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40 Days with
the Perfect Teacher
A Sohbet with Hazrat Ali Hajvery

Selected and Translated by F.J Khan

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 A Project of

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First Printed in 2020

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Content

Foreword 6

About Hazrat Ali Hajvery 8

Day 1 to Day 40 12 - 91

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 Foreword

None can escape heat and light in the presence

of the sun. Similarly, when you read the works of
Awliya Allah (the friends of Allah) and connect with
them, you are bound to receive what they have, that is,
Divine Light, Love and Knowledge. “40 Days with the
Perfect Sheikh: A Sohbet with Hazrat Ali Hajvery ” is
an opportunity to receive guidance, love and wisdom
from the teacher of teachers. Just like the other books
in this series, the objective of this work is to help the
modern readers learn the sublime teachings of the
blessed master. This is not a mere book rather a
sohbet, a meeting with a prominent descendant of the
Beloved Prophet . We call it sohbet or meeting, as
when you are reading a book you get spiritual
attention of Awliya Allah in addition to learning about
their teachings.

While many people visit his shrine and know of

his prominent position in the world of Islam, few are
aware of the teachings of Hazrat Ali Hajvery .
The reason is perhaps that his major work, Kashaf-ul -
Mahjoob, in Persian, so far is only available in
traditional translations which are not very easy to
comprehend due to the complexities of ideas as well
as the difficulty of expressions used by translators. We
have made an effort to bring the gems closer to the
masses by providing simpler translation and format

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so that everyone can get a chance to benefit from his
immense knowledge and marvelous experiences.

I would like to thank Allah and His Beloved ‫ﷺ‬

for providing me with this supreme opportunity to
bring forth of one of the most important works of
knowledge and wisdom for the present-day readers
who are looking for simpler and quicker solutions. I
hope and pray that this work benefits the readers in
its true sense. May Allah forgive any slips that might
have been made during this sacred task! Ameen.

F.J. Khan

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 About Hazrat Ali Hajvery

Hazrat Ali Hajvery is one of the most

important figures to have spread Islam in the Indian
subcontinent. Born in Ghazni, Afghanistan, the 11th
century esteemed sufi came to Lahore following the
instructions of his teacher, Hazrat Abul Fazzal
Ghaznavi , to establish Islam. Being a direct
descendant of Prophet Muhammad through his
father who was a direct descendant of Imam Hassan
ibn Ali , the beloved sheikh holds a special place in
the world of Islam.

The Kashaf-ul-Mahjoob (Unveiling the Veiled)

is one of his most famous works. It is considered the
"earliest formal book" on Sufism in Persian.

After having completed his formal studies,

Hazrat Ali Hajvery travelled extensively to
acquire knowledge from well-known scholars as well
as to pay homage to various sufis. He travelled for
forty years to places including Syria, Iraq, Persia,
Kohistan, Azerbaijan, Tabaristan, Kerman, and
Khorasan.

“I have met over three hundred saints in Khorasan

alone who had such mystical endowments
that a single one of them
would have be enough for the whole world.”

In matters of jurisprudence, he belonged to the

Hanafi school of thought while for his Sufi training, he
followed Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi .His resting
place in Lahore, Pakistan, Data Darbar, is visited by
thousands of Muslims and Non-Muslims from around

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the world every day. Langer (free food distribution),
just like other dergahs, is a norm at his shrine.

It is believed that Hazrat Ali Hajvery’s

title “Data Ganj Baksh” is derived from the famous
verse by Hazrat Khawaja Moin-ud-Din Chisti
who, upon the completion of his Chilla (forty-day
retreat) at Hazrat Ali Hajvery’s shrine,
exclaimed:

Ganj Baksh Faiz-e-Alam Mazahar Noor-e-Khuda,

Nakisan Ra PirKamil, Kamilan Ra Rahnuma!

(The Giver of Bounties, the Benefactor of the World,

Manifestation of the Light of Allah,
To the Imperfect, a Perfect Spiritual Guide,
and to the Perfect, a Guide!)

While he is referred to as “Data Ganj Baksh” (the giver

of bounties) for centuries, the humble friend of Allah
writes in his book Kashaf-ul-Asrar:

“While people call you Ganj Baksh, do not let this

thought enter your heart or else it would be nothing
but pride and assertion. Ganj Baksh, the Giver of
treasures is only He; so do not indulge in shirk
otherwise you will be ruined.
No doubt He is alone, and has no partner.”

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The highest pinnacle of knowledge
is expressed in the fact that
without it none can know Allah.
(Hazrat Ali Hajvery )

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 Day 1

Seek Refuge from Useless Knowledge

The Prophet said:

“I take refuge with Allah from knowledge
that is not beneficial.”

Why You Seek Knowledge?

Hazrat Ibrahim bin Adham saw a stone

on which was written,
“Turn me over and read!”
When he turned it over, he found this inscription:
“You do not practice what you know;
why, then, do you seek what you don’t know?”

Knowledge Should Not Be Separated From Action

Much may be done by means of a little knowledge.

Knowledge should not be separated from action.
Unless action is combined with knowledge,
it is not deserving of recompense.

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 Day 1

Donkey Turning a Mill

The Prophet said:

”The devotee without the knowledge of religion
is like a donkey turning a mill,”
because the donkey goes round and round over its own
tracks and never makes any advance.

Knowledge is Essential
For Acting Rightly

Knowledge is immense and life is short:

so it is not obligatory to learn all the sciences such as
Astronomy, Medicine and Arithmetic etc., but only those
and that much which are essential for religious law:
enough medicine to abstain from what is injurious,
enough arithmetic to understand the division of
inheritances and to calculate the duration of the idda, etc.
Knowledge is obligatory only in so far
as is required for acting rightly.

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 Day 2

What is Love?

