SYED
ABDUL QADIR JILANI (1077- 1166) was a great
saint of Islam. Born to two well known saints of their time, he was a
descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (sa) from both his parents. His spirituality
was of such high order that Allah raised him as the Mujaddid of the Era with a
title “Muhyi-ud-Din” (Reviver of Faith). He strived in the path of spirituality so completely that Allah ordered him to make the well known, unique declaration: “My foot is on the neck of every saint”, an indication of the exalted spiritual status that he enjoyed in his time.
In his book Futuhul Ghaib, the Muhyi-ud-Din Sheikh (ra) spoke in detail about the sacrifices needed for the acceptance of prayers and the blessings that will be bestowed on those who chose the spiritual path:
"If you desire to become an accepted one of God, then, believe with utmost certainty. Understand that your hands, your feet, your tongue, your eyes, and your whole being and all its organs, are like idols in your way. And all other creation is similarly an idol barring your path. Your children, your wife, the worldly objectives you wish to achieve, worldly riches, worldly honor and prestige, every worldly hope and fear, your reliance or trust on anyone or anything, your fear of being harmed by anyone- all these are idols in your way. So do not become subservient to any of these idols. Do not lose your way in pursuit of them. In other words, have recourse to them within the bounds of the Shariah and the way of the righteous.
If you succeed in this, you will become as precious as the red brimstone. Your status will be raised beyond people’s imagination. God shall make you heir to His Prophets and Messengers. It means that all their knowledge, wisdom and blessings, which had disappeared into obscurity and oblivion, will be granted afresh to you. And you will reach the highest level of sainthood, and none after you shall be able to rise higher. Your prayers, your fortified resolve and your blessings will relieve people of their anguish; the famine stricken will be granted rain and crops will grow; the affliction and anguish of every low and high, and even the trouble of kings shall be alleviated through your attention and prayers.
The Hand of Providence shall be with you, whichever direction it takes, you will be guided in the same way. The Eternal Voice will beckon you to itself which means that whatever flows from your tongue will be from God and it will be blessed. You will be made a successor to all the righteous servants of Allah who were granted knowledge before you. A kind of power of creation will be bestowed on you, i.e., your attention and your prayer will exercise control in the world. If you then wish to turn the existing into non-existing, and vice versa, it will come to pass; extraordinary and miraculous things will take place at your hand. Divine secrets shall be revealed to you and you shall be given understanding of subtle and profound matters of Divine Knowledge, of which you are considered to be worthy and deserving."