Commenting on the ayat: "wasbir nafsak" "Make your nafs tolerate patience", my Shaikh Shah Abdul Ghani ( ) used to say, "If Suhbat was not necessary then Rasulullah () would have been commanded to help the Sahabah reach Allah Ta’ala through his heart felt supplications in solitude". However, this was not the case. Instead, Allah Ta’ala revealed, "wasbir nafsak". In other words, O Our Beloved Nabi ()! Make your nafs tolerate the hardship of leaving your home. Leave the comfort of your home and sit in the company of the Sahabah. Have patience and tolerate this hardship, because we are not commanding you to sit in the company of just anybody.

Rather, we are commanding you to sit in the company of our lovers, who are busy in Our remembrance day and night. You are Our lover and so too are the Sahabah. I am sending one lover of Mine to work on the spiritual reformation and upliftment of My other lovers.

(Sura Kahf; Ayat No. 28, Juz No. 15)

My Shaikh, Hazrat Shah Abdul Ghani Phoolpoori () would say that Suhbat is such an important aspect that the Nabi of Allah () is being commanded to have patience and bear the difficulty upon his nafs. "No doubt, you are enjoying the remembrance of My name in solitude, but if you remain in that condition, then how will the Sahabah benefit from you? Therefore, you must come out of your home and sit amongst those who are remembering Us in your Masjid and make them Saheb-e-Nisbah through the method of prophethood which we have granted you. It is through them that Islam will continue to spread throughout the world".

So my Shaikh used to say that if Suhbat was not necessary then why would Allah have made his Beloved Nabi () undergo the hardship of making himself accompany them patiently? Can one find comfort in applying such patience? The implementation of patience is difficult but Allah Ta’ala had made this patience sweet for Rasulullah () because he was not sending him in the company of strangers but rather His lovers.

The purpose of my existence, The support of my life,
Is to live amongst Your lovers and die amongst Your lovers.

1 To adopt the company of the pious for spiritual reformation.