The Reason behind Allah’s Love for His Servant

Al Fathu Rabbãni wal Faidhu Rahmãni

الفتح الرباني والفيض الرحماني

Chapter 5

The Reason behind Allah’s Love for His Servant

Child, where is the true worship of God Almighty you claim? Bring about a true state of worship, and receive a guaranteed satisfaction for all your needs. You are a slave who has run away from your Master. Humble yourself before Him. Turn yourself back to Him. Submit to His commands by compliance. Do what is lawful and abstain from the unlawful. Go back to your Master, be patient with and consent to His judgment. When you achieve that state, your worship of your Lord will be crowned with success. Your satisfaction comes from Him. He said: “Isn’t God sufficient to His servant?”

أليسَ اللهُ بكافٍ عبدهُ

When you truly worship Him, God Almighty will love you and strengthen His love in your heart. He will comfort you with His company, bring you nigh unto His own presence and spare you any further toiling, once you ask for the company of no one besides Him. In every way, He will make you pleased with Him. Even if He restricts the entire earth and shuts all the doors with all its worth, you will never be dissatisfied with Him. You will near the door of no one else, you will eat no one else’s food, and you will be joined in the company of Moses, upon whom be peace, about whom God Almighty has said: “We foreordained that he sucks no milk from anyone besides his mother.”

وَحَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِ المَرَاضِعَ مِنْ قَبْلُ

Our Lord and Cherisher is witnessing everything. He sees everything, is present everywhere, is watchful over everything, and is near to everything. You cannot forego Him. How can you deny the truth, even though you know it? O fool. You know God Almighty. How dare you deny your own cognizance?. Turn not away from Him, for you will then be deprived of His immeasurable wealth. Be patient with Him and bear no patience with being away from Him. Do you not know that the patient ones will win? What kind of brain do you have? How do you explain your hastiness? God Almighty has said: “O ye who believe, persevere in patience and constancy. Live in such determination, strengthen each other with unity, and fear God, so at the end, you may triumph.”

يَا أيُّهَا الذِيْنَ آمَنُوا اصبِروا وَصَابِروا وَاتقوا اللهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

There are many more verses in the Qur’ãn on the subject of patience. They all point to the undiminishing wealth and blessings contained within the virtue of patience. They describe the exalted reward, bounty and comfort which are reserved for such believers in this world and in the hereafter. Have patience and you will experience its benefits in this world and in the hereafter. Visit the graveyards and learn the lessons. Visit the righteous people and learn from them. Do good deeds and your life will be properly aligned. Be not amongst those who ignore good advice and disdain to comply with what they hear.

There are four sections that make you lose your faith (deen): You do not practice what you know; you follow what you do not understand; you remain ignorant because you do not even attempt to learn what you need; and the fourth is that you hinder people’s efforts to acquire the knowledge necessary for their own salvation.

O ye people! When you join spiritual study circles (halaqãtu zikr) you mainly go there as spectators, not to cure your illnesses. You refrain from hearkening to the advice of the gnostic shaykh, you criticize his counsel and meticulously mark down any mistake or slip of the tongue he makes. You sarcastically make fun of him, laugh at him and just play around. Guard yourselves. You are endangering your heads with God Almighty. Repent from this attitude. Do not resemble the enemies of God Almighty, and try to reap the benefit of what you learn here.

Child, your progress has been curtailed by your karmic habits, though Almighty Allah is strict about the allotment of shares. Your current dependence on created resources and your forgetting to trust the causal being Who created everything are hindering your growth. Resume serving Him, and be sincere in your devotion. Almighty Allah has said: “I have created the jinn and the humans solely to worship Me.”

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الجَنَّ والإنْسَ إلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِ

He did not create them so they could live their wild fancies, nor did He create them for fun, to play, eat, drink, sleep or have sex. So wake up, O heedless ones. Wake up from your slumber. Let your heart walk one step towards Him, and see how His love will foster many more steps towards you. His yearning is more ardent towards His beloved ones than theirs is to meet Him. “He grants His bounty to whomsoever He wills without reckoning.”

يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

When God Almighty intends something for His servant, He prepares him for it. This relates to the essence, not the form. Once the servant achieves what I have just explained, his renunciation of this world, the hereafter and anything besides his Lord will become true. Such state will come to him, and the kingdom, the sovereignty, and the power to command will also come to him. Every atom he carries will have the weight of a mountain. A drop from him will fill an ocean. His planet will radiate like a moon, and his moon will be brighter then the sun. The little he has will become abundance, his effacement becomes redemption, his annihilation becomes continuity, his movement becomes stillness. His tree towers up towards the Divine Throne, and its branches spread throughout the world and the hereafter. What are these branches? They are wisdom and knowledge. To him, this world will be like the hollow of a small ring. The world has no dominion over him, and the hereafter does not attract or distract him. No king compels him, and no slave obliges him. No veil separates him, no one can overtake him and nothing can disturb him.

