeker is afflicted, he
will need a master who medicates him during his ordeal with drinks of patience
and thankfulness, who commands him to take one thing and keep away from
another and who commands him to turn away from his lower self and refuse to
accept its advice. If someone is truthful in the company of his Shaikh, Allah (‘Azza
wa Jall) will sooner or later bring benefits to him. “O You who separates between
the salty water and the sweet water, keep us separate from dissatisfaction with
You and disputing against You in relation to matters that You have decreed!
Separate us from the acts of disobedience toward You with an isthmus of Your
mercy. Amen.
O young man, when Allah causes you any harm or affliction, no one will be able
to remove it except He. Then why do you ask someone who is powerless like
yourself: “Remove from me what I have fallen in”? If sickness or harm from
creatures come your way, causing you loss of worldly possessions and properties,
there will be no remover for that except
He. If you suffer loss of properties, hunger in your belly and abandonment by
brothers and neighbors to the extent that they refuse to give you a morsel or an
atom, and if this world, for all that it is wide, looked too strait for you, be certain
wholeheartedly that all of that is from Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) and that there is no
remover for all of that except He. It is He who takes it away.
Be sensible and do not associate creatures and means with Allah.
Believe in one Lord only not in many lords. It is He who puts things at the
command of others, the One who grants authority for someone over another, the
Ruler, the Judge and the Doer. His destiny comes with sickness in its hand and
knocks on the door of your good health. His destiny comes with hardship in its
hand and knocks on the door of your prosperity. His destiny comes with grief in its
hand and knocks on the door of your happiness. His destiny comes with fear in its
hand and knocks on the door of your sense of security. All these come from Him
and there is no one to remove them except Him.
This world is the prison of the believer. Having been put inside it, his feet will start
to move and then he will attain the spiritual state of knowingness, at which point
the walls of the prison will collapse and the doors will be wide open before him.
His heart will acquire feathered wings, so he will fly to the heaven of the
Knowledge of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) and join the spirits that are there. This is
something beyond your comprehension.

The hearts of the people of Allah and their spirits eat from the plate of the
favor of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) while they are still in this world, as the spirits of
martyrs eat in Paradise. It is here where doing without the creatures occurs. It is
here that the heart becomes a king. They are kings in this world and kings in the
hereafter. They are chieftains in this world and chieftains in the hereafter.
Obey and do not disobey. Believe in the oneness of Allah and do not attribute
partners to Him. Your reliance on creatures is a form of polytheistic idolatry. Woe
unto you! You are mad! Dissatisfaction and
protestation do not give you something or take away another. Your anger cannot
delay something or bring forward another. Affliction and the removal of affliction
are both in the hand of Allah. It is He who has sent down the disease and the
remedy. It is He who has created the disease and has created the remedy. He
afflicts you with tribulations to make you come to know Him through affliction, to
show you His signs and His power in sending down the affliction and in removing
it and to show you the removal and the putting down of His plate (of grace).
Afflictions show the way to the door of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) and knock on it. They
bring the heart and the True One (‘Azza wa Jall) together. They promote the
status. Do not hate afflictions for you have many benefits in these things that you
hate. Set aside asking “why” and “how”.

If you endure the afflictions with patience, they will purify you of outward
and inward sins. The Prophet (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam) is
reported to have said: “Affliction will continue to come the believer’s way
until he comes to walk on the earth carrying no sin”. His sins will be erased
from his scrolls and the angels who recorded them will forget them. A certain
righteous person used to say: “O Allah, people have loved You for Your blessings
and I have loved You for Your affliction!” One of the people of Allah used to say
on the day when no affliction comes his way: “O Allah, what sin can I have
committed today that you have deprived me of affliction?” Woe unto you! If you
are not satisfied with His decree, do not consume His sustenance and seek a lord
other than Him. Allah (Exalted is His affair) has said in one of His utterances: “O
son of Adam, if you are not satisfied with My decree and are not patient with My
affliction, go and seek a lord other than Me”. Be patient with your Lord (‘Azza wa
Jall), for you have no lord other than Him. There is no second lord apart from Him.
There is no other creator, there is no other provider. Be patient with the will of
this One [Wahid].
O young man, do not escape from affliction but endure it with patience. It is
inevitable and enduring it with patience is also inevitable. How could the nature
of this world and the characteristics with which it was created be changed for
your sake? The Prophets, who are the best of all creatures, had always to suffer
afflictions. The same applies to their followers who emulate them, who walk on
their path and who follow in their footsteps. Our Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allah
ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam) was the beloved of the True One (‘Azza wa Jall), yet was
constantly afflicted with poverty, need, hunger, fighting, wars and harm from
creatures until he departed from this world. Take, for instance, the case of Jesus
(‘Ala nabiyyina wa ‘alayhi as-salat wa as-salam) who is the spirit of Allah and His
word, who was created by Him without the intervention of a male, who used to
heal the person blind from birth and the leper and quicken the dead, and
whose prayers were always responded to. Allah caused his people to insult him,
defame his mother and beat him. He finally escaped from them with his disciples,
but they tracked them down, arrested them, beat them and tortured them. Then
they intended to crucify Jesus (‘Ala nabiyyina wa ‘alayhi as-salat wa as-salam) but
Allah (Ta’ala) rescued him from them and
caused the person who led them to him to be crucified instead. Moses (‘Ala
nabiyyina wa ‘alayhi as-salat wa as-salam) was also afflicted with those
(known) calamities that happened to him, and each one of the Prophets
( ‘Alayhim as-salat wa as-salam) had his own peculiar affliction. This is what He
did to the Prophets ( ‘Alayhim as-salat wa as-salam) who are His beloved ones, so
who are you to wish that the foreknowledge of Allah about you and about this
world be changed?
Renounce your will and your choice. Renounce your conversation
with creatures and your intimacy with them. If you accomplish this, the
conversation of your heart will come to be with your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall)
and your intimacy will come to be with Him. His remembrance will camp in your
heart. You will be remembering Him and He will be remembering you. He will
draw your heart and your limbs and organs to Him and keep them in His
presence. You will come to wish for what He wishes. Anything other than that will
be resented by you. (Such a person) will become one of the spiritual beings who
have attained to Him. He will go among the servants of Allah and the countries,
and He will use him to protect creatures from tribulations and afflictions. He will
take what His lord (‘Azza wa Jall) has given him. This is the real gift, while
everything else is a symbol.
The best interests are enclosed within the folds of things that are disliked. Be
sensible and acquire politeness. The afflictions come to the hearts of the truthful
persons, salute them and intercede on their behalf. As for the person who has
established a strong relationship with Allah, he will clasp them to his bosom, kiss
them on the forehead and endure them with patience, compliance and
contentment. They stay with him for a while before being taken away and asked:
“How did you find the place and the hospitality?”

