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Respecting the Teachers of the Path

A question was put to Sheikh Abul Hassan Ali Al Kharqani (qs):
“How is that possible that, although Abu Jahl saw the Holy Prophet ﷺ in all his glory, he was still unable to reach a happy ending, and ended up in misery?”
The Sheikh answered, “Abu Jahl didn’t see the Holy Prophet ﷺ, but rather saw Muhammad bin `Abdullah. If he had seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he would have been taken out of misery into happiness. As Allah Almighty has said, “You see them looking at you, but without clear vision” (7:198).”
Rooted in an ideological obsession with egalitarianism, modernity is inherently graceless and ill-mannered. The Muslim world, in which social interactions were traditionally ordered according to etiquette and chivalry, has also been infected by this sense of irreverence, indicated by religious scholars claiming that the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself was ‘just a man like us’, and ridiculing the generations old gestures of respect afforded to parents, rulers, and most importantly, the Saints. Veiled by their ‘education’ at the hands of absolute materialists, the physical form shared by the teacher of the path and the university student leaves the latter convinced of his equality, which empowers the common delusion that he can have anything of value to say whilst in the company of an awakened being. The Holy Qur’an is clear on this matter.
Say, “Are those who know and those who do not know equal? Only possessors of intellect reflect.” (39:9).
One must carefully monitor his actions while in the company of the teachers of this path, for one’s behaviour before them is indicative of the respect afforded to the Almighty. By kissing the hand of the teacher, one is simultaneously honouring the awakened predecessors who saw it fit to grant authorisation to your guide on this path and partaking in a ritual of respect that is traced back to the Holy Prophet ﷺ. In Reality, in kissing the hand of your teacher, you are kissing the hand of the Blessed Messenger himself ﷺ. Do not be fooled by the humanity of the teacher, his jovial interactions or engagement in mundane matters. His position in your life is to represent the sacred, and to remind of the innate capacity carried by all human beings to be in the presence of Allah Almighty at every moment.
Are you among those who, out of a sense of paralysing reverence, were unable to describe the face of the Holy Prophet ﷺ years after their meeting with him, due to the fact that they could not be so ignoble as to look upon his blessed face? Or are you like the bedouin who pulled the Holy Prophet’s ﷺ turban from behind, leaving a mark upon the neck of the Chosen One ﷺ, merely in order to demand the things of this lower realm? One group did not see a man, but rather witnessed Allah’s Envoy ﷺ upon the earth. Their vision was clear. The other was spiritually blind, and unable to perceive the greatness of the one to whom he was speaking. Our treatment of our teachers should be dictated by the principles we have inherited from our predecessors, not by the ever-fluctuating spirit of the age. The Holy Qur’an says:
Whoever holds in honour the symbols of Allah, such honour comes truly from piety of heart. (22:32).
And verily He knows best. Al Fatiha.

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