HADHRAT
SIRRI SAQTI (rahmatullaah alayhi)
"One
should devote one's time in worship when one is in the prime
of youth."
Saints
- friends of Allah forgotten lessons on different aspects of
life. They lead an exemplary life. They strived constantly to
improve the mental and spiritual level of people. Here we
present, in brief, the life sketch of one such saint.
This
is a saying of a great saint Hazrat Sirri Saqti (Rahmatullaahi
Alayh). He was a merchant and resided at the back of his shop.
There was a curtain between the front and the back portion of
the shop. He used to offer one thousand raka'at Nawaafil
(voluntary prayers) every day in the back portion of the shop.
Once
as he was busy praying, a man came to see him. The man was
from Mount Lagaam. He greeted the saint and conveyed the
greetings of a saint who was at Mount Lagaam. Hazrat Sirri
Saqti (Rahmatullahi Alaih) returned the greetings of the man
and also that of the saint from Mount Lagaam and said,
"To worship by cutting off oneself from the people is the
work of dead person. Living ones are those who mingle with
people and do remembrance of the Almighty Allah.
An
honest businessman, Hazrat Sirri saqti carried out his
business at a very low profit. Once someone purchased almonds
from him for sixty dinaars. Suddenly the prices shot up. The
broker wanted to increase the prices but the saint refused to
do so. "I have given my word and will not go against it,'
the saint said.
Once
fire broke out in the market of Baghdad. All the shops were
gutted except Hazrat Saqti's (Rahmatullahi Alaih) shop. In
thanksgiving to Allah, he gave away all that was in the shop
in charity.
Once
people asked him, "How did you escalate to such a high
rank?"
He
replied, "Once Hazrat Habib Ra'aee came to see me. There
was an orphan with him. The saint told me to buy clothes for
the child. I obeyed his order and the saint prayed for me,
'May the Almighty Allah escalate you to such a rank that you
consider the worldly things as your enemies.' On his prayers
the Almighty Allah escalated me to a high rank."
He
used to say, "I watch my face in the mirror just to find
out whether it has turned black or not because of sins."
Once
he said, "How I wish all the pains, grief and anguish of
the entire world should be given to me so that all the people
get relief from them."
In
a gathering he was delivering a speech. The subject of the
speech was 'Although none of the creatures are weaker than the
human beings, yet a human being goes on committing great
sins'. A great officer of the state, also present in the
gathering, was so much impressed by it that he gave up his job
and got engrossed in worshipping.
The
saint said, "Except these five things every thing else is
worthless. 1. Food - only to sustain life; 2. Water - only to
quench thirst; 3. Clothing - only to cover the body; 4. House
- only to reside, and 5. Knowledge - only for deeds."
Once
he said, "Keep yourself away from wealthy neighbour,
commercialised reciters of the Holy Qur'aan and rich learned
men."
Once
he said, "A sin committed under the influence of desire
can be forgiven but a sin committed due to pride and
haughtiness is unforgivable, because the slip of Hazrat Adam (Alayhis
salam) was under the influence of desire and the disobedience
of Satan was due to pride and conceit."
Some
of his sayings:
"There
are very few persons who do not contradict in their action and
speech."
"Everything
of the world becomes obedient to him who is obedient to the
Almighty Allah."
"The
condition of a person's heart can be guessed through his face
and speech."
"The
mystic one having intimate knowledge of Allah is; The one who
eats less, sleep less and takes less rest The one who is like
a shining sun illuminating everything. Like earth, which
carries the load of everything. Like a light, which shows the
way to everyone. Like water, which gives refreshing life to
the heart.
Good
mannered one who does not trouble people but bears patiently
the troubles given to him by people and to have control over
anger is also a part of good manner."
Divine
Path – vol.2 no.4
Last modified:
July 19, 2007
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