People were praising a pious elder to his face
Maulana Fakhrul Hasan Sahib Gangohi (Rahmatullah Alaih) narrates: "I visited a pious elder in Makkah Mukarramah. People were praising him to his face, and he was feeling happy. I said in my heart, 'What kind of a pious elder is this who is enjoying his own praise?' He became aware of this thought of mine and immediately replied, 'This is hardly my praise. It is the praise of my Beloved (Allah), because all our perfection comes from that side. Praise for a creation is, in reality, praise for the Creator, highlighting how beautifully He made it. Therefore, I am rejoicing in the praise of the Beloved.' He (the narrator) says: Then a thought occurred to me again, 'If that is the case, then my this thought was also from the Beloved, so why was there such displeasure over it?' He became aware of this as well and said, 'Attributing bad things to the Beloved is disrespect.' Now I became very nervous that one must sit here keeping a strict guard over one's heart, as they become aware of every passing thought. Indeed, sitting in the company of the People of Allah, one must protect the heart from bad thoughts, because sometimes they get informed of these thoughts, which causes them distress. 'Keep watch over your heart in the presence of the people of heart, so that you may not be put to shame by evil suspicions.' Take care of your heart in front of the people of the heart, so that you do not feel embarrassed by bad thoughts. (Khutbat-e-Hakim al-Ummat Volume 22 / Pages: 375, 376) __________📝📝__________(Book: Jawahir-e-Khutbat Page Number: 293, Compilation: Ustad-ul-Qurra Qari Zia-ur-Rahman Sahib, Selection: Islamic Tube Pro App)
