Be As the Day You Joined This Way

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Our Grandshaykh Abdullah Faiz Daghestani (ق) described how a dervish may be acceptable as a servant to Allah Almighty:

“He must have one character from each of three animals,” he said. “From the donkey, he must be able to carry burdens with patience, and without objections. Unless he can do this he will be unsuccessful, for without patience one cannot carry the responsibilities of life.

“From the dog, he must learn faithfulness to his master. If the master tells the dog to stay somewhere until the man returns, that dog will stay, even until death. If the owner beats it and chases it away, the dog will still return, with tail wagging, when its master calls.

“Finally, when a man looks at a pig he must know that his nafs is dirtier and filthier than the pig. The dirt of pigs is external, while the nafs is dirty inside. The nafs’ dirt comes from fighting with his Lord. Pigs’ dirt comes from eating dirty things, not from fighting. Perfect man must have such a character that he will accept whatever dirt is thrown on him, whether by words or actions, knowing that his nafs is dirtier.

“These three characters of animals are for Prophets and Awliya. If a man doesn’t have these characters, he isn’t a Prophet who carries all the burdens of the world, accepts all sorts of abuse, and still keeps total faith in his Lord and patience for all. These are the footsteps upon which we must follow. These characters give man rest and satisfaction in his heart. Only in this way can he reach happiness in this life. Otherwise, he will be unhappy always.”

Excerpt from the book Mercy Oceans (Part 1), By Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil al Haqqani an Naqshbandi ق . Source: Naqshbandiindia.com

The fine wisdom of our Masters present beautiful solutions to all our troubles.

Expanding on one lesson Mawlana taught from the sohbah quoted above,

“…when a man looks at a pig he must know that his nafs is dirtier and filthier than the pig.

The dirt of pigs is external, while the nafs is dirty inside.
The nafs’ dirt comes from fighting with his Lord.

Pigs’ dirt comes from eating dirty things, not from fighting.

Perfect man must have such a character that he will accept whatever dirt is thrown on him, whether by words or actions, knowing that his nafs is dirtier.”

Mawlana says that a new mureed begins this spiritual journey beautifully in a state of humility, nothingness and fully aware of his/her hidden dirtiness.

This blessed person sees a disease-strickened-self and is frantically searching to find a cure for the illness.

This, says Mawlana, is the state one must truly be in throughout this Way, until the very end.

No matter how long a person has spend in Tariqah it is not uncommon to ‘fall from Grace’ and be off from this Way.

After some time mureeds might become proud, thinking they have climbed to a better spiritual status than others.

The hundreds of nights leaving their beds for Tahajjud and completing every Wazifa, may cause them to be more filthy than when they first started, due to pride and arrogance.

Sadly, such is the trait of Iblis alayhi laqnat. Despite all his years of worshipping, he thought himself better than Sayyidina Adam alayhi salam.

Don’t be fooled! Remember that all goodness comes from Allah’s ﷻ Generosity and never from ourselves.

Mawlana reminds us, ‘Be as the day you joined this Way.’

Keep looking at the internal diseases of disobedience to Allah ﷻ and be focused on this terrible illness.

As one fears death nearing when a medical test shows a terminal illness, so too should one fear death of the spiritual heart that cannot feel and taste the pleasures of worshipping.

Revive and prepare the heart for its ultimate return to The Owner. At the end, a golden, pure heart is all Allah ﷻ will want to See.

Look at yourself and see everyday tests as an indicator for hidden diseases. The anger, jealousy, envy and all vileness within oneself, will surface from tests during interactions with families, colleagues and the community in daily life.

Be focused on these and transform your life to find cure for the illnesses before death arrives.

Clean and polish the heart with constant istighfar (repentance), zikrullah (remembrance of Allah ﷻ) and salawat (salutations upon Holy Prophetﷺ) in preparation for our return.

“Humankind are always in sin and the best of them are those always in repentance.”- Hadees

May Allah ﷻ grant us a good ending, completely forgive our sins and honour us to return to Him ﷻ with a golden heart, qalbun saleem, with the firm handhold of our Shaykh.