Muhabbat (love) is said to be derived from hibbat,

which are seeds that fall in the desert.
The name hubb (love) was given to such desert seeds
(hibb), because love is the source of life just as seeds are
the origin of plants.
As when the seeds are scattered in the desert they
become hidden in the earth and rain falls upon them
and the sun shines upon them and cold
and heat pass over them,
yet they are not corrupted by the changing seasons,
but grow up and bear flowers and give fruit,
so love when it takes its dwelling in the heart,
is not corrupted by presence or absence,
by pleasure or pain by separation or union.

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 Day 2

Effacement of the Lover

Hazat AbuI Qasim says:

"Love is the effacement of the lover's attributes
and the establishment of the Beloved's essence."

Who is a Sufi?

Hazrat Shibli said:

“The Sufi is he that sees nothing
expect Allah in the two worlds.”

Absorbed in the Beloved

One of the sheikhs says:

“He that is purified by love is pure,
and he that is absorbed in the Beloved
and has abandoned all else is a ‘Sufi’.”

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 Day 3

Outward and Inward Purification

He who wants to serve Allah must purify himself

outwardly with water,
and he who wants to come closer to Allah
must purify himself inwardly with repentance.

Where is Your Inward Purity?

One day Hazrat Shibli purified himself

with the intention of entering the mosque.
He heard a voice cry:
"You have washed your outward self,
but where is your inward purity?"
He turned back and gave away all that he possessed,
and during a year he put on no more clothes
than were necessary for prayer.
Then he came to Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi ,
who said to him:
"O Abu Bakr! That was a very beneficial purification
which you have performed;
may Allah always keep you purified!"

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 Day 3

A Quality of Perfection

To see one’s fault is a quality of perfection,

and is characteristic of those
who are in the Divine presence
(prophets and saints).
The Prophet said:
“When Allah wishes a man well,
he gives him insight into his faults.”

Who is Faqir?

The Fakir (poor man) is not he whose hand is empty of

provisions, but he whose nature is empty of desires.

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 Day 4

Inward and Outward Purification

Outward and inward purification must go together.

When a man washes his hands,
he must wash his heart clean of worldliness,
and when he puts water in his mouth,
he must purify his mouth
from the mention of other than Allah,
and when he washes his face he must turn away from all
familiar objects and turn towards Allah,
and when he wipes his head,
he must resign his affairs to Allah,
and when he washes his feet,
he must not form the intention of taking his stand
on anything except according to the command of Allah.

How to Fly in the Air?

Hazrat Zul Nun said:

"l saw a man flying through the air,
and asked him how he had attained to this degree.
He answered: 'l set my feet on passion
and that helped me ascend into the air’."

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 Day 4

Lower Self – A Mouse

Sheikh AbuI Qasim saw his lower self

in the shape of a mouse and asked
“Who are you?'
It answered: I am the destruction of the heedless,
for I urge them to evil
and the salvation of those who love Allah,
for if I were not with them in my corruption
they would be puffed up with pride in their purity."

Mosque or Church

One whose every act depends on passion,

and who finds satisfaction in following it,
is far from Allah although he be with you in a mosque;
but one who has renounced
and abandoned it is near to Allah
although he be in a church.

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 Day 5

Our Abode is Transitory

Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadiq said:

“Our abode is transitory,
our life is but a loan,
and our breaths are numbered.”

A Mad House

Hazrat Abu Ali Al Fazal said:

“The world is a mad house,
and the people are madmen,
wearing shackles and chains.”
Lust is our shackle and sin is our chain.

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 Day 5

A Place Where Dogs Gather

Hazrat Abul Hassan Ahmed said:

"This world is a dunghill and a place where dogs gather;
and one who lingers there is less than a dog,
for a dog takes what he wants from it and goes,
but the lover of the world
never departs from it or leaves it ever."

The Food of Dervish

Hazrat Abu Turab said:

"The food of the dervish is what he finds,
and his clothing is what covers him,
and his dwelling place is wherever he finds it"
It means he does not choose his own food
or his own dress or make a home for himself.

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 Day 6

Forty Days Fasts

The forty-day fasts (chilla) of the sufis

are derived from the fast of Hazrat Moosa .
When the saints desire to hear
the word of Allah spiritually,
they remain fasting for forty days.
After forty days, Allah speaks to their hearts
because whatever the prophets enjoy openly,
the saints may enjoy secretly.

The Food, Clothing and Dwelling of Dervish

The food of the dervish is ecstasy,

his clothing is piety,
and his dwelling place is the Unseen.

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 Day 6

Two Kinds of Retirement

Retirement is of two sorts:

Firstly ‘turning one’s back on mankind’
and secondly, ‘complete separation from them’.
‘Turning back on mankind’ consists in
choosing a solitary retreat,
renouncing the society externally,
and contemplating your faults,
and in making all people secure from your evil actions.
But ‘separation from mankind’ in a spiritual state,
which is not external.
When a person is separated from humankind in spirit,
he knows nothing of created beings.
Such a person although he is living among the people,
is isolated from them
and his spirit dwells apart from them.
This is a very exalted station.

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 Day 7

Best Deed

Hazrat Malik Bin Dinar said:

“The deed that I love best is sincerity in doing,”
because an action becomes
an action in virtue of its sincerity.
Sincerity bears the same relation to
an action as the spirit to the body:
as the body without spirit is a lifeless thing,
so an action without sincerity is entirely unsubstantial.

Safety of Religion

Hazrat Saad bin Mussayab said:

“Be content with a little of this world
While your religion is safe,
even as some are content with much
while their religion is lost.”
So poverty without injury to religion is better
than riches with heedlessness.

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 Day 7

Do Not Let Your Wife and Children

be Your Chief Cares

Someone asked Hazrat Ali to give him an advice.

He replied:
“Do not let your wife and children
be your chief cares;
for if they be friends of Allah,
Allah will look after His friends,
and if they are enemies of Allah,
why should you take care of Allah’s enemies?”

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 Day 8

The Value of Hunger

Hazrat Abu Yazid was asked

why he praised hunger so highly.
He answered: "Because if Pharaoh had been hungry
he would not have said, 'l am your Supreme Lord,’
and if Qarun had been hungry
he would not have been rebellious."

