Of Humility and Humbleness

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

Maulana Sheikh Nazimق’s Suhbah

What is the best and most beloved attribute of a servant to his Lord, Allah Almighty? What is it that Allah Almighty loves to see in His servants?

Recently, a Swami (Hindu priest) came to visit us. He came very humbly, asking for nothing and never expecting any respect from our community. His Holiness, the Swami, was behaving as if he were a guilty person, as though he had done something wrong. Such was his humility.

I was watching him. He entered in a very simple and modest manner, just looking for a place to sit. He was so humble, not like some of us. Our egos are not like that of His Holiness. We are always asking to be respected. Our egos always try to take the first place, never the second.

The Swami had spent thirty years striving to be humble and had now reached that point. He did not seek respect from anyone and was content even if he was not accepted as the first one. This is a very good attribute, which Allah Almighty loves. It is also an attribute of the Awliyas (Saints).

When the call to prayer (Azan) was made, this person was far away. He waited until all the people had entered the mosque before coming in. He joined the prayer at the very end of the line and quietly left after the prayer was over. Yet he was so happy that Allah Almighty had opened the doors of the mosque to him and had accepted him.

Many people think and claim that they are very important people, perhaps even famous in the East and West. But in front of Allah Almighty, they have no value, not even as much as a mosquito’s wing. As I said, this person was so grateful to enter the mosque. He knew there were others who were unable to do so. He was also thanking Allah Almighty for covering his faults from His servants, who, had they known the truth of his ego, might have thrown him out.

He was thinking that if people knew of his bad actions, they would not have allowed him to stay. So he was thankful to be accepted, even if it meant praying in the last row of the Jamaah (congregation). He was not expecting to pray in the first row, nor was he expecting to be acknowledged or respected. That is one of the best characteristics of a servant of Allah Almighty.

Everyone should think, “Oh my Lord, please conceal my bad actions from Your servants.”

There was a Grandsheikh named Abu Ahmad as-Sughuriق, who was the Grandsheikh of our Grandsheikh’s Grandsheikh, Sheikh Sharafuddin ad-Daghestaniق. He was a Qutb (leader) for thirty-seven years. No ordinary person could carry such a heavy responsibility for so long. Allah Almighty gave him the power to look at every creature throughout every continent and ocean, and he was given the power to look after them. Yet he remained such a humble person.

He used to say, “If people knew about my ego as I know it, they would throw me out of their houses and pelt me with stones and rubbish.” It was through this humility that he reached the Divine Presence. He was humble because he was a Qutb, and this is one of the attributes of a Qutb.

The biggest and thickest veil between the Lord and His servant is when the servant gives value to himself. Our Grandsheikh once spoke about a saint named Abdul Qadir Omar ibn Safarق. He was an Aashiq, one who loved the Prophet deeply. He refused to give himself any value, not even the worth of a single penny. He used to say that if he placed even that much value on himself, he might have to bear very great burdens. So he gave himself no value at all.

There is another story about a Grandsheikh who lived in Bukhara, Samarqand, near present-day Uzbekistan. When the Mongols invaded, they took all the people as prisoners, and this Grandsheikh was captured by a soldier. As they traveled, many people came to offer their respects to the Sheikh. The soldier began to think, “This Sheikh must be a great man. I could sell him for a large sum of money.”

One man came and offered ten thousand rupees for the Sheikh, but the Sheikh said, “That is not my price.” The soldier then assumed that the Sheikh’s value must be even greater. More people came offering larger and larger sums of money, and the Sheikh continued to say, “That is not my price.” This went on from morning till evening.

At the end of the day, the Sheikh was walking while the soldier rode beside him. A man came carrying a bag of straw on his shoulder and said, “I will give this bag of straw in exchange for the Sheikh.” The Sheikh immediately accepted and said, “That is my price.” The man took the Sheikh and handed the bag of straw to the soldier.

Since the soldier had promised to accept whatever price the Sheikh named, he had to keep his word. Though he was furious at losing the Sheikh for a bag of straw, his horse was very happy!

When a person comes closer to Allah Almighty, the greatness of Allah Almighty makes him disappear. For example, when you look at the Sun, you are not able to see anything else.

The Awliyas are at this level, this level of humility. They vanish before the greatness of Allah Almighty, and never place value on themselves.

In the same way, the Swami was a very humble person. He acted as though he were on trial, as if he were a guilty man. Meanwhile, other people behaved as if they were very important. They were asking, “Who is this man? He is dirty. He is a kafir, a Hindu. We are Muslims, are we not more important?”

This is not good adab (manners). He came with humility, lowering himself through his humbleness. That is true good manners.

You must keep adab, good manners, with other people. Do not place yourself on a high level or look down on anyone. There are many different kinds of people in this world, and humility is a virtue for everyone. You must be humble.

May Allah grant us the gift of good adab, for we are truly in great need of it.

Al-Fatiha.

• Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqaniق

Originally taken from ‘Mercy Oceans – Emeralds of Eden’.

With love and intention, parts of this Sohbah have been carefully revised by SufiHub.com for clarity and contextual relevance.

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Wassalam.