Where are the madâris for the purification of the soul? They are the khânqâhs of the pious servants of Allah Ta’ala. Allah Ta’alamentions this objective of prophet-hood in the Qur’ân. The madâris for the Qur’ân, the dârul ‘ulûms and the khânqâhs of the Ahlullâh are all established for this purpose. When I explained these objectives at Jâmi‘ah Ashrafîyyah Lahore, the leader of a group which did not agree with Sufism was also present there. He went and told the deputy principal of Jâmi‘ah Ashrafîyyah that he experienced the surprise of his life today because this maulânâ [referring to me] proved all four branches and convinced me about Sufism because he proved tazkiyah-e-nafs (purification of the soul) from the Qur’ân. He said that it was only today that he realized that we do not have this department of “purification of the soul”, and this person is correct. We certainly have these weaknesses in us – we do not go to a pious servant of Allah Ta’alafor our reformation. In fact, we frown upon such servants of Allah Ta’alaand we scorn them. When I learnt about this, I expressed my gratitude to Allah Ta’ala- all praise is due to Allah Ta’ala.

Hazrat Maulânâ Shâh Abrâr-ul-HaqqSâhibrahimahullâh had went to Lahore recently. The son of Mufti Muhammad Hasan Amritsarî rahimahullâh said to Hazrat: “Maulânâ Akhtar delivered a lecture in our Jâmi‘ah Ashrafîyyah and he made such an impact on the audience that one of the leaders who did not believe in tasawwuf (Sufism) became an adherent of it and admitted that the department of “purification of the soul” is not found at all among us.” He also said that my talk worked like magic on him. On hearing this, I expressed my gratitude to Allah Ta’ala.

When someone says something good about me to my shaikh, I become happy in the hope that the pious servants of Allah Ta’alamay be pleased with me. I consider this to be a bounty of Allah Ta’ala. I always try to speak good of my friends in the presence of my elders. If I see any weakness in my friends, I make du‘â for them but do not mention it to my shaikh because it is a major crime to cause the heart of a pious servant of Allah Ta’alato become distant from someone by complaining about someone to one’s shaikh. It is better for us to conceal the person’s weakness and make du‘â to Allah Ta’alafor him. This has always been my principle and I learnt it from Hazrat Shâh ‘Abdul Ghanî Sâhib rahimahullâh.

Hazrat Shâh Sâhib rahimahullâh said that there was a special attendant (khâdim-e-khâs) of Hakeem-ul-Ummahrahimahullâh who had also performed hajj with him. This attendant used to constantly complain to Hakeem-ul-Ummahrahimahullâh about the pious servants of Allah Ta’ala. He eventually became insane and even stopped performing salâh. This happened despite making tawâf of the Ka‘bah, visiting the blessed grave of Rasulullah (sallellaho alaihe wasallam), going to Mina, Muzdalifah, ‘Arafât, etc. with such a great personality. I said to HazratPhulpûrî rahimahullâh that this person remained in the company of such a great personality like Hakeem-ul-Ummahrahimahullâh, yet he became insane and does not even perform salâh in the musjid, why was such a serious punishment inflicted on him? Hazratrahimahullâh replied that there are two reasons for this: Firstly, he caused much pain to his parents. Secondly, whenever he used to see any weakness in anyone in the khânqâh, he used to go and convey this complaint to Hakeem-ul-Ummahrahimahullâh. In so doing, he was causing pain to the hearts of the pious servants of Allah Ta’ala.

Since then I learnt this lesson that I always speak good of people to my shaikh, Hazrat Maulânâ Shâh Abrâr-ul-HaqqSâhib and abstain from complaining about anyone. This is also an exact Sunnah practice and in accordance with the temperament of Rasulullah (sallellaho alaihe wasallam).

Rasulullah (sallellaho alaihe wasallam) said: “I desire coming with a clean heart to you so that I may meet all of you with love.” Therefore, I also dislike anyone coming to me and complaining about anyone. Rather tell me something good and increase my love for that person. Increase my love for my fellow brothers. I become pleased when my associates are praised. Everyone has weaknesses. The person who complains about others is himself a target of weaknesses. So if you see any fault in any person, close your eyes and make du‘â to Allah Ta’ala.