What a bad servant of the Lord is he! I am speaking of a servant who fits the following description:
- He asks for forgiveness (maghfirah), while he is actively engaged in sinful disobedience (ma'siya).
- He behaves in a humbly submissive manner, so that he may be credited with loyalty (amana), but he is only pretending, to hide his disloyalty (khiyanah).
- He forbids what is wrong, but does not refrain from it himself.
- He enjoins what is right, but does not act upon his own instructions.
- If he gives, he does so very stingily, and if he withholds, he offers no apology.
- If he is in the best of health, he feels secure, but if he falls sick, he becomes remorseful.
- If he is impoverished, he feels sad, and if he gets rich, he is subject to temptation.
- He hopes for salvation, but does not act accordingly.
- He is afraid of punishment, but takes no precautions against it.
- He wishes to receive more benefit, but he does not give thanks [for what he has received].
- He likes the idea of spiritual reward, but he does not practice patience; and
- He expedites sleep and postpones fasting.
(s) Ghunyat at-Talibin of Shaykh 'Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani rahimahullah
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