A Powerful Description of True Servants of Allah – Imam al-Sulami

Imam Bayhaqi relates that Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami (Allah have mercy upon him) said that someone said,

“The description of true servants of Allah is that poverty is their honour; obedience of Allah, their sweetness; love of Allah, their joy; to Allah, their need; piety their provision; with Allah, their dealing; upon Him, their trust; in Him, their intimacy; upon Him, their reliance; hunger, their food; renunciation, their fruit; good character, their dress; cheerful disposition, their jewelry; generosity of spirit, their trade; good relations, their company; knowledge, their leader; patience, their driver; guidance, their ride; the Qur’an, their speech; thankfulness, their adornment; remembrance, their concern; contentment, their rest; sufficiency, their wealth; worship, their earnings; the devil, their enemy; worldliness, their dumps; modesty, their shirt; fear, their habit; the day, their lesson; the night, their reflection; wisdom, their sword; truth, their guard; this life, their journey; death, their destination; the grave, their shelter; Firdous, their residence; beholding the Lord of the Worlds, their longing. These are the elect servants of Allah, of whom Allah Most High has said, “The servants of the All-Merciful are those who tread lightly on earth.”” [Bayhaqi, al-Zuhd al-Kabir, 2.264]