The Comfort of Zuhd

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is extracted from Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani’s (q.s.) Jila’ al-Khathir. 

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani  (q.s.) said zuhd, abstinence, is what gives comfort to the hearts of obedient abstainers.  The burden of abstinence is borne by the physical constitution.  The burden of ma’rifah, intimate knowledge, is borne by the heart.  The burden of nearness to the Lord is borne by the sir, innermost being.  We must be abstinent, be satisfied, and be grateful.  We should be pleased with our Lord, and do not be pleased with ourselves.  We should think well of other people, give up thinking the worst of other people, and not hold a high opinion of ourselves.  We should refrain from gratifying the desires of the flesh, for the effects of such restraint are healing and purifying to the heart.  To satisfy one’s appetite for lawful food is quite enough to blur the perception of the heart and render it intoxicated, so how about the influence of food that is actually unlawful?  This explains the following saying of the Prophet (s.a.w.), “al-‘imya ra’su ad-dawa’,” “The right diet is the main part of all medical treatment.”  

We must accustom every physical body to what is normal for it, since in these three Arabic words the Prophet (s.a.w.) was making a collective statement applicable to all bodies.  Gluttony extinguishes perspicacity, miswbah al-hikmah, the lamp of wisdom, and nur al-wilayah, the light of sainthood.  As long as we are still attached to this world and to our fellow creatures, we must keep to the proper diet, because we are in the hospital.  But once our heart has attained to the Lord of Truth, the matter will be in His Hands.  He will Take Charge of us completely, while we will be out of a job.  How could He fail to take us into His Care, when we have become worthy of Him?  As He Says: 

سُوۡرَةُ الاٴعرَاف

إِنَّ وَلِـِّۧىَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى نَزَّلَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ‌ۖ وَهُوَ يَتَوَلَّى ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ (١٩٦) 

“For my Protector is Allah, Who Revealed the Book, (from time to time) and He will Choose and Befriend the righteous. (Surah al-A’araf:196)