Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Shah Naqshband's sayings on manners of the seeker with the Shaykh

He said, "It is necessary for the follower, if he is confused about something his shaikh has said or done and is unable to understand his reasons, to be patient and carry it, and not to become suspicious. If he is a beginner, he might ask; but if he is a murid, he has no reason to ask and should remain patient with what he doesn't yet understand."

He said, "It is impossible to reach the love of the people of God until you come out of yourself."

He said, "In Our Way there are three categories of conduct (adab):

1. Good conduct with Allah Almighty and Exalted, requires that the murid be externally and internally perfect in his worship, keeping away from all that is forbidden and keeping all that has been ordered and leaving all that is other than God.

2. Good conduct with the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. requires the murid to fly in the state of in kuntum tuhibbun Allah fa-t-tabi'unee ('If you want to love Allah then follow me') [3:31]. He has to follow all the states of the Prophet s.a.w. He must know that the Prophet s.a.w. is the bridge between God and His creation and that everything in this universe is under his high orders.

3. Good conduct with shaikhs is a requirement for every seeker. The shaikhs are the causes and the means for following in the footsteps of the Prophet s.a.w. It is a duty for the seeker, in their presence or their absence, to keep the orders of the shaikh."

Shah Naqshband said, "One time one of my followers greeted me. I didn't respond to him, though it is a requirement of the Sunnah to respond if someone greets you. This made my follower upset. I sent someone after him to apologize, saying to him, 'At that time, when you greeted me, my mind, my heart, my spirit, my body, my soul were completely lost in the Divine Presence, listening to what Allah was saying to me. This made me so engrossed in the Speech of God that I was unable to respond to anyone."

from www.naqshbandi.org/chain/17.htm

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