Stand firm against your Lower Selves
Hazrat Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah sanctify his soul) said that most people are under an illusion, laying claim to Islam, yet possessing nothing of what Islam is all about. Woe unto you! The mere name of Islam will bring you no benefits. You rush into meeting it's requirements only outwardly and not inwardly. Therefore your action is worthless. Your outward is in the mihrab, yet your inward is indulging in sheer dissimulation and hypocrisy. Your outward is the outward of a hermit, while your inward is full of unlawful things and you have a mistress at home! The Law will not call to your punishment outwardly because you have not shown anything that infringes it. However, knowledge will condemn you to hatred and criticism. Suppose that you escaped the punishment today, who would save you tomorrow (at the Resurrection)?
You are in a deep sleep, unaware of the bliss of the Friends of Allah. O you who are forgetful of the bliss! You are unaware, you are absent, and you are unconscious. While you are knowledgeable in dealing with the affairs of this world, but you are totally ignorant with respect to the affairs of the Hereafter. You are trapped in mud, the more you move the more you sink. You must think, you must reflect, you must realize and you must understand. Stretch out your hands towards Almighty Allah [Invincible and Exalted is He] with truthfulness in seeking Him, repent and apologize so that He will salvage you from your situation.
I, Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be well pleased with him) am calling you to stand firm against your lower selves, your passions, your natural inclinations and your lustful desires and to endure with patience the loss of worldly things. Respond to my call and then you will sooner or later come to see all that which I am referring to. I am calling you to surrender and ‘die’ in the name of Allah. Who will attack? Who will advance? Who will dare? Who will take the risk? It is 'death' followed by an everlasting life. You must put your lower self [nafs] to death, so that you may come to life.
Listen to me and comprehend what I have to say, for I am the servant of those who have gone on before us. I serve in their presence, spread their teachings and call upon seekers to view them. I do not betray them or claim that the teachings are mine; I praise their words. Almighty Allah has [Invincible and Exalted is He] has qualified me for this through the blessing of my following of the beloved Prophet [Allah bless him and give him peace] and my devotion towards my parents.
May Almighty Allah [Exalted is He] be pleased with the Cardinal Pole [Qutb], the Spiritual Helper [Ghauwth], Muhyiddin Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani and may He sanctify the innermost beings of all His saints and servants. May Almighty Allah bless our beloved Master, the beloved Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), his family, and his Companions, and may He grant them peace. Praise be to Almighty Allah [Exalted is He], the Lord of All the Worlds