Pearls of Wisdom 339

1. Do not exploit your religion for worldly gain, only the hereafter can be gained through religion.

2. Death will come to you inevitably, so work to be ready for it.

3. Just two steps and you would reach the All Merciful. The lower self (nafs) and creatures, are the two things you need to step away from. Just two steps and you will reach your goal both in this world and the hereafter.

4. If you stand in the presence of any creature, trying to obtain what  he has at his disposal, Allah will despise you.

5. If someone devotes himself entirely to Allah Most High, He will provide him with everything he needs, and if a person devotes himself to this world, Allah will leave him in its care.

6. If you realized that this world was sure to leave you in the lurch, you would not ask so much of it.

7. When your inner (batin) becomes worthy to serve Allah, only then will this world become fit to serve you.

8. The wine of dunya is poison, it may taste sweet at first, but it soon turns bitter. Once it has filtered through your heart and you have come under its control, it converts into a  poison and kills you.

9. The best piece of advice is concerning your lower self, if you can control it, well and good, otherwise it will control you.

10. As a general rule, your closeness to the sons of this world keeps you far away from Allah Almighty. The right course for you is to concentrate your attention on the hereafter and on worshipful obedience, then you may be saved, while your allotted shares will come to you even if they are unwelcome. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jillani]