to straighten the shoes
that were really filthy and
dirty and he would pick
up the clean shoes. The
shaykh thought, he still
needs a lot of work on
him. So the next day, the
shaykh said, I want the
dirtiest shoes picked by
hand in the front row and
then the other ones.
If there is arrogance in our
character, they know how
to take it out. They know
what is wrong in our
character and gradually
they will remove it. This
comes from khidmah.
They might tell you to do
certain things which you
do not like. It is hard on
your nafs (lower self ) but
because you take a shaykh as your teacher then of
course you obey him. And even unwillingly you
will do it. So sometimes you do not even do what
your parents tell you, but what your teacher tells
you, you do it. So that is why we need to take a
teacher because he will train you.
So, what will happen? Gradually, the good
character will come inside you. When you will
start doing it in front of your mashaikh, you will
start doing it in front of other people as well.
When we will show khidmah to them, we will
show khidmah to the creation of Allah . When
we lower ourselves in front of them, we lower
ourselves in front of everybody else as well. And
it will gradually bring the goodness of character
in us. This is the whole idea behind the science of
purification. This is tasawwuf.
Tasawwuf is to build good character and that
is what our mashaikh struggle day and night to
do. Why? They are not
getting anything out of
it. Why? For me and
you! That our hearts
can be beautified.
Prophet said, “A
person who has even
an atom’s weight of
arrogance
cannot
smell the fragrance of
Paradise even when the
fragrance of Paradise
can be smelled from
miles and miles away.”
The mashaikh work
on us, they make us
humble. They will
forcefully work on us
and at the end of the
day we are benefitting.
We will get pure hearts
and this is what we have
to strive for. We are lucky that today we do not
have to go far to find mashaikh. We should take
benefit from them, let them work on our hearts.
Talk about your issues, your shaykh will work on
it. He will try to take the evil out of the character
and maintain the balance and the equilibrium.
Then InshaAllah we will be amongst those who
are considered to be the Siddiqeen. Allah has
mentioned about the siddiqeen,
َّ
َّ
َ
َ َف ُأوَل ِئك َم َع ال ِذ� َأ ْن َعم الل ع َل يْ�م ِم
ي نَ َ ُ َ ِ ْ ن
ََّ نَ ّ ِ نَ ُّ َ ِ َّ ِ ِ ن
�الن ِب ِّي ي� َوالص ِّديق ي� َوال�ش َداء َوالصال ي
ِ
With those whom Allah has blessed, namely,
the Prophets, the Siddiqin, the Shuhada’ and the
righteous.(4:69)
The Prophets and the siddiqeen are together in
Paradise. This is what these people get, to be on
47 NISBAH