They will reply: “An excellent place and an excellent host”. How excellent is
the gift and how excellent is the one who was presented with it! One of these
righteous people (may Allah confer mercy upon him), who was afflicted with a
tribulation, was asked: “How are you doing in this affliction?” He replied: “Ask the
affliction about me!”
Be patient with your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall) for He removes your affliction and
promotes your spiritual degrees in His eyes as a reward for your patience. Be with
Him against your lower selves. Be with those who are truthful in His company,
who work with Him, by Him and for His sake. O Allah, put things at our command,
make things smooth for us, open up opportunities for us and make things easy for
us and on us! Amen.
Faith that is shaken by poverty, hunger and loss of worldly goods is not faith. The
essence and the well being of faith become visible and its light shines in the
presence of affliction. Its courage also becomes apparent
when the army of affliction comes. Your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall) is fully aware of what
you do. O kings, O slaves, O elite people, O common people, O rich, O poor, O
people of cells! No one has a veil that can hide him from Him. He (Ta’ala) is with
you wherever you may be. O Allah, we ask You for protection, forgiveness,
pardon, subtle kindness, patience, tolerance, care,
sufficiency, good health and well being! Amen.
With regard to everything that you are in of good and evil, truthfulness and lies,
sincerity and idolatrous polytheism, obedience and disobedience, He (Ta’ala) is
Knowledgeable, an Expert, Watchful, Present and a Witness. Feel a sense of
shame as He has His eyes on you. Look with the eye of faith and then you will see
His glances coming from your six directions.
Is this preaching not sufficient for you? Only if you learn lessons and hear
with the ears of your hearts! This should be sufficient for you to be fearful
of your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall) in both your private and public lives.
Be vigilant toward Him (Ta’ala) and be aware of His glances at you and the
Honorable Recording Angels who are with you. Be afraid of Him, not of the
punishments prescribed by His Law and which may be applied to you by your
sultan and your prince. If you would be afraid (of Him), your ruler would not be
made weary with you (in his efforts to apply the punishments of the Law to you).
O you who are poor, O you who are hungry, O you who are naked, O you who are
in need! You appeal to other than Him for help? Your silence is
better and more beneficial to you. His knowledge of your situation should be
sufficient for you to do without putting in a request. He has afflicted you in order
for you to come back to Him. So, return with your heart to Him and stand firm
and then you will experience that which is good. Do not insist on a quick response
from Him, do not accuse Him of niggardliness and do not have doubts about Him.
He has caused you to experience hunger, nakedness and poverty in order to look
and see, in terms of differentiation not in terms of knowledge, whether you will
cling to His door or to someone’s else door, whether you will be satisfied with
Him or dissatisfied with Him, whether you will offer thanks to Him or complain
about Him and whether you will shout at Him or beseech Him gently. He afflicts
you with tribulations to see how you act. O ignorant ones, you have left the door
of the Wealthy One (Ta’ala) and clung to the door of someone who is poor! You
have left the door of the Generous One and clung to the door of someone who is
stingy. You have left the door of the Capable One
and clung to the door of one who is powerless. O ignorant ones, He will soon
gather you together and make you stand in His presence! This will happen on the
Day of Assembly [Yawm aj Jam’]. He will gather you, you of all categories, O all
you creatures! The Invincible One said: “This is the Day of Separation; We have
assembled you together and those of ancient times. So if you have a scheme,
scheme against Me’’8:39].
‫(َهَذ ا َيْو ُم اْلَفْص ِل َج َم ْعَناُك ْم‬
.) ‫ َفِإْن َك اَن َلُك ْم َكْيٌد َفِكيُدوِن‬. ‫َو اَأْلَّو ِليَن‬

