Shaykh Abdul Qaadir Jeelani رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه states: I lived in the jungles of Karkh for many years, and I would survive on the leaves of trees and plants. Every year, an individual would bring a woollen thobe for me, which I would wear. I strove a thousand times in order to attain salvation from love of the world, I remained unknown, the people would call me dumb, foolish and insane on account of my silence, I walked on thorns barefoot, and would enter terrifying caves and frightful valleys without hesitation. The world would appear adorned before me, but ‘اَلْـحَمْـدُ لـِلّٰـه’, I would not pay any attention to it. 

My Nafs would sometimes humble itself before me, and do whatever I wished, and sometimes, it would oppose me. Allah Almighty would grant me victory over it. I remained in the wilderness of Madaa’in for a long period of time, and placed my Nafs through spiritual struggle. For a whole year, I ate things that fell on the ground and drank no water at all, then I would suffice with only water for a year and not eat anything that had fallen nor anything else, then I spent a year without eating or drinking anything. Immense hardships would befall me. Once, I was tested on a cold night in the following way: I would repeatedly doze off and Ghusl would become Fard upon me. I would immediately come to the stream and perform Ghusl, and like this, I performed Ghusl 40 times in one night. (Bahja-tul-Asraar, p. 165, summarised)

A litany to remove hardship

Allamah Imam Sha’rani رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه relates the following statement of Sayyiduna Ghaus-ul-A’zam رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه in ‘Tabaqaat al-Kubra’: In the beginning, many hardships were placed upon me, and when the hardships reached their peak, I lay on the ground out of helplessness and these verses of the Holy Quran came onto my tongue:

فَاِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ یُسْرًاۙ(۵) اِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ یُسْرًاؕ(۶)