Thetrue human being fears Allah, knows Him and loves Him. Fearing Allah,he must refrain from doing those things Allah has told him not to do.Loving, praising and remembering Allah, he must do gladly those thingsAllah has told him to do. In respect of the divine prohibitions, hemust fear Allah. In respect of the divine commands, he must love Allah.Every command should be seen as a blessing and carried out willingly.You should beseech the Lord to accept what you do. You may do, but Hemay not accept.
However high you rise in this worldly life, you should know yourlimitations and remember your origins. Keep a sense of proportion,though you rule the world from end to end. You began as a sperm, a dropof vile fluid. You will end up a handful of dust. What is this worldbut eating, drinking and excreting, then finally the grave? What is thegoal of all that striving, ambition, lust and greed? In the lastanalysis, you have eaten, drunk and defecated. There you have the endof worldly life. This world is nothing but excrement.
Those insatiable eyes will be filled with a handful of dust. A gulpof water will satisfy that greedy mouth. Six feet of earth will containa man for whom this whole world was too small. The rottenness ofworldly ambition is summed up neatly in the lines:
All business rests on bases four:
I eat, you starve; you've less, I've more.
Those who cringe from wearing common cloth may find it their lot tobe wrapped in a shroud. Those who shun fleas and lice will have nocompany in the tomb except serpents, centipedes and wild animals. Theglutton will eat and grow fat, only to end up as fodder for the wolves.His faults made public, the egoist will suffer universal scorn.
So do not forget your creation; do not deny your origin! Realizethat you are impotent, in need of One who is Mighty! Remember you aremortal, in need of One who is Everlasting! Do not forget that you areindigent, in need of the grace of the Gracious One. Your Creator isAllah; Mighty and Wise is He, Existing through His Attributes,All-Embracing through His Essence. You are a lowly subject. If He hasgiven you a little license, do not let your Lord's generosity make youconceited! Acknowledge that you owe it not to yourself, but to Him!Turn back to Allah, who is Everlasting! Consider your nothingnessbefore His Power and Majesty! In that nothingness, fall in prostrationand simply beg of Him! May He, the Gracious One, show you His grace.There is no end to His grace and kindness.
"Who knows himself [his own impotence], knows his Lord."
-Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi, Irshad