On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will assemble all creatures on an earth other
than this; an earth on which no blood of an innocent creature
has ever been shed and on which no sin was ever committed. This is something
about which there is no doubt or uncertainty. Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) has said: “And
because the Hour will come, there is no doubt thereof; and because Allah will
raise up those who are in the graves”
[22.7].
‫(َو َأَّن الَّس اَع َة آِتَيٌة اَل َر ْيَب ِفيَها َو َأَّن‬
.) ‫َهَّللا َيْبَع ُث َم ْن ِفي اْلُقُبوِر‬
The Day of Resurrection is “the Day of Contest” [from 64.9],
.) ‫(َيْو ُم الَّتَغ اُبِن‬
“the Day of the Sigh (of Remorse)” [from 19.39],
.)‫(َيْو َم اْلَح ْس َر ِة‬
the Day of remorse, the Day of reminding, the Day of compliance, the Day of
testimony, the Day of retribution, the Day of happiness, the Day of sorrowfulness,
the Day of fear, the Day of security, the Day of bliss, the Day of torment, the Day
of rest, the Day of tiredness, the Day of thirst, the Day of giving drinks, the Day of
clothing, the Day of nakedness, the Day of profit,
the Day of loss, the Day on which “The believers will rejoice at the victory from
Allah” [from 30.4 5].
.)‫ ِبَنْص ِر ِهَّللا‬.‫(َيْفَر ُح اْلُم ْؤ ِم ُنون‬
O Allah, we seek refuge in You from the evil of that Day, beg You to grant us its
good and “give us in this world good and in the hereafter good and protect us
from the torment of the Fire”!
‫(آِتَنا‬
.) ‫ِفي الُّد ْنَيا َح َس َنًة َو ِفي اآْل ِخَر ِة َحَس َنًة َو ِقَنا َع َذ اَب الَّناِر‬

Evict from your hearts all opponents, peers and partners, for the True One (‘Azza
wa Jall) does
not accept any partner, in particular in the heart which is His abode. One day,
when still little boys, Al Hasan and al Hussein (‘Alayhima as-salam)
were playing in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi
wa sallam), and he was happy with them and totally engrossed in them, when
Gabriel ( ‘Alayhi as-salam) came and said to him: “This one will be poisoned and
that one will be killed”. He told him this in order to remove them from his heart
and to convert his happiness with them into grief about them.

The Messenger of Allah (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam) loved (his
wife) ‘Aaisha (Radhiya Allah ta’ala ‘anha), so she came to be involved
in that notorious story. She was, thus, removed from his heart despite his
certainty of her innocence, because he (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam)
recognized the aim of the True One (‘Azza wa Jall) behind that event.
And when Jacob (‘Ala nabiyyina wa ‘alayhi as-salat wa as-salam) loved
Joseph (‘Ala nabiyyina wa ‘alayhi as-salat wa as-salam), he came to
experience what he experienced and He separated him from Joseph. Similar
things frequently happened to the Prophets and saints (Salawat Allah wa
salamuh ‘alayhim ajma’een), who are the beloved of the True One (‘Azza wa Jall).
Because He is jealous, He evicts from their hearts anyone other than Him.
Afflictions and tribulations make faith, knowingness and Knowledge become
apparent. They differentiate between the kernel and the shell. The person who
remains compliant throughout is a kernel, while he who disputes them is a shell.
When the person is compliant with His Lord (‘Azza wa Jall), the shell of creatures
will be peeled from his heart and he will remain a kernel with no shell. When the
person’s belief in the oneness of Allah has strengthened and he has come to see
Him with the eye of certitude, he will never turn back and leave the way of the
True One (‘Azza
wa Jall), will never run away from His door and will stick to his truthfulness and
integrity.
How much you fear hunger and poverty! If you have certitude you would not
have thought of these. Be with your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall) in compliance with His
will. If He subjects you to hunger, endure it with patience, with a good feeling in
your hearts. If He satisfies your hunger, offer thanks to Him. He knows your best
interests better than you do. He does not act with niggardliness and littleness. It is
related that seventy Prophets ( ‘Ala nabiyyina wa ‘alayhim as-salat wa as-salam),
who are buried between al Multazam [1]and al Muqam [2], were killed by
hunger and ticks. Has He not in His kingdom something to satisfy their hunger?
But He chose and accepted that for them. He did that to them in order to
promote them, not because they were insignificant in His eyes but because this
world is insignificant in His sight. When He wants one of His servants exclusively
for Himself, He deprives him of his will and places a screen between him and
other things so that his lower self melts down, the fire of his natural inclination
subsides and his spirit finds living in this world a heavy burden and longs for the
hereafter where His Lord (‘Azza wa Jall) is. He will therefore wish for death in
order to be alone with His Lord (‘Azza wa Jall). This is what happens in most such
cases.
The Prophet (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “We
Prophets are exposed to afflictions more than other people, then are those who
are closer to us and so on”. When the believer is afflicted, he endures his affliction
with patience. He conceals his affliction from other creatures and does not
complain to them. This is why the Prophet (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam)
said: “The cheerfulness of the believer is on his face, while his sorrow is inside his
heart”. He greets the people with cheerfulness to conceal what is in his heart. The
believers hide the treasures of their
inwards. They place a cover over the true nature of their hearts. Sorrow is the
true nature of the hearts, while fear is the true nature of the lower selves.
Sadness is a cloud that showers on the hearts various kinds of wisdom and
secrets. Why do you not endure with patience sadness and heartbreaking when
Allah has said in one of His utterances: “I am with those whose hearts are broken
on account of Me”? Whenever the hearts are broken because of remoteness, the
setter of nearness comes and sets them. Whenever they become estranged from
the creatures, intimacy with Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) comes to them. Whenever they
become alienated from the creatures, they seek the intimacy of the nearness of
Allah (‘Azza wa Jall). The longer their sorrow in this world lasts the longer will
their happiness be in the hereafter. The Prophet (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa
sallam) was in continuous sorrow and in permanent reflection as if he is listening
to a speaker who speaks to him or to someone who is calling out to him. Those
whom he ordered the people to follow, his representatives, his deputies and his
heirs are likewise in relation to the lengthiness of their sadness and the
permanence of their reflection. How could they fail to emulate him in deed when
they are stationed at his station, being fed with his food, having their thirst
quenched by his drink, being put on the backs of his horses and fight with his
swords and spears?

