HADHRAT JUNAID BAGHDADI (RAHMATULLAH ALAYH) – PART 2

* Once Hadhrat Junaid’s eyes were paining severely. The physician who was a Christian advised him to abstain from applying water to his eyes. Hadhrat Junaid said: “Then how shall I make wudhu?” The physician said: “If you wish to retain your eyesight, then abstain from applying water. It is now your choice.” After the physician left. Hadhrat Junaid made Wudhu. He ignored the advice of the physician and applied water to his eyes as usual. After Salaat he went to sleep. When he woke up he found that his eye ailment had been completed cured. He heard a Voice saying: “O Junaid! For the sake of Our pleasure you forsook your eyes. If you had supplicated to Us by the Waseelah (medium) of your intention for Us to forgive all the inmates of Jahannam, it would have been accepted.”

When the physician came again, he was surprised to find that Hadhrat Junaid’s eyes were cured. He asked about the remedy used. Hadhrat Junaid explained what had transpired. The physician embraced Islam and commented: “This is the treatment of The Creator, not of the created. In reality, my eyes were ailing, not your eyes. You are the physician, not me.”

* Once a Buzrug was on his way to meet Hadhrat Junaid (Rahmatullah alayh). As he neared Hadhrat Junaid’s residence, the Buzrug saw shaitaan running in leaps and bounds away from the house of Hadhrat Junaid. When the Buzrug arrived, he saw Hadhrat Junaid venting extreme anger on a man. The Buzrug said: O Shaikh! I have heard that when the sons of Aadam (i.e. human beings) become angry, then that is the time when shitaaan overwhelms them. But her I have seen shaitaan fleeing from you. What is the reason? Hadhrat Junaid said: “Have you not heard that when anger is for the sake of Allah Ta’ala, Iblees flees.? Our anger is for Allah’s sake, hence you saw Iblees fleeing. Others vent anger for the sake of their nafs.”

* Someone asked: “When is the heart happy?” Hadhrat Junaid responded: “When HE is in the heart.” (i.e. Allah Ta’ala)

* Hadhrat Junaid narrated: “I learnt the meaning of Ikhlaas from a barber. Once when I was in Makkah Muazzamah, I went to a barber to have my head shaved. While the barber was still engaged in cutting the hair of another man, I said to him:” For Allah’s sake, shave my head.” The barber immediately abandoned the other client and said to him: “I have to leave everything since the Name of Allah Ta’ala has come in between.” He kissed the head of Hadhrat Junaid. After having shave his hair, the barber gave Hadhrat Junaid a gift of some money.

After a few days, someone presented a bag of money to Hadhrat Junaid. He went with the money to the barber and presented it to him. The barber said: “Have you no shame! You had asked me to shave your head for the sake of Allah now you want to give me this money in exchange.”

* Once a wealthy man came to the khaanqah and took with him one of the mureeds. After a short while the mureed was returning with a basket of food on his head which was intended for the mureeds. The wealthy man was walking behind the mureed. Hadhrat Junaid instructed the mureed to put down the load. He refused to accept it and said: “He (the wealthy man) is extremely disrespectful. Are there only Durwaishes to carry his burdens? While the Durwaish has no wealth of the dunya, he has the Aakhirat.”

* A mureed gained the impression that he had attained a lofty stage of spiritual accomplishment. He therefore left the khaanqah and went into seclusion elsewhere. Every night it appeared to him that angels arrived to take him to Jannat. A beautiful camel was brought and on it he would be led to a beautiful garden where streams flowed. There were many people in the garden. This scene was enacted for him every night. The mureed spread this information and believed that he was being taken every night to Jannat.

When Hadhrat Junaid heard of this, he went to the mureed and enquired about his condition. The mureed explained in detail what was transpiring. Hadhrat Junaid said: “Tonight when you reach there recite Wala houla wala quw wata il laah bil laahil azeem thrice. That night, although the mureed had not attached any importance to Hadhrat Junaid’s suggestion, he nevertheless, recited merely to test what Hadhrat Junaid had said. As he recited, there was much screaming and chaos, and everything vanished. He found himself sitting on a grave and the bones and skeletons were scattered. He realized his folly and went back to the khaanqah and remained in Hadhrat Junaid’s company.

(To be continued in shaa Allah)

Source: “As Saadiqeen”