Refuge of the Broken Hearted

The Muslim society in the time of Abdul Qaadir could broadly be divided into two classes. The first of these comprised the men of substance who were deficient in faith and virtuous behaviour. As against this, there was another class, poverty-stricken and downtrodden, but endowed with faith and a spirit of righteousness, moral strength and uprightness. These people, sometimes, feeling disconcerted and broken-hearted, viewed the affluent with jealousy and mistrust, and regarded themselves as deprived and discarded. Abdul Qaadir holds out hope and cheer to these people in one of his sermons. He says:

'O` Empty-handed beggardly fellows, the world would appear to be at loggerheads with you; you are barefooted, unclothed and unfed, broken hearted and ill-starred, evicted from every place and deprived of your longings and fancies. But do not say that Allah has reduced you to poverty, turned the world against you, abandoned, maligned or persecuted you, did not assign the portion of earthly pleasures due to you, or did not bestow honour and fame upon you. Nor is it proper for you to complain that Allah has granted his favours to others, made them reputed and honoured, although they belong to the same faith as you do and are the progeny of Adam and Eve like you.

'It is really so because you are like a fertile land on which Allah is sending down the rains consisting of endurance and resignation, conviction and faith, knowledge and grace. The tree of your faith is taking roots, sprouting forth its branches, its shade closing over you, pushing out new shoots and fruits, getting higher and bigger without your providing any fertiliser to it. Allah Almighty knows what you really need. He had, therefore, assigned a befitting place for you in the Hereafter. He has made you a lord in the life-to-come where His bounties are countless, inconceivable and unheard of. As Allah has said, nobody knows what delights have been stored for your eyes in the Paradise. This shall be your recompense for the faithful performance of what has been enjoined unto you, and your endurance, resignation and submission to the will of Allah.

'As for those who have been well-afforded in this world, they have been placed in easy circumstances for they are like a barren land, rocky and sandy, which neither stores nor absorbs the rains, and it is difficult to implant the tree of faith in it. It has, therefore, to be provided with fertilisers so that the weak saplings of their faith may get nourishment and push out the shoots of righteous actions. Thus, if the wealth, honour and fame are taken away from them, the tree of their faith shall waste away and its leaves and fruits shall wither although Allah intends to make it strong. Therefore, my poor brethren, you ought to know that the faith of the wealthy does not have deeper roots, it lacks that strength which has been endowed to you, and it needs the riches and earthly prizes for its nourishment. If these gifts were to be taken away from them, their faith will give place to blasphemy and they shall join the ranks of infidels, apostates and hypocrites, unless, of course, Allah bestows on them spiritual light and illumination, endurance and resignation to strengthen their faith.'

Hazrat Abdul Qadir Jilani
by Ml. Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi [ra]