[1] Al-Multazam is the spot between the Black stone and the
door of the Ka’ba.
[2] Al-Muqam is the station of Abraham.
Reproduced & Edited by Engr. Abdulwaheed A. Akinola.

Related tags : abdulqodiriendurance in islamenduring afflictions

Previous Article
Book of Instructions by Sheikh Ahmad Tijani

Next Article
TASAWWUF: Its meaning and significance

Comment Here
Post Timeline
17Jan2022
SHAYKH HADI OULD SAYYID MAWLUD FAL (MAURITANIA)
0288

9Dec2021
History Outside the Academy: The Library of Shaykh Sharīf Ibrāhīm Ṣāliḥ
0377

9Dec2021
MUHAMMAD: THE FIRST CREATURE ALLAH
1626

8Jun2021
THE VICEGERENT OF THE IBRAHIMIYA SPIRITUAL FLOOD
0197

Recent Posts
Email
About Us
Our Mission
To spread the Flood of Divine Blessing to Humanity via the route of Love to achieve Universal Peace and
Prosperity for All.
Our Vision
To Consciously Help optimize the inherent success potentials of every Human being particularly Muslims and
all Ahlu-l-Faydah.
Our Values
We are guided by our core values of HIP-PICCBAL which governs the way we think.act and interact. These
are values of Honesty, Integrity Piety, Patience, Compassion, Commitment, Brotherhood. Accommodation and
Love. (HIP-PICCBAL)To Consciously Help optimize the inherent success potentials of every Human being
particularly Muslims and all Ahlu-l-Faydah.

Know More!
Contat Us
Our Location: No 13, Afe Street, Ikeja, Lagos-Nigeria.
Phone Number:+2348033027439, +234802315119 +2348146281389
Email: info@ahlulfaydah.org
Navigation
 Latest News
 Newsletter
 About Us
 Privacy Policy
Ahlulfaydah Blog 2020. All rights reserved.
Original text
Contribute a better translation

Ahlulfaydah logo

HomeSufismEnduring Afflictions – Shaikh Abd al-Qadir al-Gaylani

SUFISM

Enduring Afflictions – Shaikh Abd al-Qadir al-Gaylani

December 21, 20200529

Pillars of Islam

Share

Share

Share

Share

Share

Share

The people of Allah accustom themselves to afflictions and do not get annoyed like your annoyance.
One of them used to be afflicted everyday with a tribulation that on the day when no affliction comes
his way he would say: “O Allah, what sins have I done today that You have not sent to me my daily
affliction?” Afflictions are of various kinds; some affect the body, while some affect the heart. Some of
them are suffered in relation to

Creatures, while others in relation to the Creator. There is no good in someone who has not been
subjected to suffering. Afflictions are the hooks of the True One (‘Azza wa Jall).

A few individuals have on them remnants of sins of which they are cleaned by tribulations and afflictions
which turn into degrees that they have in the hereafter. You have to be satisfied with the divine decree,
observe the Law and perform righteous deeds under all circumstances: in hardship and

Prosperity, when it is something you love and when it is something you hate.

The Prophet (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam) is reported to have

Said: “If a person is not satisfied with the decree of Allah, there is no

Remedy for his foolishness”’ What He has decreed will come to pass, whether the servant is dissatisfied
or satisfied. Woe unto you! O you who protest against Allah (‘Azza wa Jall)! Do not prattle nonsense. No
one can send back or prevent the divine decree. Submit and then you will find rest. This night and this
day you cannot turn back. When the night comes, it sets in whether you agree or disagree, and the same
is true of the day. Both come without you having a say in the matter. The same is true of the decree of
Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) and His destiny. They are either in your favor or against you. If the night of poverty
comes, submit and bid farewell to the day of affluence. If the night of what you dislike comes, submit
and say goodbye to the day of what you love. Receive with a patient heart the night of diseases,
illnesses, poverty and the loss of worldly goods. Do not reject anything of the decree of Allah (‘Azza wa
Jall) and His destiny, otherwise you will perish, your faith will vanish, your heart will become disturbed
and your innermost being will die.

Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) said in one of His books: “I am Allah. There is no god other than Me. When someone
submits to My decree, is patient with My affliction and offers thanks for My blessings, I record him in My
presence as a truthful person and I gather him on the Day of Resurrection in the company of the
truthful. As for one who does not submit to My decree, does not endure with patience My affliction and
does not give thanks for My blessings, let Him seek a lord other than Me”. If you do not submit to the
divine decree, do not endure with patience the affliction and do not give thanks for the blessings, you do
not have a lord. Seek a lord other than Him, but there is no lord other than Him. If you wish (for Him), be
satisfied with the divine decree and believe in destiny, whether good or bad, sweet or bitter, for what
has come your way could not have been averted through precaution and what has passed you by could
not have been made to come your way through exerting efforts and seeking it. When faith has been
confirmed in your case, you will come to the door of sainthood. At this stage, you will become one of the
men of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) who have fulfilled their servitude to Him. The distinctive sign of the saint is
that he remains compliant with his Lord (‘Azza wa Jall) under all circumstances. He becomes total
compliance without asking “why” and “how”, while carrying out the commandments and observing the
prohibitions. No doubt, therefore, that his company (of Allah) will last. He becomes a front with no

Back, a state of nearness with no remoteness, pure serenity with no disturbance and goodness with no
evil.

Nothing turns you away from His obedience and from the belief in

His oneness other than your sins, your ignorance and the ruinous state of your homes and your
sanctuaries. You will soon be in remorse. Hear the verses of the Qur’an with the ears of your hearts.
Rush to Him. Bid farewell to every door and cling to the door of your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall). It is He who is
the Remover of harm. It is He who “answers the

Distressed one when he calls upon Him” [from 27.62].

(‫)ُيِج يُب اْلُم ضَطَّر ِإَذ ا َدَعاُه‬.

Be patient with Him and then you will experience that which is good. Thank Him when He responds to
you and be patient when His answer to you is delayed. Courage is an hour of patience. O Remover of
harm and affliction,

Remove from us our harm and our affliction, for You respond to the needy person when he prays to
You! “O Doer of what He wishes, O You who are Capable of everything, O Knower of everything! It is You
who has full knowledge of our needs and it is You who is Capable of providing for them. It is You who
knows about our faults and sins and it is You who is Capable of erasing and forgiving them. Do not refer
us to other than You, do not send us to the door of someone other than You and do not turn us to other
than You”.

O young man, go out with your heart, stripped naked of all of your possessions. Be secluded from the
whole of you so that you will be compensated for all of that. Woe unto you! Creatures cannot bring you
any benefit or cause you any harm unless Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) has given His approval first. Your hearts
are in His hand and He moves them as He wishes, sometimes putting them at the service of others and
sometimes giving them authority over others. Have you not heard what Allah said: “That which Allah
opens to people of mercy none can withhold” [from 35.2].

( ‫َم ا َيْفَتْح ُهَّللا ِللَّناِس ِم ْن‬

‫)َر ْح َم ٍة َفاَل ُمْمِس َك َلَها‬.

O young man, when affliction comes your way, receive it with faith, patience, submission and a smile! Be
patient with it and about it until

Its days have gone and its times have disappeared. O seeker, do not escape from the door of your
Sought After One because of the arrows of His afflictions! Stand firm and then you will find your Sought
After One. When the seeker is afflicted, he will need a master who medicates him during his ordeal with
drinks of patience and thankfulness, who commands him to take one thing and keep away from another
and who commands him to turn away from his lower self and refuse to accept its advice. If someone is
truthful in the company of his Shaikh, Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) will sooner or later bring benefits to him. “O
You who separates between the salty water and the sweet water, keep us separate from dissatisfaction
with You and disputing against You in relation to matters that You have decreed! Separate us from the
acts of disobedience toward You with an isthmus of Your mercy. Amen.

O young man, when Allah causes you any harm or affliction, no one will be able to remove it except He.
Then why do you ask someone who is powerless like yourself: “Remove from me what I have fallen in”?
If sickness or harm from creatures come your way, causing you loss of worldly possessions and
properties, there will be no remover for that except

He. If you suffer loss of properties, hunger in your belly and abandonment by brothers and neighbors to
the extent that they refuse to give you a morsel or an atom, and if this world, for all that it is wide,
looked too strait for you, be certain wholeheartedly that all of that is from Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) and that
there is no remover for all of that except He. It is He who takes it away.

Be sensible and do not associate creatures and means with Allah.

Believe in one Lord only not in many lords. It is He who puts things at the

Command of others, the One who grants authority for someone over another, the Ruler, the Judge and
the Doer. His destiny comes with sickness in its hand and knocks on the door of your good health. His
destiny comes with hardship in its hand and knocks on the door of your prosperity. His destiny comes
with grief in its hand and knocks on the door of your happiness. His destiny comes with fear in its hand
and knocks on the door of your sense of security. All these come from Him and there is no one to
remove them except Him.

This world is the prison of the believer. Having been put inside it, his feet will start to move and then he
will attain the spiritual state of knowingness, at which point the walls of the prison will collapse and the
doors will be wide open before him. His heart will acquire feathered wings, so he will fly to the heaven
of the Knowledge of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) and join the spirits that are there. This is something beyond
your comprehension.
The hearts of the people of Allah and their spirits eat from the plate of the

Favor of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) while they are still in this world, as the spirits of martyrs eat in Paradise. It is
here where doing without the creatures occurs. It is here that the heart becomes a king. They are kings
in this world and kings in the hereafter. They are chieftains in this world and chieftains in the hereafter.

