Hadith al Qudsi
Compiled by an unknown author, translated by Yasin T. Al-Jibouri.
The Prophet (S) said,
“Lord! How do I keep remembering You?”
The Almighty said,
“Do so by staying aloof from people, by hating what is sweet and what is sour, by keeping your stomach and home empty from the wares of life. O Ahmad (S)! Beware acting like a child who, upon seeing what is green and what is yellow, he loves it, and when he is given of what is sweet and what is sour, he is deceived by it.”
The Prophet (S) said,
“Lord! Lead me to a deed whereby I seek nearness to You.”
The Almighty said,
“Make your night a day and your day a night.”
The Prophet (S) said,
“How so, Lord?”
The Almighty said,
“Turn your sleep into prayer and your food into hunger.
O Ahmad (S)! I swear by My Dignity and Greatness that no believing servant secures four merits from me except that I permit him to enter Paradise:
(1) He keeps his mouth shut and not open it except about what concerns him;
(2) he safeguards his heart against delusion;
(3) he safeguards My knowledge and My seeing him, and
(4) the apple of his eye becomes hunger.
O Ahmad (S)! Were you only to taste the sweetness of hunger, silence, solitude, and were you to taste their legacy!”
The Prophet (S) said,
“Lord! What is the legacy of hunger?”
The Almighty said,
“It is wisdom, the safeguarding of the heart, the nearness to Me, continued grief, the carrying of a light burden compared to others, the saying of the truth without being concerned whether one lives in ease or in hardship.
O Ahmad (S)! Do you know during what time a servant becomes close to Allah?”
The Prophet (S) said,
“No, Lord, I do not.”
The Almighty said,
“He does so when he is either hungry or prostrating.
O Ahmad (S)! I wonder about three kinds of My servants:
(1) a servant who starts his prayers knowing Who he is raising his hands to and before Whom he stands, yet he is drowsy! And
(2) I wonder about a servant who has what sustains him of vegetation or something else yet he worries about tomorrow! And
(3) I wonder about one who does not know if I am pleased with him or if I am wrathful against him, yet he laughs!
O Ahmad (S)! There is a mansion in Paradise of a pearl on top of a pearl and of a jewel on top of a jewel that has never been cut nor joined. In it are the elite to whom I look every day seventy times and speak to them. Whenever I look at them, I increase their domain seventy times, and when the residents of Paradise are pleased with food and drink, these find their pleasure in My speech, in remembering Me and in My talk.”
The Prophet (S) said,
“Lord! What are their distinctive marks?”
The Almighty said,
“They are in life jailed; their tongues are imprisoned against curious talk and their stomachs against unnecessary food. O Ahmad (S)! To love for the sake of Allah is to love the poor and to be close to them.”
The Prophet (S) said,
“Lord! Who are the poor?”
The Almighty said,
“They are those who accept what is little, who are patient when hungry, who offer thanks when in ease, who do not complain about their hunger or thirst, who do not lie when they speak, who do not feel angry with their Lord, who do not feel depressed for what they cannot attain, nor do they feel elated on account of whey they earn.
O Ahmad (S)! Love for My sake is love for the poor; so, get close to the poor and let them get close to you, and keep away from the rich and keep them away from you, for the poor are the ones that I love.
O Ahmad (S)! Do not wear soft outfits, do not eat tasty food, and do not sleep on soft beds, for the nafs (evil-insinuating soul) is the haven of every evil and the companion of everything bad; you drag it to obey Allah while it drags you to disobey Him and opposes you when you try to obey Him. It obeys you in the doing of what you hate to do. It oppresses when satisfied, complains when hungry, is angry when you are impoverished, and it is arrogant when you are wealthy. It forgets when it achieves [worldly] greatness and is inattentive when it feels secure. It is the companion of the devil. The similitude of the nafs is like the ostrich: It eats a lot, and when it is charged, it does not fly. And it is like oleander: Its color is good and taste is bitter. O Ahmad (S)! Dislike life and its seekers, and love the Hereafter and its seekers.”
The Prophet (S) said,
“Lord! Who are the seekers of life and who seek the Hereafter?”
The Almighty said,
“One who seeks this world eats a lot, laughs a lot, and sleeps a lot, and his anger is a lot, too. He is pleased only a little. He does not apologize to those to whom he misbehaves, nor does he accept the excuse of those who apologize to him. He is lazy when being obedient [to Me] and courageous when disobedient. His hopes are high and destination is near. He does not hold himself accountable; he is of little benefit while being talkative. His fear is little and he is quite happy when it is time to eat. The seekers of this life do not express thanks at the time of ease, nor are they patient at the time of affliction. What people consider a lot to them is a little. They praise themselves for what they do not do; they claim what is not with them; they talk about what they hope; they mention people’s faults and hide their merits.”
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