Child’s Play

To abstain only from food and drink is child's play.

One must abstain from idle pleasures and unlawful acts,
not (only) from eating lawful food.

Worth of a Food Lover

Hazart Shaffi says:

"He who thinks about that which goes into his belly
is worth only that which comes out of it."

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 Day 8

Two Pieces of Bread

Hazrat AbuI Abbas said:

"My obedience and disobedience
depend on two pieces of bread:
when I eat, I find in myself the stuff of every sin,
but when I abstain from eating,
I find in myself the foundation of every act of piety."

A Sincere Man

True mystics believe that a sincere man

is only once hungry in forty days;
his hunger merely serves to keep him alive,
and all hunger besides is natural appetite and vanity.

The Seeker

Hazrat Kattani says:

"The seeker sleeps only when
he is overpowered by slumber,
and speaks only when he must,
and eat only when he is starving."

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 Day 9

The Least Degree of Fasting

Fasting is really abstinence,

and this includes the whole method of Sufism (tariqat).
The least degree in fasting is hunger.

True Abstinence

Abstinence involves many obligations

e.g. keeping the belly without food and drink,
and guarding the eye from lustful looks,
and the ear from listening to evil speech
about anyone in his absence,
and the tongue from vain or foul words,
and the body from following after worldly things
and disobedience to Allah.
One who acts in this manner is truly keeping his fast,
for the Prophet said
"When you fast, let your ear fast
and your eye and your tongue
and your hand and every limb."

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 Day 9

Guarding the Dog

Hazrat Ibrahim Khawwas relates:

"Once I heard that in Rum there was a monk
who had been seventy years in a monastery,
I said to myself: 'Wonderful!
Forty years is the term of monastic vows:
what is the state of this man
that he has remained there for seventy years'!
When I went to see him he said to me:
'O Ibrahim, I know why you have come.
I have not stayed here for seventy years
because of monastic vows,
but I have a dog foul with passion,
and I have taken my abode in this monastery for the
purpose of guarding the dog,
and preventing it from doing harm to others.'
On hearing him say this, I exclaimed:
'O Lord. You are able to bestow righteousness on a man
even though he be involved in sheer error!'

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 Day 10

It is Never Too Late to Repent

Once an old man came to Hazrat Shaqiq and said:

"O Sheikh, I have sinned much and now wish to repent,"
Hazrat Shaqiq said:
"You have come late,"
The old man answered:
"No, I have come soon.
Whoever comes before he is dead comes soon,
though he may have been long in coming."

Repentance is a Gift of Allah

Hazrat Abu Hafs says:

"Man has no part in repentance,
because repentance is from Allah to Man
not from Man to Allah."
Repentance is not acquired by Man,
but is one of Allah's gifts.

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 Day 10

Allah’s Mercy

The Prophet said:

"Long ago there was a man who did no good work except
that he pronounced Allah to be One.
When he was dying he said to his friends:
'After my death burn me and gather my ashes
and throw half of them into the sea,
and scatter half of them to the winds of the earth,
that no trace of me maybe left.'
As soon as he died and this was done,
Allah ordered the air and the water to keep the ashes
which they had received until the Resurrection;
and when He raises that man from the dead.
He will ask him why he caused himself to be burnt,
and he will reply:
'O Lord, from shame of You, for I was a great sinner,'
And Allah will pardon him.

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 Day 11

True Sincerity

Hazrat Hasan of Basra said:

“How excellent is he
who takes no thought of his own interest!
So that his patience is for Allah’s sake
not for the saving of himself from Hell;
and his asceticism is for Allah’s sake
not for the purpose of bringing himself into Paradise.
This is the mark of true sincerity.”

One day, Hazrat Bishr Bin Haris was drunk

and found on the road a piece paper
on which was written:
“In the name of Allah, the Compassionate the Merciful.”
He picked it up with respect, perfumed it,
and placed in a clean place.
The same night he dreamed that Allah said to him:
"O Bishr! As you have made My name sweet,
I swear by My glory that I will make your name Sweet
both in this world and the next.”
He repented and took to asceticism.

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 Day 11

Allah’s Pleasure

One evening Hazrat Hassan of Basra

passed by the door of the cell of Hazrat Habib
who was praying.
Hazrat Hassan came in
but didn’t pray under his leadership,
because Hazrat Habib was unable
to speak Arabic fluently and recite the Quran correctly.
The same night, he saw Allah in a dream
and asked Him:
“O Lord! Wherein does Your good pleasure consist?”
Allah answered:
“O Hassan, you found My good pleasure,
but did not know its value: if last night you had
said your prayers after Habib,
and if the rightness of his intention had restrained you
from talking offence at his pronunciation,
I should have been well pleased with you.”

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 Day 12

“Allah, Allah, Allah”

Hazrat Sahl said to one of his disciples:

"Strive to say continuously for one day,
'O Allah! O Allah! O Allah!'
and do the same next day and the day after that”,
until he became habituated to saying those words.
He asked him to repeat it at night also, until it became so
familiar that he uttered “Allah Allah” even during his sleep.
Then he told him “Stop repeating them,
but let all your faculties be engrossed
in remembering Allah".
The disciple did this,
until he became absorbed in the thought of Allah.
One day, when he was in his house,
a piece of wood fell on his head and broke it.
The drops of blood which trickled to the ground
bore "Allah! Allah! Allah!"

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 Day 12

The Stature of the Followers

of the Prophet

Once a sheikh came to see Hazrat Abu Halim Habib .

To offer something to his guest,
he held a bowl under a rock
and two fountains gushed from the rock:
one of milk and one of honey.
“O Sheikh! How did you attain to this degree?” He asked.
Hazrat Abu Halim answered
“By being obedient to Muhammad O my son!
The rock gave water to the people of Moosa ,
although they disobeyed him,
and although Moosa is not
equal in rank to Muhammad :
why should not the rock gave milk and honey to me,
in as much as I am obedient to Muhammad ?”