Obey and do not disobey. Believe in the oneness of Allah and do not attribute partners to Him. Your
reliance on creatures is a form of polytheistic idolatry. Woe unto you! You are mad! Dissatisfaction and

Protestation do not give you something or take away another. Your anger cannot delay something or
bring forward another. Affliction and the removal of affliction are both in the hand of Allah. It is He who
has sent down the disease and the remedy. It is He who has created the disease and has created the
remedy. He afflicts you with tribulations to make you come to know Him through affliction, to show you
His signs and His power in sending down the affliction and in removing it and to show you the removal
and the putting down of His plate (of grace). Afflictions show the way to the door of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall)
and knock on it. They bring the heart and the True One (‘Azza wa Jall) together. They promote the
status. Do not hate afflictions for you have many benefits in these things that you hate. Set aside asking
“why” and “how”.

If you endure the afflictions with patience, they will purify you of outward

And inward sins. The Prophet (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam) is

Reported to have said: “Affliction will continue to come the believer’s way

Until he comes to walk on the earth carrying no sin”. His sins will be erased

From his scrolls and the angels who recorded them will forget them. A certain righteous person used to
say: “O Allah, people have loved You for Your blessings and I have loved You for Your affliction!” One of
the people of Allah used to say on the day when no affliction comes his way: “O Allah, what sin can I
have committed today that you have deprived me of affliction?” Woe unto you! If you are not satisfied
with His decree, do not consume His sustenance and seek a lord other than Him. Allah (Exalted is His
affair) has said in one of His utterances: “O son of Adam, if you are not satisfied with My decree and are
not patient with My affliction, go and seek a lord other than Me”. Be patient with your Lord (‘Azza wa
Jall), for you have no lord other than Him. There is no second lord apart from Him. There is no other
creator, there is no other provider. Be patient with the will of this One [Wahid].

O young man, do not escape from affliction but endure it with patience. It is inevitable and enduring it
with patience is also inevitable. How could the nature of this world and the characteristics with which it
was created be changed for your sake? The Prophets, who are the best of all creatures, had always to
suffer afflictions. The same applies to their followers who emulate them, who walk on their path and
who follow in their footsteps. Our Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam) was the
beloved of the True One (‘Azza wa Jall), yet was constantly afflicted with poverty, need, hunger, fighting,
wars and harm from creatures until he departed from this world. Take, for instance, the case of Jesus
(‘Ala nabiyyina wa ‘alayhi as-salat wa as-salam) who is the spirit of Allah and His word, who was created
by Him without the intervention of a male, who used to heal the person blind from birth and the leper
and quicken the dead, and

Whose prayers were always responded to. Allah caused his people to insult him, defame his mother and
beat him. He finally escaped from them with his disciples, but they tracked them down, arrested them,
beat them and tortured them. Then they intended to crucify Jesus (‘Ala nabiyyina wa ‘alayhi as-salat wa
as-salam) but Allah (Ta’ala) rescued him from them and

Caused the person who led them to him to be crucified instead. Moses (‘Ala

Nabiyyina wa ‘alayhi as-salat wa as-salam) was also afflicted with those

(known) calamities that happened to him, and each one of the Prophets ( ‘Alayhim as-salat wa as-salam)
had his own peculiar affliction. This is what He did to the Prophets ( ‘Alayhim as-salat wa as-salam) who
are His beloved ones, so who are you to wish that the foreknowledge of Allah about you and about this
world be changed?

Renounce your will and your choice. Renounce your conversation

With creatures and your intimacy with them. If you accomplish this, the

Conversation of your heart will come to be with your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall)

And your intimacy will come to be with Him. His remembrance will camp in your heart. You will be
remembering Him and He will be remembering you. He will draw your heart and your limbs and organs
to Him and keep them in His presence. You will come to wish for what He wishes. Anything other than
that will be resented by you. (Such a person) will become one of the spiritual beings who have attained
to Him. He will go among the servants of Allah and the countries, and He will use him to protect
creatures from tribulations and afflictions. He will take what His lord (‘Azza wa Jall) has given him. This is
the real gift, while everything else is a symbol.

The best interests are enclosed within the folds of things that are disliked. Be sensible and acquire
politeness. The afflictions come to the hearts of the truthful persons, salute them and intercede on their
behalf. As for the person who has established a strong relationship with Allah, he will clasp them to his
bosom, kiss them on the forehead and endure them with patience, compliance and contentment. They
stay with him for a while before being taken away and asked: “How did you find the place and the
hospitality?”
They will reply: “An excellent place and an excellent host”. How excellent is

The gift and how excellent is the one who was presented with it! One of these righteous people (may
Allah confer mercy upon him), who was afflicted with a tribulation, was asked: “How are you doing in
this affliction?” He replied: “Ask the affliction about me!”

Be patient with your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall) for He removes your affliction and promotes your spiritual
degrees in His eyes as a reward for your patience. Be with Him against your lower selves. Be with those
who are truthful in His company, who work with Him, by Him and for His sake. O Allah, put things at our
command, make things smooth for us, open up opportunities for us and make things easy for us and on
us! Amen.

Faith that is shaken by poverty, hunger and loss of worldly goods is not faith. The essence and the well
being of faith become visible and its light shines in the presence of affliction. Its courage also becomes
apparent

When the army of affliction comes. Your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall) is fully aware of what you do. O kings, O
slaves, O elite people, O common people, O rich, O poor, O people of cells! No one has a veil that can
hide him from Him. He (Ta’ala) is with you wherever you may be. O Allah, we ask You for protection,
forgiveness, pardon, subtle kindness, patience, tolerance, care,

Sufficiency, good health and well being! Amen.

