Sitting with an Ignorant Faqir

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

Shaykh ‘Ali al-Jamal ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Umrani (q.s.) said, in his book, “Know that the seeker of Allah does not draw near to Allah by anything like his sitting with a gnostic of Allah if he finds him.  If he does not find him, he must remember Allah night and day, standing and sitting, while in retreat from the people of this world by not sitting with them, speaking to them, or looking at them because they are an encroaching poison.  Nothing puts someone far from Allah like sitting with an ignorant faqir.  The ignorant faqir is a thousand times worse than the heedless common person.  Sitting with a gnostic is better than retreat, and retreat is better than sitting with the heedless common people.  Sitting with a heedless common person is better than sitting with the ignorant faqir.  There is nothing in existence which blackens the heart of the murid like sitting with the ignorant faqir.  Just as the gnostic of Allah can join the slave to his Master with a glance or a word, so the faqir who is ignorant of Allah can ruin the relationship of a murid with his Master by a glance, a word or more.  May Allah have Mercy on Shaykh al-Majdzub, who said, ‘Sitting with other than the good is base, even if you are pure.’”