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 Day 13

Eight Qualities of a Sufi

”Sufism is founded on eight qualities

exemplified in eight prophets:
1. The generosity of Ibrahim who sacrificed his
son.
2. The submission of Isma.eel ,who submitted to
the command of Allah
3. The patience of Ayub ,who patiently endured
the affliction of worms.
4. The symbolism of Zikria , to whom Allah said,
‘You shall not speak to men for three days save by
signs.’
5. The strangerhood of Yahya who was an alien to
his own family.
6. The pilgrimhood of Isa , who was so detached
from worldly things that he kept only a cup and a
comb (the cup he threw away when he saw a man
drinking water in the palm of his hands, and the
comb when he saw another man using his fingers).
7. The wearing of wool by Moosa .
8. The poverty of Muhammad , to whom Allah
send the key of all the treasures but he said:
“O Lord, I don’t desire them; keep me one day full-
fed and one day hungry.”

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 Day 13

The Prayer of Hazrat Abu Bakr

Hazrat Abu Bakr said:

“O Allah, give me plenty of the world
and then also make me eager of renouncing it!”
This saying has a hidden sense:
“First bestow on me worldly goods that
I may give thanks to them,
and then help me to abstain from them for Your sake,
so that I may have the threefold merit
of thanksgiving and liberality and abstinence,
and that my poverty may be voluntary, not compulsory.”

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 Day 14

The Trouble of Giving Zakat

Someone asked Hazrat Shibli

what sum should be given in Zakat.
He replied:
"Where materialism is present and property exists,
It should be given as per the Shariah (Islamic law).
That is according to your principle;
but according to mine,
a man must not possess anything
in which case he will be saved from
the trouble of giving Zakat."
The man asked:
"Whose authority do you follow in this matter?"
He said: "The authority of Hazrat Abu Bakr ,
who gave away all that he possessed,
and on being asked by the Prophet
what he had left behind for his family answered,
‘Allah and His Prophet ’”.

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 Day 14

The Stature of Hazrat Awais Qarni

Hazrat Awais Qarni was considered a madman

who dwelt in solitude and associated with no one.
When others smile he wept,
and when others wept he smiled.
The Prophet said to the Companions:
“There is a man at Qaran, called Awais,
who at the resurrection will intercede
for a huge number of my people,
as many as the sheep of Rabiaa and Mudar (tribes).”

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 Day 15

External and Internal Conditions of Prayer

Allah has commanded us to say five prayers

which involve certain conditions:
1. Purification outwardly from filth and inwardly from
lust.
2. That your outward garment should be clean
and your inner garment free of anything unlawful.
3. The place of wuzu (ablution) should be outwardly
clean and inwardly free from corruptness and sin.
4. Your face should point towards the qibla, the
outward qibla being the Kaaba and the inward
qibla being the Throne of Allah (the mystery of
Divine contemplation).
5. Standing outwardly in the state of power
and inwardly in the proximity to Allah.
6. Sincere intention to approach Allah.
7. Saying "Allah-o-Akbar" in the station of awe and
annihilation.
8. Standing in the abode of union, and reciting the
Quran distinctly and bowing the head with
humility.
9. Prostrating one's self with humility.
10. Saluting with annihilation of one's attributes.

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 Day 15

State of Prayer

When the Prophet prayed,

there was heard within him a sound like
the boiling of a kettle.
And when Hazrat Ali was about to pray
his hair stood on end
and he trembled and said:
"The hour has come to fulfill a trust
which the heavens and the earth were unable to bear!”

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 Day 16

A Night with the Beloved

Hazrat Abdullah bin Mubarak was in love with a girl.

On a winter’s night, he stood
at the foot of the wall of her house,
while she came on to the roof,
and they both stayed gazing at each other
until the day break.
When Abdullah heard to call to the morning prayers
he thought it was time for evening prayers;
and now when the sun began to shine did he discover that
that he had spent the whole night in rapturous
contemplation of his beloved.
He took warning by this, and said to himself:
“Shame on you, O son of Mubarak!
Do you stand on the foot all night for your own pleasure,
and yet get furious when Imam reads
a long chapter of the Quran?”
He repented and entered upon a life of asceticism,
in which he attained such a high degree
that once his mother found him asleep in the garden,
while a great snake was driving the gnats
away from him with a spray of basil
which it held in its mouth.

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 Day 16

Allah Values Every Act

Hazrat Abu Hafs loved a girl and on the advice of his

friends sought help from a certain Jewish magician.
The Jew told him that he must perform no prayers
for forty days and not praise Allah
or do any good deed or form any good intention;
he would then devise a means
to help him gain his desire.
Hazrat Abu Hafs followed his instructions,
and after forty days the Jew made a talisman,
but it proved useless. The magician asked:
"You have undoubtedly done some good deed. Think!"
Hazrat replied that the only good thing that he had done
was to remove a stone which he found on the road lest
someone might stumble on it.
The Jew exclaimed:
"Do not offend that Allah
who has not let such a small act of yours be wasted
though you have neglected His commands for forty days!"
Abu Hafs repented, and the Jew became a Muslim.

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 Day 17

No Interest in Power

When Hazrat Abu Bakr received the oaths of

allegiance as Caliph,
he mounted the pulpit and said:
“By Allah, I never coveted the command nor desired it
even for a day or a night,
nor ever asked Allah for it openly or in secret,
nor do I take any pleasure in having it.”

The Stature of Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal

When the Mutazilites came into power at Baghdad,

they wished to extort from Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal
a confession that the Holy Quran was created,
Though he was a feeble old man
they put him to the rack and gave him a thousand lashes.
In spite of all this he would not say
that the Quran was created.
While he was undergoing punishment
his azar (belt) became untied.
His own hands were fettered,
but another hand appeared and tied it.
Seeing this evidence, they let him go.
He died, however, of the wounds
inflicted on that occasion.

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 Day 17

The Position of the Family of the Prophet

Hazrat Zain ul Abideen said:

“We are in the same position among our people as the
people of Moosa among Pharaoh’s folk,
who slaughtered their sons and took their women alive;
we do not know morning from evening
on account of the reality of our affliction.”

