557. Bandagi Miyan Shah Dilawar (RZ) went into a forest. There was a grave on the path. Allah commanded, "You come and stand on this grave so that the dust from your footwear falls on the grave. Then I will save him from the retribution." The Shah (RZ) did as commanded. Allah Most High blessed the person in the grave with salvation.

558. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "The migrants and the brothers of this servant (of Allah) are of three kinds: (a) nafs-e-huzur, (b) hal-e-huzur and (c) waqt-e-huzur. Bandagi Miyan Shah Dilawar (RZ) has explained these terms. He said, "The nafs-e-huzur are the respected companions. There is no separation for them (from Allah) even for a split second. Some of them are hal-e-huzur. They are great companions. They come in the presence of Allah when they are in divine ecstasy. Some are waqt-e-huzur. These are the common companions of Imam Mahdi (AS). They come into the divine Presence when there is a time for it."

559. Miyan Abdul Karim (RZ) narrates that one day a thought occurred to Bandagi Miyan Shah Dilawar (RZ), "Ram and Lachman (also spelt Lakshman) were great young men and they performed great religious exercises. What could be their condition now." Allah commanded the angels, "Our servant has remembered them. Take them to his presence." The angels took Ram, Lachman and Sita in steel chains in the presence of Bandagi Miyan Shah Dilawar (RZ). "Look at them," said an unknown voice. The Shah (RZ) saw that hefty young men were standing before him. "What is your condition," the Shah (RZ) asked them. They said, "Our objective was not God. We did all our religious exercises for the sake of the world. All the people worshipped us. We liked it. Hence, We are subjected to this retribution." Then the angels took them back into the Hell.

560. Imam Mahdi (AS) has issued these four commands in respect of iman: "One should see Allah by the physical eyes (sar-ki-aankh), the eye of the heart, or in a dream. Otherwise, one would not be a mumin, except a true seeker (talib-e-sadiq)."

561. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "A well too becomes empty by drinking."

562. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "A person who sits in gosha (seclusion) dies before his death. One who goes from door to door grazes like an animal."

563. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "If a person has a small bowl made of one tola (about 12 grams) of copper in his house, he does not sell it to eat some food and remains hungry, his starvation is like the hunger of a dog."

564. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "A person, who has renounced the world, is steadfast among the fuqara, is courageous at times and without courage at other times among the fuqara at the time of distress (iztirar), lives with comfort and ease among the fuqara, sees burning fire outside the daira, does not go outside the daira, dies at the last moment among the fuqara, fuqara of the daira say his funeral prayers and give him a handful of mud (musht-e-khak), finally achieves salvation from the fire of Hell."

QUARTET:
I do not give you the world, because there is wretchedness for you in it;/
The two worlds and the angels are equal to one breath of your lamentation,/
You perform thousands of supplications and I do not accept and answer them,/
Your accepted lamentation is that which your immanence reaches your objective.

565. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "Perishing (fana) has three ranks: nafas-fana, tan-fana and dil-fana (perishing of lust, body and heart). But the soul is everlasting (baqa). How do you differentiate between fana-e-Haq and fana-e-batil (the True and false perishing)? Fana-e-Haq is that where you face distress, difficulty and torture (iztirar, taklif and eza). All the people of the world trouble you. In this event, the Truth comes into view and you think that the torture is from Allah. You should not incline towards things other than Allah. The desire for the Truth should be more. This is the sign of perishing in the Truth. But false perishing is that where no thought occurs in the heart or mind but greed increases. This is fana-e-batil."

566. Bandagi Miyan Syed Khundmir (RZ) is narrated to have said, "We became Muslims after Imam Mahdi (AS).
(It means that we were invisible like the stars in the presence of the sun. It is only after the demise of the Imam (AS) that our Islam became manifested).

567. Bandagi Miyan Syed Khundmir (RZ) is narrated to have said, "Our condition after the death of Imam Mahdi (AS) has become like the nose of a leper. It diminishes everyday. This is so because we are obsessed with qital (battle)."

568. Bandagi Miyan Syed Khundmir (RZ) is narrated to have said, "The retribution is less if a kafir dies in penury because he has enjoyed less pleasure of the world. The retribution is more if the kafir dies wealthy as he has enjoyed more pleasures of the world."

569. Bandagi Miyan Syed Khundmir (RZ) is narrated to have said, "If a tarik-e-dunya (one who has renounced the world) goes from a place of aaliat (excellence) to another daira for the sake of bread, he would not get any share of the deen (religion). And this going is not for the sake of Allah."

570. Imam Mahdi (AS) was sitting at a place. A big snake came. The Imam (AS) extended his leg towards it and said, "Do what Allah wills." The snake came nearer, rolled on the feet of the Imam (AS) and went away as a snake had done when it came to meet Prophet Muhammad (SLM).

571. A dervish used to give whatever was left after his meals to a dog; he would not give it to the members of his family. Somebody asked him why he did so. "Yes," he said. "These people are not my family members. They are my enemies. They prevent the religion of Allah. There is no divine reward (sawab) in giving anything to them. Hence, I give it to the dog."

572. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "This banda (servant) perfectly follows in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad (SLM)."

573. Some people told Imam Mahdi (AS), "We renounce the world." The Imam (AS) said, "Follow and act according to what I say. Eat chicken. Wear good clothes and sleep on (luxurious) beds. But do not demand. Give your heart to Allah." They asked, "How can this be done?" The Imam (AS) said, "That is your business." After this they renounced the world and remained in the august company of the Imam (AS).

574. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "Achieve at least a semblance of the Divine Vision so that you get some benefit."

575. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "Those who are ours will not die blind (nabina)." (That is without seeing Allah).

576. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "O Allah, "If You bless to the extent of a grain of barley, (one) would live. But if You do justice to the extent of a hair, (one) would die."

577. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "If one is blessed with the desire for Divine Vision, he is blessed. If one is not given the desire for Vision, he is not given."

578. It is narrated that a vali was very judicious. He supplicated Allah, "O Allah, please do justice if we have done some wrong (zaif amal)." An unknown voice said, "We have done justice." All of a sudden the vali realized that his hands and legs were tied stringently. The vali asked, "What is this?" A Voice from Allah said, "You had gone into a forest. You broke the limbs of a locust and made an animal eat it. Hence, We have done justice." The vali repented then and got relief.

579. Imam Mahdi (AS) gave religious instruction (talqin) to some of the muhajirin (migrant-companions) in his day. Some of them achieved their objective in three breaths. Some others took three hours. Yet others took nine hours to achieve their objective. Some others took three days, and some other took three months. In these days, if one achieves his objective in three years, it would be the person whom Allah wishes to bless. Prophet Muhammad (SLM) has said that one or two years are required to learn.

580. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said in Gojjri dialect, "One is pooth, or a person who is below his father in his rank. The second is pootha who is equal to his father in his rank. And the third is puthinder, who excels his father in rank." At that time, somebody said, "Hazrat Mahdi (AS) is puthinder." Bandagi Miyan Syed Salamullah (RZ) rebuked him severely using some harsh words. The Imam (AS) said, "That was the appropriate reply. He is the kind of a father, for whom it was impossible to have a son. How would he have a puthinder? This servant (banda) of Allah is the perfect emulator of Prophet Muhammad (SLM). (It means that 'I am the successor of the Prophet (SLM)).'"

581. A person asked Bayazid Bistami (RA), "Are you a man?" Bistami (RA) said, "I will tell you at the time of death." When the time of his death arrived, the same person came and asked the same question. Bistami (RA) said, "I go after becoming a man." "Why did you not say so at that time," asked the questioner. Bistami (RA) said, "A person who braves enemies like nafs, Satan, world and the people, wins his faith (iman) and remains steadfast to the end, is a man. How could I say it at that time?"

582. Bandagi Miyan Malikji (RZ) has said, "The person who explains Quran should have these four attributes in him. They are: (1) His eye should be free from greed; (2) His tongue should be free from desire; (3) His legs should abhor going to the door of other than Allah (ghairullah); and (4) He should say only what Allah, Prophet (SLM) and Imam Mahdi (AS) have said. He should not say more or less than what they have already said. If he does not possess these attributes, he would be caught before Allah."

583. Bandagi Miyan Syed Khundmir (RZ) is narrated to have said, "If a person who cannot resolve his problems with the help of Allah Most High, Prophet Muhammad (SLM) and Imam Mahdi (AS), explains Quran, he is oppressing his nafs and will be accountable before Allah."

584. Somebody asked Bandagi Miyan Syed Khundmir (RZ), "What kind of a person is permitted to explain Quran?" The Miyan (RZ) said, "There is no harm in explaining Quran for a person who has this attribute in him. He can explain it. The attribute is that he washes his eye of greed."

585. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "A person who has these six attributes should explain the Quran. Three of them are manifest and three are subliminal (batini). The manifest three are these: First, he should have trust in Allah, Secondly, he should not go to the house of a seeker of the world and, thirdly, he should spend the thing sent by Allah in the way of Allah. The three subliminal attributes are: he should see Allah by physical eyes (sar-ki-aankh), secondly, he should tell of the condition of the deceased if one dies and, thirdly, gold and mud should be equal in his estimation. If a person does not possess these six attributes, he is not permitted to explain the Quran."

586. Bandagi Miyan Shah Nizam (RZ) is narrated to have told his sons, "Be a servant, not a master." In Gojri dialect, he said like this, "Ghulam ban, miyan mat ban."

587. Bandagi Miyan Shah Dilawar (RZ) is narrated to have said, "Brothers call us miyan (master), but even now we are as we were in the presence of Imam Mahdi (AS)."

588. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "There are two houses for a person. One is of gold and the other is of mud. He says that he would give the house of gold with all the paraphernalia and would not grant the mud house. But a wise man is he who gives away the gold house and keeps the mud house. Heaven and the world are both from Allah. Give up the worldly belongings. Take to Paradise because in reality, Paradise is the house of gold, and the world is the perishing (fana) house."

589. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "Mahdi's daira will have all the three groups as there were in the daira of Prophet Muhammad (SLM): mumin, munafiq and kafir (the believers, the hypocrites and the infidels). But Allah will not allow the hypocrites and the infidels to die in the daira of Imam Mahdi (AS)." Hence, we should be very careful.

590. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "Give your heart to Allah, and then do what you like."

591. Bandagi Miyan Syed Khundmir (RZ) saw a reverie (muamila) and came out of his house crying and lamenting. The brothers asked him for the reason for it. The Miyan (RZ) said, "I saw (in the reverie) the murshids of the last era, with chains round their necks and shackles on their hands and feet. The angels were taking them towards the Hell, because they sat in the seat of Prophet Muhammad (SLM) and Imam Mahdi (AS) between the 'Asr and Maghrib prayers and explained the Quran, instructed on performing the zikr, distributed paskhurda and sawaiyat. For this, they had obtained the permission neither from Prophet Muhammad (SLM) nor from Imam Mahdi (AS) nor from their murshid. They had done all this for their nafas, pomp and pageantry and self-aggrendisement. The condition of the murshids of the last era would be like this on the Day of Resurrection."

592. Bandagi Miyan Shah Nemat (RZ) too is narrated to have seen similar reveries. He said, "I was shown the murshids of the last era. They are subjected to retributions of this kind. They should not be eager of being murshids. They should remain in the company of ten fuqara who are on the objective of Imam Mahdi (AS) (the Vision of Allah). If they practised murshidi after remaining in the company of murshids, it is good. Otherwise, it is no use. If there is no benefit of religion from a person, all the seekers of Allah should abstain from the company, dogana and handful of mud (musht-e-khak) of such a person. There is no use of such things from such a person."

593. Bandagi Miyan Syed Shihabuddin (RZ) is narrated to have said, "I am shown the murshids of the last era. They are tied to the pillars of the Hell. Scissors of fire are cutting their tongues. The reason for this retribution is that they advised good deeds to others while they themselves did not act according to what they had advised others."

594. Bandagi Miyan Shah Dilawar (RZ) is narrated to have said, "The soil of both Bhilot and Borkheda desires that this servant (of Allah) be buried there. Allah knows whose desire will be fulfilled." Later, the Shah (RZ) died and was laid to eternal rest at Borkheda.

595. Somebody told Bandagi Miyan Malikji (RZ), "These fuqara are men of the heart (ahl-e-dil)." Bandagi Miyan Malikji (RZ) said, "They are not ahl-e-dil. Ahl-Allah (men of Allah) live in the daira. The ranks of ahl-e-dil are lower. The ranks of Ahl-Allah are exalted. Allah Most High has given this information, …And enjoined on them a self- restraint worthy of them and befitting: and Allah knoweth all things. (S. 48: 26 SAL)

596. Somebody asked a vali, "I worship very much but I see nothing." The vali said, "Understand that Allah helps you. Spend your life carefully. Do not abandon good deeds. Allah will give kashaish (opening)."

597. Prophet Muhammad (SLM) is narrated to have said, "O Omar, the people of the manifest knowledge (zahiri ilm) say their namaz. Know that their heart wanders wherever it likes. They become entangled in the worldly thoughts. The person, who becomes the slave of his nafs, cannot get rid of that idolatry. They become strangely misled. This kind of misleading too is idolatry. They are indulging in idolatry. They are strangely blind and ashamed. What gain do these people get when they think of things other than Allah. Do not consider their namaz as namaz, because the movements of namaz are standing, reciting Quran, praising Allah, kneeling and prostration. But the thoughts of I and You vitiate the namaz."

598. Imam Mahdi (AS) is narrated to have said, "Fear the retribution of Allah. You cannot tolerate keeping your finger on the flame of a candle. How can you tolerate the Fire of Hell?"

599. The companions told Imam Mahdi (AS), "People make fun of us and say that we are the seekers of khudi (self), when we go into the city." The Imam (AS) told them, "You retort by saying that khudi is our seeker."

600. It is narrated that Bandagi Miyan Shah Nemat (RZ) was in Jalore. Miyan Waziruddin came to Jalore from Gujarat. The Shah (RZ) got the information of his arrival. At that time he was rubbing oil in his hair. He came out of the house in the same condition and met the Miyan.

601. Bandagi Miyan Shah Nemat (RZ) is narrated to have said, "The person, who hosts this banda, does not do so for the sake of Allah. He does it to please me. But the person, who hosts the fuqara, does it for the sake of Allah, because this banda eats at home."

602. Bandagi Miran Syed Mahmood (RZ) is narrated to have told his wife, Bibi Kad Bano (RZ), to go to the hujra of Bandagi Miyan Shah Dilawar (RZ) early in the morning. "Allah's Mercy descends there. You to will get a share."

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