Aal-e-Rasool brought for us?’, I will present my disciple, Ahmad Raza Khan رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه.”^[1]

The traits of the pious

Dear Islamic brothers! We learn that in the eyes of our pious predecessors, the standard for virtue and acceptance is piety and righteousness. Merely being famous is not a requisite of excellence. Neither is old age, beauty, outward cleanliness, being highly educated, possessing an awe-striking demeanour, possessing wealth, owning multiple houses, owning an expensive mobile, being well-spoken in conversations or wearing expensive clothing.

Imam Muhammad Ghazali رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه states in Ihya ul ‘Uloom: Without a doubt, the people closest to Allah on the Day of Judgement will be the ones who stayed hungry, thirsty and sorrowful for long periods of time in this world. These are the people who [in the eyes of the public] are hidden and pious, such that if they were present, nobody would recognise them, and if they were absent, nobody would search for them. The pieces of the earth recognise them and the angels surround them. People are satisfied by the world and these people are pleased when they obey Allah Almighty. Others sleep on comfy beds whereas they spend their nights in prostration. Some turn away from the practices and lifestyle of the Prophets عَـلَـيْـهِمُ الـصَّلٰوةُ وَالـسَّـلَام but these individuals preserve their practices. When one of them passes away, the earth weeps, and Allah’s wrath is upon the city in which there is none of them.

These people do not fall upon the earth in the way dogs fall upon rotten corpses. Rather, these people eat little and wear old clothes. Their hair is dishevelled, and their faces are dusty. People look at them and think they are unwell but they are not. They think these people