Once these conditions are satisfied, then it will be appropriate for such a being to serve the people, assist them and save them from the ocean of this world. Thus, when God Almighty decides to grant His servant His blessings, He will appoint him as the guide of the people, as their physician, teacher and trainer. He will make him their interpreter and exegete. He will make him their opportunity. He will become God’s gift to them, as their lamp and sun.

Either God Almighty will require this from him, and such it shall be, or He will keep him veiled in His presence, away from others. It is only the rare ones who reach that state whereby He sends them back to serve the people, armed with His total protection, guardianship and safety. God will grant them success in serving people’s interests and guiding them back to Him. The trial of the ascetic who renounces the world is the hereafter, and the trial of the renunciate (zãhid) in both the world and the hereafter is the Lord and Sustainer of the world and the hereafter.

You became heedless as if you were immortal, as if you were not the subject matter of the great gathering on the day of reckoning, and as if you were unaware that you are going to walk over the bridge (sirãt) towards your destiny. These are your attributes, while you still claim to have surrendered (Islãm) and to have faith (imãn). This Qur’ãn and knowledge you have are the incriminating evidence against you if you do not apply them in your daily life. If you go to those who have knowledge (‘ulamã’) but do not accept their advice, this again will become your sin, and its consequence will fall on you later. It will be as if you had met God’s Messenger, upon whom be peace, and did not accept his warnings or believe in the glad tidings he brought to this world.

On the day of resurrection, the entire creation will be seized by fear engendered by the glory, majesty, supremacy, and justice of God Almighty. On that day, all the kings of the world will vanish and His lordship alone will remain. On that day, everything returns back to Him. Also on that day the exalted stations, honor and undiminishing wealth God Almighty bestowed upon His chosen servants will manifest. Today, in this world, they are the testimony of God’s providence to the people and the land. They are the pillars of the earth. They are the leaders of the people and their chancellors. They are God’s deputies on earth. This is in essence, not in form. Today they are the expression of divine providence, and in the hereafter they will become its physical manifestation.

The courage of one who opposes disbelief is to face the disbeliever with steadfastness. The courage of the righteous ones (sãliheen) is to face their own mind and desire (nafs), passions, karmic habits, satan and evil companions who are the human satans. Finally, the courage of the chosen elite to Allah’s proximity is to renounce the world, the hereafter and anything beside Almighty Allah.

Child, wake from your slumber before death comes and forces you to rise. Become religious and mix with religious people, because these are the real people. The wisest of people is one who obeys his Lord, and the most ignorant is one who disobeys Him. The Prophet, upon whom be peace, used the term: ‘tarubat yadãk,’ meaning “bless your hands.” The root of the word, tarubat, comes from the word ‘turãb’ in Arabic, meaning earth or dirt. (Tarubat is a kin to the word Iftaqarat from the root of the word fiqr.) The word: “Fiqr,” means poverty and in that sense, the expression: ‘tarubat yadãk,’ means to be without needs. Thus, if you associate with religious people and love them, your hands will become filled with the treasures of contentment and satisfaction because of the wealth which is inherent in their company, and your heart will be able to escape from hypocrisy and its people. A hypocrite and a deceiver have no actions.

Nothing will be accepted from you unless it is intended for Allah’s sake. It is the intention behind your deed that makes it valuable, not its form. If you counteract your carnal self (nafs), vanity, malice, passion, satan and your love for the world in offering a deed, then God will accept it from you. Practice good deeds. Be sincere and do not look back at them boastfully. Only what is meant for God will be accepted, not what is meant for people’s praise. How unfortunate you are. You solicit people’s recognition for your deed but you expect God Almighty to accept it from you. This is mere craziness. Renounce your love for fame, your greed, your covert desires, and your pleasure in this world.

Instead, foster the feeling of sadness, for this world is the abode of sadness. This is a prison. Our Prophet, upon whom be peace, was most contemplative. He showed little joy and was mostly pensive. His laughter was little more than a smile to comfort the hearts of others. His heart was occupied with greater concerns. If it were not for the sake of his companions and duties in this world, he would have not left his house or sat with anyone.

Child, when your retreat to God Almighty is true, your innermost being will see wonders and your heart will become pure. Your gaze will become a meaningful admonition, your heart will become contemplative, and your essence and soul will reach their Lord. To be occupied in thinking about the world is a punishment and a veil. To reflect about the hereafter is true knowledge and life for one’s heart. Whenever a servant is granted the gift of contemplation (fikr) he will also be given knowledge of life’s hidden mysteries in both the world and the hereafter.

