The Beauty of Serving Allah

Shaykh ‘Abd Al-Qādir Al-Jīlānī addressed those present in the schoolhouse, in the late evening of Tuesday, the 12th of Shawwāl, A.H. 545:

O young man! What about servitude [‘ubūdiyya] to the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He)? Come, offer genuine servitude, and accept what is quite sufficient for all your own concerns. You are a slave running away from your Master. Go back to Him, submit to Him and humble yourself through obedience to His commands and prohibitions, and patience and compliance with His decree. When this has been fully accomplished on your part, your servitude to your Master will be complete, and you will receive quite enough from Him. As Allāh (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:

أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِكَافٍ عَبْدَهُ

Does not Allāh suffice His servant? (39:36)

When your servitude to Him is as it should be, He will love you and make His love strong in your heart. He will befriend you and draw you near to Him, with no trouble and without your having to seek the companionship of any other, so that you will be well pleased with Him under all circumstances. Even if He were to make the broad earth narrow for you, even if He were to block the wide gates against you, you would still not be displeased with Him, nor would you approach the door of any other.

[Taken from the beginning of the fifth discourse of Shaykh ‘Abd Al-Qādir Al-Jīlānī's The Sublime Revelation (Al-Fath ar-Rabbānī)]