Hazrat Sahal bin Abdullah Tastari رحمه الله once whilst addressing his disciples said; “One will not attain accomplishment (in the spiritual realm) as long as one does not imbue within oneself one of the two attributes:
- He becomes oblivious of the entire creation, and his focus is only on Allah Ta‘ala جل جلاله.
- His Nafs becomes contemptible to him. He remains completely unconcerned of whatever opinion people have of him. He sees none but Allah Ta’ala جل جلاله.
(SOURCE: THE SAADIQEEN)
REFLECTIONS
It is vital for spiritual development that we remain unconcerned about the opinions of people. Many of us become worried about hurting the hearts of others but ultimately, in looking after the opinions of others, we trample upon the laws of Shariah. We can relate to the excesses in our weddings. We have been exhorted in Shariah to have simple weddings and avoid extravagance. But we feel we know better and have lavish functions to look after the hearts of people. In this madness, so many laws of Shariah are violated. We need to remind ourselves that the wealth that we have is a trust from Allah Ta‘ala جل جلاله. We cannot use our wealth according to our flimsy opinions but rather we need to spend within the parameters of our Deen. We are required to abandon our opinions and submit to the demands of our Shariah. This is the yardstick of success. May Allah Ta’ala جل جلاله guide us! آمين