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.