HADRAT IMÂM-I RABBÂNÎ

We shall quote a few of the sayings that emanated from Imâm-i- Ahmad Rabbânî’s ‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ sirrah-ul’azîz’ blessed heart and were expressed through his blessed pen’s tongue:

• What camouflages the Awliyâullâh ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ alaihim ajma’în’ from others’ sight, and prevents them from being identified, is their human properties. These people need what other people need. Being Awliyâ will not exempt them from this need.
• Allâhu ta’âlâ has concealed His Walî born slaves in such a way that their own zâhir (physical senses) are unaware of the perfections in their hearts, nonetheless for others’ identifying them.
• Yâ Rabbî (o my Allah)! What a mystery it is that Thou hast made them Awliyâ (beloved born slaves) for Thine Self. Their bâtin (hearts) are like nectars. A person who tastes one tiny drop of them will find endless life and attain eternal felicity. Their outward appearances, on the other hand, are like fatal poison. He who evaluates them only by looking at their outward appearances will end up in eternal death.
• Man’s creation is intended for him to do his duties as a born slave. The highest of the ranks of Wilâyat is the rank of ’abdiyyat (being a born slave). There is no rank above it.
• The word ‘riyâzat’ (mortification) has meant ‘subjecting oneself to hunger’, ‘fasting’ to (most) people. However, steady strictness about eating as much as our religion prescribes is more difficult and more useful than performing supererogatory fast for thousands of years.
• If delicious, sweet food is offered to a person and if he eats as much of it as our religion prescribes and leaves the rest though he has appetite and wishes to eat it all, this abstention of his is a powerful way of riyâzat and it is much better than the other methods of riyâzat.