Nisbah Magazine Nisbah, Winter 2013 | Page 17

8. Accepting the apology of someone who has wronged you. 9. Choosing moderation in everything. 10. Staying away from worthless pursuits. he T gist of the above is to neither cause harm to others nor to cause them pain. Remember that there is no return once milk has spoiled, nor can a jewel be put back together once broken. Hazrat Junayd al-Baghdadi v used to say that he preferred the company of a wrongdoer who had good etiquette over an ‘aalim hat (scholar) who had bad etiquette. T is why I say that neither the Creator nor His creation is pleased with someone who has bad he etiquette. T salik (seeker) who considers spiritual training to be complete simply with the completion of his litany is ignorant; both the dhikr (remembrance) of his heart and the dhikr of his tongue are faulty. His outward appearance may coincide with the testimony of faith, but internally he has nothing but darkness. One with a bad attitude and bad manners will never attain anything even if he joins himself with the most able shaykh (spiritual guide). He has lost everything because of his habits. Character should be moderate, but not vile. Such a traveller, (on the path of spirituality) will never be accepted. Considering all of this, thinking about the blessings of Paradise seems like a distant matter. Was-salam ma`al-ikram, Faqir Zulfiqar Ahmad Naqshbandi Mujaddidi 17 NISBAH