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 Day 18

Trust in Allah

Once there was a famine at Balkh,

and the people were eating one another's flesh.
While all the Muslims were bitterly distressed,
Hazrat Shaqiq saw a young man
laughing in the bazaar.
The people said: "Are not you ashamed to rejoice
when everyone else is mourning?"
He explained: "I have no sorrow.
I am the servant of a man
who owns a village as his private property,
and he has relieved me of all care for my livelihood."
Hazrat Shaqiq exclaimed:
"O Lord Allah, this youth rejoices so much
in having a master who owns a single village,
but You are the King of kings,
and You have promised to give us our daily bread;
and nevertheless we have filled
our hearts with all this sorrow
because we are engrossed with worldly things. '
He turned to Allah
and began to walk in the way of the Truth,
and never troubled himself again about his daily bread.

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 Day 18

Shepherd in Accord with Allah

A certain sheikh relates:

“Once I passed by Hazrat Halim Habib
and found him praying,
while a wolf looked after his sheep.
I decided to pay him a visit due to his lofty station.
I said: “O Sheikh! I see the wolf in accord with the sheep.
Why so?” He replied:
“That is because the shepherd is in accord with Allah.”

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 Day 19

Four Things to Know

Hazrat Hatim said:

“I have chosen four things to know,
and have discarded rest of the knowledge.”
“Firstly, I know that my daily bread is allotted to me,
and will neither be increased nor decrease;
So I have ceased trying to increase it.
Secondly, I know that I owe to Allah a debt
which no other person can pay instead of me;
so I am occupied with paying it.
Thirdly, I know that there is one pursuing me (death)
from whom I cannot escape;
so I have prepared myself to meet him.
Fourthly, I know that Allah is observing me;
so I am ashamed to do what I must not.”

48
 Day 19

Why the Sayings of Earlier Muslims

were More Beneficial

On being asked why

the sayings of the early Muslims were more beneficial than
those of his contemporaries to men's hearts,
Hazrat Abu Salih replied:
“Because their words were for the glory of Islam
and the salvation of souls
and the satisfaction of the Merciful Allah,
whereas we speak for the glory of ourselves
and the quest of worldly gain
and the favor of mankind."

49
 Day 20

Two Classes of Men

Hazrat Abul Sari Mansur said:

"There are two classes of men:
those who have need of Allah
— and they hold the highest rank
from the standpoint of the sacred law —
and those who pay no regard to their need of Allah,
because they know that Allah has provided for their
livelihood and death and life and happiness and misery:
they need Allah alone,
and having him are independent of all else."
The former, through seeing their own need,
are veiled from seeing the Divine providence
whereas the latter through not seeing their own need,
are unveiled and independent.
The former enjoy extreme happiness,
but the latter enjoy the Giver (Allah) of happiness.

50
 Day 20

Seeing Allah in Everything

Hazrat Muhammad Bin Wasi said:

“I never saw anything without seeing Allah therein.”
This is an advance stage of contemplation.
When a man is overcome with love for the Agent,
he attains to such a degree
that in looking at His act he does not see the act
but the agent only and entirely,
just as when one looks at a picture
and sees only the painter.
The true meaning of these words
is the same as in the saying of Ibrahim ,
who said to the sun and moon and stars:
“This is my Lord”,
for he was then overcome with longing
so that the qualities of his beloved appeared to him
in everything that he saw.

51
 Day 21

Sobriety and Intoxication

Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi said:

“Sobriety denotes soundness of one's spiritual state
in relation to Allah
while intoxication denotes excess of longing
and extremity of love,
and neither of them can be acquired by human effort.”

52
 Day 21

Intoxication

It is related that Hazrat Yahya Bin Muaz

wrote to Hazrat Bayazid Bistami :
"What do you say of one who drinks a single drop of the
ocean of love and becomes intoxicated?"
Hazrat Bayazid replied:
"What do you say of one who, if all the oceans in the world
were filled with the wine of love,
would drink them all
and still cry for more to quench his thirst?"
The man of sobriety is he
who is unable to drink even one drop,
and the man of intoxication is he
who drinks all and still desires more.

53
 Day 22

No Tranquility for Sufi

Hazrat Abdullah Bin Mubarak said:

“Tranquility is unlawful to the heart of the saint of Allah,”
for they are agitated in this world by seeking Allah
and in the next world by rapture;
they are not permitted to rest here,
while they are absent from Allah, nor there,
while they enjoy the presence,
manifestation, and vision of Allah.

54
 Day 22

Contemplation in Heart

Hazrat Muhammad Bin Alfazal said:

"l wonder at those who seek His temple in this world:
why do not they seek
contemplation of Him in their hearts?
The temple they sometimes attain and sometimes miss,
but contemplation they might enjoy always.
If they are bound to visit a stone,
which is looked at only once a year,
surely they are more bound to visit
the temple of the heart,
where He may be seen three hundred and sixty times
in a day and night.
But the mystic's every step is a symbol
of the journey to Makkah
and when he reaches the sanctuary
he wins a robe of honor for every step."

55
 Day 23

Gnostic Knows Nothing Except Gnosis

Hazrat Abdullah Ahmad said:

"The mind of the gnostic is fixed on his Lord;
he does not pay attention to anything else"
because the gnostic knows nothing except gnosis,
and since gnosis is the whole capital of his heart
his thoughts are entirely bent on vision (of Allah),
for distraction of thought produces cares,
and cares keep one back from Allah.

56
 Day 23

An Extraordinary Thanksgiving

I went to a certain village to visit a reverend man.