O unfortunate one. How can you waste your heart with concern about this world, when God Almighty has finished allotting its portions? Each one of your portions has a destiny and a time. Each day your sustenance will be given anew, whether you ask for it or not. Your anxiety to get hold of your share and more is defaming your character before God Almighty and the people. The weaker your faith, the more you pray for wealth. When your faith increases, you will refrain from asking and when your faith becomes perfect you will sleep on it.

Child, do not mix serious matters with play. This can bring you no success. When your heart is with the creation, how can you then bring the Creator into it? When you place your dependence on created things, how can you then reach the Causal Being Who created everything? How can you combine form and formlessness? Inner and outer? What you understand and what you do not understand? What the creation has at hand and what the Creator has? How ignorant is he who forgets about the Causal Being and turns to the elements. One who supports the next and forgets about the First is one who forgets about the Eternal and seeks the mortal.

Child, if you remain in the company of ignorant people, some of their ignorance will rub off on you. To be with an ignorant person is a companionship of losses. Seek the company of true believers, the pious, the gnostics who act on their knowledge. In every act they do what a blessed state the believers live in. What a mighty power they have when battling and conquering their desires and passions. That is why the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said: “A believer keeps his smile on his face and hides his sadness in his heart.”

بِشْرُ المُؤمِنِ فِي وَجْهِهِ وَحُزْنُهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ

It is a sign of one’s strength to display cheerfulness to comfort people and to keep his sadness in his heart, between himself and his Lord. His stress is constant, his thoughts are flowing, he cries often and laughs little. That is why the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said: “There is no peace for a believer other than in meeting his Lord.”

لَا رَاحَةَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ غَيْرَ لِقَاءَ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ

Thus, a believer veils his sadness with cheerfulness. Outwardly, he is involved in earning his livelihood, but inwardly he remains with his Lord. Outwardly, he works for his family and children, but inwardly he praises his Lord. He does not divulge his secret even to his wife, children or neighbors, nor to any one of God’s creations. He has understood the saying of the Prophet, upon whom be peace: “Be discrete in the management of your affairs.”

استَعِينُوا عَلى أُمُورِكُمْ بِالكِتْمَانِ

In this way, he guards his secret. Should he be overcome by a slip of the tongue, he retrieves his word and changes the expression. He changes the subject, covers up his mistake and apologizes for what he said.

Child, make me your mirror. Make me the mirror of your heart and innermost secret being, the mirror of your actions. Come near unto me, and see in yourself what you may not be able to see when distant from me. If you need religious advice, find me, for I will not pamper you at the expense of God’s religion. I may be forthright in speaking about God’s religion. That is because I was brought up at the forthright hand of my teacher, not a money-making nor a deceiving hand. Leave your world at home and come near unto me, for I am standing at the gates of the hereafter. Come here and hearken to what I say and act according to it before your death comes tomorrow.

The main point is to be God-fearing and reverent before His glory and majesty. If that fear is not there, you will not find safe refuge anywhere in this world or in the hereafter. Fear of God Almighty is what knowledge is all about. That is why God Almighty has said: “Verily, those endowed with knowledge among God’s servants fear Him the most.”

إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ العُلَمَاءُ

Actually, those who fear and revere Almighty Allah are none other than His servants who are endowed with knowledge and actively practice it. They ask for no reward for their deeds other than the pleasure of their Lord and His nearness. They ardently seek His love and seek to become free of the veils of separation from Him. They pray that the doors of God Almighty never be closed to them, whether in this world or in the hereafter. They have no desire for the world, the hereafter or anything besides Him.

This world belongs to one category of people. The hereafter belongs to another category, and Allah’s nearness belongs to a people of a different state of being. Those are the faithful ones who have true certitude, knowledge, love, piety and reverence for Almighty Allah. They are the ones who are broken hearted and grief stricken for His sake. They are the ones who have fear and reverence for Allah’s promise (ghayb), the unseen. He is unseen to their physical eyes only, but omnipresent to the eyes of their hearts. How could they not fear Him, when every day He brings a different manifestation of His Powers? He changes things and replaces them. He helps one and defeats another. He gives life to one and causes another to die. He accepts one and rejects another. He brings one nigh and distances Himself from another. Such is God, “Who is not to be questioned about what He does, though they are subject to His questioning.”

لا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ

Our Lord, bring us near unto You and never distance us from You.

رَبَنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَة وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّار

“Our Lord, grant us the benefits of a good deed in this world, the reward of a good deed in the hereafter, and protect us eternally from the sufferings of hell-fire.”