With regard to everything that you are in of good and evil, truthfulness and lies, sincerity and idolatrous
polytheism, obedience and disobedience, He (Ta’ala) is Knowledgeable, an Expert, Watchful, Present
and a Witness. Feel a sense of shame as He has His eyes on you. Look with the eye of faith and then you
will see His glances coming from your six directions.

Is this preaching not sufficient for you? Only if you learn lessons and hear

With the ears of your hearts! This should be sufficient for you to be fearful

Of your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall) in both your private and public lives.

Be vigilant toward Him (Ta’ala) and be aware of His glances at you and the

Honorable Recording Angels who are with you. Be afraid of Him, not of the

Punishments prescribed by His Law and which may be applied to you by your sultan and your prince. If
you would be afraid (of Him), your ruler would not be made weary with you (in his efforts to apply the
punishments of the Law to you).
O you who are poor, O you who are hungry, O you who are naked, O you who are in need! You appeal to
other than Him for help? Your silence is

Better and more beneficial to you. His knowledge of your situation should be sufficient for you to do
without putting in a request. He has afflicted you in order for you to come back to Him. So, return with
your heart to Him and stand firm and then you will experience that which is good. Do not insist on a
quick response from Him, do not accuse Him of niggardliness and do not have doubts about Him. He has
caused you to experience hunger, nakedness and poverty in order to look and see, in terms of
differentiation not in terms of knowledge, whether you will cling to His door or to someone’s else door,
whether you will be satisfied with Him or dissatisfied with Him, whether you will offer thanks to Him or
complain about Him and whether you will shout at Him or beseech Him gently. He afflicts you with
tribulations to see how you act. O ignorant ones, you have left the door of the Wealthy One (Ta’ala) and
clung to the door of someone who is poor! You have left the door of the Generous One and clung to the
door of someone who is stingy. You have left the door of the Capable One

And clung to the door of one who is powerless. O ignorant ones, He will soon gather you together and
make you stand in His presence! This will happen on the Day of Assembly [Yawm aj Jam’]. He will gather
you, you of all categories, O all you creatures! The Invincible One said: “This is the Day of Separation; We
have assembled you together and those of ancient times. So if you have a scheme, scheme against
Me’’8:39].

( ‫َهَذ ا َيْو ُم اْلَفْص ِل َج َم ْعَناُك ْم‬

‫ َفِإْن َك اَن َلُك ْم َكْيٌد َفِكيُدوِن‬. ‫)َو اَأْلَّوِليَن‬.

On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will assemble all creatures on an earth other than this; an earth on
which no blood of an innocent creature

Has ever been shed and on which no sin was ever committed. This is something about which there is no
doubt or uncertainty. Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) has said: “And because the Hour will come, there is no doubt
thereof; and because Allah will raise up those who are in the graves”

[22.7].

( ‫َو َأَّن الَّساَع َة آِتَيٌة اَل َر ْيَب ِفيَها َو َأَّن‬

‫)َهَّللا َيْبَع ُث َم ْن ِفي اْلُقُبوِر‬.

The Day of Resurrection is “the Day of Contest” [from 64.9],

( ‫)َيْو ُم الَّتَغاُبِن‬.
“the Day of the Sigh (of Remorse)” [from 19.39],

(‫)َيْو َم اْلَح ْس َرِة‬.

The Day of remorse, the Day of reminding, the Day of compliance, the Day of testimony, the Day of
retribution, the Day of happiness, the Day of sorrowfulness, the Day of fear, the Day of security, the Day
of bliss, the Day of torment, the Day of rest, the Day of tiredness, the Day of thirst, the Day of giving
drinks, the Day of clothing, the Day of nakedness, the Day of profit,

The Day of loss, the Day on which “The believers will rejoice at the victory from Allah” [from 30.4 5].

(‫ ِبَنْص ِر ِهَّللا‬.‫)َيْفَر ُح اْلُم ْؤ ِم ُنون‬.

O Allah, we seek refuge in You from the evil of that Day, beg You to grant us its good and “give us in this
world good and in the hereafter good and protect us from the torment of the Fire”!

(‫آِتَنا‬

‫)ِفي الُّد ْنَيا َح َس َنًة َوِفي اآْل ِخ َرِة َح َس َنًة َوِقَنا َع َذ اَب الَّناِر‬.

Evict from your hearts all opponents, peers and partners, for the True One (‘Azza wa Jall) does

Not accept any partner, in particular in the heart which is His abode. One day, when still little boys, Al
Hasan and al Hussein (‘Alayhima as-salam)

Were playing in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam), and he was
happy with them and totally engrossed in them, when Gabriel ( ‘Alayhi as-salam) came and said to him:
“This one will be poisoned and that one will be killed”. He told him this in order to remove them from
his heart and to convert his happiness with them into grief about them.

The Messenger of Allah (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam) loved (his
Wife) ‘Aaisha (Radhiya Allah ta’ala ‘anha), so she came to be involved

In that notorious story. She was, thus, removed from his heart despite his

Certainty of her innocence, because he (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam)

Recognized the aim of the True One (‘Azza wa Jall) behind that event.

And when Jacob (‘Ala nabiyyina wa ‘alayhi as-salat wa as-salam) loved

Joseph (‘Ala nabiyyina wa ‘alayhi as-salat wa as-salam), he came to

Experience what he experienced and He separated him from Joseph. Similar things frequently happened
to the Prophets and saints (Salawat Allah wa salamuh ‘alayhim ajma’een), who are the beloved of the
True One (‘Azza wa Jall). Because He is jealous, He evicts from their hearts anyone other than Him.