When I entered his house
I saw two corners two niches;
the old man was seated in one of them,
and in the other niche an old woman was sitting,
clean and bright
I stayed with them for three days.
And before leaving I asked the old man,
“What relation is this chaste woman to you?”
He answered, “She is my cousin and my wife.
We have been living like strangers for sixty five years.
When we were young we fell in love,
but her father would not give her to me,
but on his death, my father gave me her hand.
On the wedding-night she said to me:
‘You know what happiness Allah
has bestowed upon us in bringing us together.
So let us tonight refrain from sensual passion
and worship Allah in thanksgiving.’
I agreed. Next night she asked me do the same.
On the third night I said,
‘Now we have given thanks for two nights for your sake;
tonight let us worship Allah for my sake.’
Sixty five years have passed since then,
and we have never touched one another
but spend all our lives in giving thanks for our happiness. "

57
 Day 24

Stopping the Angel of Death

When Hazrat Abul Hasan’s was about to pass away

it was time for the evening prayer.
He opened his eyes
and looked at the Angel of Death and said:
"Stop! You are only a servant
who has received His orders, and so have I.
That which you are commanded to do (to take my life)
will not escape you,
but that which I am commanded to do
(to perform the evening prayer) will escape me:
So let me do as I am ordered to do,
and then do as you are commanded to do."
He then cleansed himself,
performed the evening prayer and gave up his life.

58
 Day 24

Night Vigils

Hazrat Abuul Faras didn’t sleep for forty years;

then he fell asleep and dreamed of Allah. "
“O Lord," he cried, “I was seeking You in nightly vigils,
but I have found You in sleep."
Allah answered:
"O Shah! You have found Me
by means of those nightly vigils:
if you had not sought Me there,
you would not have found Me here."

59
 Day 25

The Reality of Pilgrimage

A man told Hazrat Junaid he had been on the

pilgrimage. He asked the man:
"From the time when you first journeyed from your home
have you also journeyed away from all sins?"
He said: "No." "Then you have made no journey.
When you went to Muzdalifah and achieved your desire
did you renounce all sensual desires?" "No."
"Then you have not gone to Muzdalifah.
When you ran between Safah and Marwah
did you attain to the rank of purity (safa) and virtue
(muruwwat)'?" "No." "Then you have not run.
When you came to Mina did all your wishes cease?" "No."
“Then you have not yet visited Mina.
When you reached the slaughter place and offered
sacrifice did you sacrifice the objects of sensual desire?"
"No. " "’Then you have not sacrificed.
When you threw the stones did you throw away whatever
sensual thoughts were accompanying you?" "No."
"Then you have not yet thrown the stones and you have
not yet performed the pilgrimage.
Return and perform the pilgrimage in the manner
which I have described in order that you may
arrive at the station of Ibrahim ."

60
 Day 25

Two Kinds of Pilgrimages

Pilgrimages are of two kinds:

(l) In absence (from Allah) and
(2) In presence (of Allah).
Anyone who is absent from Allah at Makkah
is in the same position as if
he were absent from Allah in his own house
and anyone who is present with Allah in his own house
is in the same position as if
he were present with Allah at Makkah.

61
 Day 26

The Objective of Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage is an act of mortification (mujahadah)

for the sake of obtaining contemplation (mushahadah),
Therefore, the true objective of pilgrimage
is not to visit the Kaaba,
but to obtain contemplation of Allah.

62
 Day 26

Allah is Ever Looking Towards the Heart

The heart is more respected than the Kaaba,

to which men turn in devotion.
Men are ever looking towards the Kaaba,
But Allah is ever looking towards the heart.

63
 Day 27

The Reality of Sama

One day I came into Hazrat Abu Ahmad’s presence.

He asked me: "Tell me what you wish at this moment."
I replied that I wished to hear some music (sama).
He immediately sent for a singer (qawwal) and a number
of musicians. After a while, he asked me how I liked it.
I told him that I had enjoyed it very much. He answered:
"A time will come when this music will be no more to you
than the croaking of a raven. The influence of music only
lasts so long as there is no contemplation,
and as soon as contemplation is attained,
music has no power.
Take care not to accustom yourself to this,
lest it grow part of your nature
and keep you back from higher things."

64
 Day 27

The Prayer of Imam Baqir

“O Lord! When I remember death and grave

and reckoning, how can I take joy in this world?
And when I see my own account
How can I find peace?
Therefore, I beg You to give me peace in the hour of
death without torment,
and pleasure in the hour of reckoning
without punishment.”

65
 Day 28

Man of Market

While Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi

and his pupils were sitting,
a traveling dervish came in.
They placed food before him but he demanded:
"l want such and such a thing besides this."
Hazrat Junaid said to him:
"You must go to the bazaar,
for you are a man of the market,
not of the mosque and the cell."

66
 Day 28

Children of Adam

Hazrat Abul Hasan said:

"Leave me alone in my affliction!
Are not you children of Adam,
Whom Allah formed with His own hand
and breathed a spirit into him
and caused the angels to bow down to him?
Then He commanded him to do something,
and he disobeyed.
If the first of the wine-jar is defective,
what will its last be?"

67
 Day 29

Be Satisfied with Love Alone

If the lover is satisfied with love alone,

then the beloved draws near.
In truth the lover has honor only
while he has no desire for union.
Unless his love diverts him from
all thought of union or separation,
his love is weak.

Vision and Union with the Beloved

As the body subsists through the spirit,

so the heart subsists through love,
and love subsists through
vision of and union with the beloved.

68
 Day 29

The Saint is Annihilated

Hazrat Abu Ali Juzajani says:

"The saint is annihilated in his own state
and subsistent in the contemplation of the Truth:
he cannot tell anything concerning himself,
nor can he rest with anyone except Allah,"
because a man has knowledge only of his own state,
and when all his states are annihilated he cannot tell
anything about himself;
and he cannot rest with anyone else,
to whom he might tell his state,
because to communicate one's hidden state to another is
to reveal the secret of the Beloved,
which cannot be revealed except to the Beloved himself.

69
 Day 30

That Which Allah Wishes

Once, a dervish fell into the River Tigris.

Seeing that he could not swim,
a man on the bank cried out to him:
"Shall I tell someone to bring you ashore?"
The dervish said, "No."
"Then do you wish to be drowned?' "No."
"What, then, do you wish?"
The dervish replied:
"That which Allah wishes.
What have I to do with wishing?"

70
 Day 30

The Stature of Imam Baqir

Once a king, who wished to destroy Imam Baqir ,

summoned him to his presence.
When he appeared, the king begged his pardon,
bestowed gifts upon him, and dismissed him courteously.
When the people asked him
why he had acted in this manner,
the king replied: “When he came in, I saw two lions,
one on his right hand and one on his left,
threatened to destroy me if I tried to harm him.”

71
 Day 31

Predestination and Free-Will

Imam Hasan said

“In my opinion those who
did not believe in determination (qadar) of men’s good
and evil actions by Allah were infidels,
and that those who imputed
their sins to Allah were wrongdoers.”
Men are free to acquire their action
according to the power given them by Allah,
and thus our religion take the middle course between
free-will and the predestination.

Three Classes of Men

It is related that Hazrat Abu Bakr Warraq said:

"There are three classes of men
- divines ('ulama) and rulers (umara)
and dervishes (fuqara).
When the divines are corrupt,
piety and religion are vitiated;
when the rulers are corrupt,
men's livelihood is spoiled;
and when the dervishes are corrupt,

72
 men's morals are corrupt."

Day 31

With Allah in Both Worlds

Hazrat Sumnun Muhibb says:

"The lovers of Allah have borne away
the glory of this world and the next,
for the Prophet said,
'A man is with the object of his love.'"
Therefore, they are with Allah in both worlds.

73
 Day 32

Purity is Not Man’s Quality

“Purity is not one of the qualities of Man,

for man is clay, and clay involves impurity,
and man cannot escape from impurity.”
Purity is characteristic of the lovers (of Allah),
who are suns without cloud
because purity is the attribute of those who love,
and the lover is he that is dead (fana) in his own attributes
and living (baqi) in the attributes of his Beloved.

74
 Day 32

A Strange Curse

Once Hazrat Zul Nun was sailing with his disciples

in a boat on the River Nile.
Another boat was coming up,
filled with merry-makers, whose unseemly behavior so
disgusted the disciples that they begged Zul Nun to
implore Allah to sink the boat.
He raised his hands and cried:
“O Lord, as Thou hast given these people a pleasant life in
this world, give them a pleasant life in next world too!”
The disciples were astonished by his prayer.
When the boat came nearer
and people saw Hazrat Zul Nun,
they began to weep and ask pardon,
and broke their lutes and repented unto Allah.
He said to his disciples:
“A pleasant life in the next world
is repentance in this world.
You and they are all satisfied without harm to anyone.”
He acted thus from his extreme affection
towards the Muslims,
following the example of the Apostle,
who, notwithstanding the ill-treatment which he received
from the infidels, ceased to say:
“O Allah Direct my people, for they know not.”

75
 Day 33

The Manners of Imam

Imam Hassan was seated

at the door of his house,
a Bedouin came up and reviled him
and his father and his mother.
He said: “O Bedouin you are hungry or thirsty,
what ails you?”
The Bedouin continued to abuse him.
Hassan ordered his slave to bring a purse of silver,
and gave it to the fellow, saying:
“O Bedouin, excuse me,
for there is nothing else in the house;
had there been more,
I should not have given it to you.”
On hearing this, the Bedouin exclaimed:
“I bear witness that you are the grandson
of the Messenger of Allah.
I came here to make trial of your kindness.”

76
 Day 33

Wealth and Poverty Both are the Gifts of Allah

Hazrat AbuI Qasim said:

“People have spoken much concerning
poverty and wealth,
and have chosen or the other themselves,
but I choose whichever state Allah chooses for me
and keep me in;
if He keeps me rich I will not be forgetful,
and if He wishes me to be poor I will not be greedy
and rebellious.”
Therefore both wealth and poverty are Divine gifts:
wealth is corrupted by forgetfulness,
poverty by greed.

77
 Day 34

A Sign of Sincerity

Hazrat Sahl says:

"It is a sign of a man's sincerity
that he has an attendant angel
who urges him to pray
when the hour of prayer is come,
and wakes him if he be asleep."

The World is a Single Day

Hazrat Abul Fazal said:

"The world is but a single day, in which we are fasting."
It means, we get nothing from it, and are not occupied
with it, because we have perceived its corruption
and its "veils" and have turned our backs upon it.

78
 Day 34

True Solitude

Hazrat Awais Qarni (r.a) said:

“Safety lies in solitude,”
because the heart of the solitary is free from thought of
“other”, and in no circumstances does he hope for
anything from mankind. Let none imagine, however, that
solitude merely consist in living alone. So long as the Devil
associates with a man’s heart, and sensual passion holds
sway in his breast, and any thought of this world or the
next occurs to him in such a way as to make him conscious
of mankind, he is not truly in solitude;
since it is all one whether he takes pleasure in the thing
itself or in the thought of it.

79
 Day 35

What is More Painful than Hell?

Hazrat Saqati said:

"O Allah, whatever punishment you may inflict upon me,
do not punish me with the humiliation of being veiled
from You," because if I am not veiled from You,
my affliction will be lightened
by Your remembrance and contemplation
but if I am veiled from You,
even Your bounty will be deadly to me.
There is no punishment in Hell more painful to bear
than that of being veiled.
If Allah were revealed in Hell to the people of Hell,
sinful believers would never think of Paradise,
since the sight of Allah would so fill them with joy
that they would not feel bodily pain.
And in Paradise there is no pleasure
more perfect than unveiledness.

80
 Day 35

The Most Blessed Man

Hazrat Zaib ul Abadeen said

“The most blessed man in this world
and in the next is he who,
when he is pleased,
is not let by his pleasure into wrong,
and when he is angry,
is not carried by his anger beyond the bounds of rights.”

81
 Day 36

Regretting your Sins

Repentance consists in not forgetting your sins,

but always regretting them, so that,
although you have many good works to your credit,
you will not be pleased with yourself on that account;
since remorse for an evil action is superior to good works,
and one who never forgets his sins
will never become conceited.

What is Penitence?