Afflictions and tribulations make faith, knowingness and Knowledge become apparent. They
differentiate between the kernel and the shell. The person who remains compliant throughout is a
kernel, while he who disputes them is a shell. When the person is compliant with His Lord (‘Azza wa Jall),
the shell of creatures will be peeled from his heart and he will remain a kernel with no shell. When the
person’s belief in the oneness of Allah has strengthened and he has come to see Him with the eye of
certitude, he will never turn back and leave the way of the True One (‘Azza

Wa Jall), will never run away from His door and will stick to his truthfulness and integrity.

How much you fear hunger and poverty! If you have certitude you would not have thought of these. Be
with your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall) in compliance with His will. If He subjects you to hunger, endure it with
patience, with a good feeling in your hearts. If He satisfies your hunger, offer thanks to Him. He knows
your best interests better than you do. He does not act with niggardliness and littleness. It is related that
seventy Prophets ( ‘Ala nabiyyina wa ‘alayhim as-salat wa as-salam), who are buried between al
Multazam [1]and al Muqam [2], were killed by hunger and ticks. Has He not in His kingdom something to
satisfy their hunger? But He chose and accepted that for them. He did that to them in order to promote
them, not because they were insignificant in His eyes but because this world is insignificant in His sight.
When He wants one of His servants exclusively for Himself, He deprives him of his will and places a
screen between him and other things so that his lower self melts down, the fire of his natural inclination
subsides and his spirit finds living in this world a heavy burden and longs for the hereafter where His
Lord (‘Azza wa Jall) is. He will therefore wish for death in order to be alone with His Lord (‘Azza wa Jall).
This is what happens in most such cases.

The Prophet (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “We

Prophets are exposed to afflictions more than other people, then are those who are closer to us and so
on”. When the believer is afflicted, he endures his affliction with patience. He conceals his affliction from
other creatures and does not complain to them. This is why the Prophet (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa
sallam) said: “The cheerfulness of the believer is on his face, while his sorrow is inside his heart”. He
greets the people with cheerfulness to conceal what is in his heart. The believers hide the treasures of
their

Inwards. They place a cover over the true nature of their hearts. Sorrow is the true nature of the hearts,
while fear is the true nature of the lower selves.

Sadness is a cloud that showers on the hearts various kinds of wisdom and secrets. Why do you not
endure with patience sadness and heartbreaking when Allah has said in one of His utterances: “I am
with those whose hearts are broken on account of Me”? Whenever the hearts are broken because of
remoteness, the setter of nearness comes and sets them. Whenever they become estranged from the
creatures, intimacy with Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) comes to them. Whenever they become alienated from the
creatures, they seek the intimacy of the nearness of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall). The longer their sorrow in this
world lasts the longer will their happiness be in the hereafter. The Prophet (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa
sallam) was in continuous sorrow and in permanent reflection as if he is listening to a speaker who
speaks to him or to someone who is calling out to him. Those whom he ordered the people to follow, his
representatives, his deputies and his heirs are likewise in relation to the lengthiness of their sadness and
the permanence of their reflection. How could they fail to emulate him in deed when they are stationed
at his station, being fed with his food, having their thirst quenched by his drink, being put on the backs
of his horses and fight with his swords and spears?

[1] Al-Multazam is the spot between the Black stone and the

Door of the Ka’ba.

[2] Al-Muqam is the station of Abraham.

Reproduced & Edited by Engr. Abdulwaheed A. Akinola.

Related tags : abdulqodiriendurance in islamenduring afflictions

Previous Article

Book of Instructions by Sheikh Ahmad Tijani

Next Article

TASAWWUF: Its meaning and significance

Comment Here

Name*

Email Address*

Website

Your Comment

Post Timeline

17

Jan2022

SHAYKH HADI OULD SAYYID MAWLUD FAL (MAURITANIA)

0288

Dec2021

History Outside the Academy: The Library of Shaykh Sharīf Ibrāhīm Ṣāliḥ

0377

Dec2021

MUHAMMAD: THE FIRST CREATURE ALLAH

1626

Jun2021

THE VICEGERENT OF THE IBRAHIMIYA SPIRITUAL FLOOD

0197

Recent Posts

Email

About Us

Our Mission

To spread the Flood of Divine Blessing to Humanity via the route of Love to achieve Universal Peace and
Prosperity for All.

Our Vision

To Consciously Help optimize the inherent success potentials of every Human being particularly Muslims
and all Ahlu-l-Faydah.

Our Values

We are guided by our core values of HIP-PICCBAL which governs the way we think.act and interact.
These are values of Honesty, Integrity Piety, Patience, Compassion, Commitment, Brotherhood.
Accommodation and Love. (HIP-PICCBAL)To Consciously Help optimize the inherent success potentials of
every Human being particularly Muslims and all Ahlu-l-Faydah.

Know More!

Contat Us

Our Location: No 13, Afe Street, Ikeja, Lagos-Nigeria.

Phone Number:+2348033027439, +234802315119 +2348146281389

Email: info@ahlulfaydah.org

Navigation

Latest News

Newsletter

About Us

Privacy Policy

Ahlulfaydah Blog 2020. All rights reserved.

Google Translate

Original text

Contribute a better translation