The Prophet said: "Penitence is the act of returning".

This saying comprises three things:
(l) Remorse for disobedience.
(2) Immediate abandonment of sin.
(3) Determination not to sin again.

82
 Day 36

Stations of Repentance

Repentance (tauba) has three stations:

tauba, through fear of Divine punishment;
inabat through desire of Divine reward;
and awbat, for the sake of keeping the Divine command.
Tauba is the station of the believers,
and implies retuning from great sins to obedience
and inabat is the station of the saints
and means returning from minor sins to love;
and awbat is the station of the prophets
and implies returning from one's self to Allah.

83
 Day 37

Endless Purification

When Hazrat Sufyan Sauri was dying,

he purified himself sixty times for one prayer and said:
"l shall at least be clean when I leave this world."

He Who Knows Allah is Dumb

Hazrat Abu Bakr Wasiti says:

He who knows Allah is cut off from all things,
he is dumb and unable to express anything
and all his attributes are annihilated.

84
 Day 37

Saints – The Governors of the Universe

Allah has made the saints the governors of the universe;

they have become entirely devoted to His business,
and have ceased to follow their sensual affections.
Through the blessing of their advent the rain falls
and through the purity of their lives
the plants spring up from the earth,
and through their spiritual influence
the Muslims gain victories over the unbelievers.
Among them there are four thousand who are concealed
and do not know one another and are not aware of the
excellence of their state,
but in all circumstances
are hidden from themselves and from mankind.
But of those who have power to loose and to bind and are
the officers of the Divine court.
There are three hundred, called Akhyar,
and forty, called Abdal, and seven called Abrar,
and four, called Awtad, and three, called Nuqaba,
and one called Qutb or Ghaus.
All these know one another
and act by mutual consent.

85
 Day 38

The House and the Lord of the House

Hazrat Bayazid said:

"I went to Makkah and saw a House standing apart.
I said, 'My pilgrimage is not accepted,
for I have seen many stones of this sort.'
I went again,
and saw the House and also the Lord of the House.
I said, 'This is not Yet real unification.'
I went a third time, and saw only the Lord of the House.
A voice in my heart whispered,
'O Bayazid, if you did not see yourself,
you would not be a polytheist (Mushrik)
though you saw the whole universe;
and since you see yourself, you are a polytheist though
blind to the whole universe.’
So I repented,
and once more I repented of my repentance;
and yet once more I repented
of seeing my own existence.”

86
 Day 38

Patience and Thankfulness

Some people argue that

Allah has commanded us to be thankful
for health and patient in poverty,
i.e. patient in adversity and thankful in prosperity;
and that prosperity is essentially better than adversity.
To this I reply that, when Allah commanded us to be
thankful for prosperity
He made thankfulness the means
of increasing our prosperity;
but when He commanded us to be patient in adversity
He made patience the means
of drawing near unto Himself.
He said: “Verily, if you return thanks,
I will give you an increase” (17:7),
and also, “Allah is with the patient” (2:153).

87
 Day 39

Zakat

The Prophet said:

'Everything has its charity (zakat),
and the zakat of a house is the guest room."

Hunger Leads into the Presence of Allah

Although hunger is an affliction to the body,

it illuminates the heart and purifies the soul
and leads the spirit into the presence of Allah.

88
 Day 39

Hazrat Junaid said:

"Fasting is half of the Way."
I have seen sheikhs, who fasted without intermission,
and others who fasted only during the month of Ramazan:
Again, I have seen others who fasted
and were not conscious of anyone
and ate only when food was set before them.
This is more in accordance with the Sunnah.
The Prophet came to Hazrat Ayesha
And Hazrat Hafsa who said to him:
"We have kept some dates and butter for you."
"Bring it," said he:
"I was intending to fast,
but I will fast another day instead."

89
 Day 40

Two Stations of Ibrahim

The sacred territory (Haram) is so called because

it contains the Station of Ibrahim (Maqam- i-Ibrahim).
Ibrahim had two stations:
the station of his body, namely, Makkah,
and the station of his soul, namely, friendship.
Whoever seeks his bodily station must renounce all lusts
and pleasures and put on the pilgrim's garb, keep all his
senses under strict control and be present at Aarafat and
Muzdalifah, circumambulate the Kaaba and visit Mina and
throw stones and cut his hair and perform the sacrifice.
But whoever seeks his spiritual station
must renounce familiar associations
and bid farewell to pleasures
and take no thought of other than Allah.
Then he must stand on the Aarafat of gnosis (marifat)
and set out for the Muzdalifah of friendship
and send his heart to circumambulate
the temple of Divine purification
and throw away the stones of passion
and corrupt thoughts in the Mina of faith,
and sacrifice his lower soul on the altar of mortification
and arrive at the station of friendship.
To enter the bodily station is to be secure from enemies,
but to enter the spiritual station is to be secure from
separation (from Allah) and its consequences.

90
 Day 40

The Bodies of Gnostics

You must know that all the veins in the bodies of gnostics
are evidences of the Divine mysteries,
and that their hearts are occupied by
visions of the Most High.
Their hearts are doors opened in their breasts,
and at these doors are stationed at reason and passion:
reason is reinforced by the spirit,
and passion by the lower soul.
The more the natural humors are nourished by food,
the stronger does the lower soul become
and the more impetuously is passion diffused
through the members of the body:
and in every vein a different kind of veil is produced.
But when food is withheld from the lower soul
it grows weak and the reason gains strength,
and the mysteries and evidences of Allah
become more visible, until when the lower soul is unable
to work and passion is annihilated,
every vain desire is effaced
in the manifestation of the Truth,
and the seeker of Allah attains to the whole of his desire.

91
Other Books by Light Upon Light

92
 “While people call you Ganj Baksh,
do not let this thought enter your heart
or else it would be nothing
but pride and assertion.
Ganj Baksh, the Giver of treasures is only He;
so do not indulge in shirk
otherwise you will be ruined.
No doubt He is alone, and has no partner.”
(Hazrat Ali Hajvery )

93