There was a close bond between Mawlana Ala ad-Din and the venerable Shaikh Abd al-Kabir Yamani. At the beginning of his spiritual career, Shaikh Abd al-Kabir used to leave his native Yemen and travel about in the Arab and Persian lands. After twenty years of wandering, he became a resident in the vicinity of the Sacred Shrine [in Mecca]. At the time, he seems to have been the meeting point of visitors to the blessed sites. Mawlana Ala ad-Din was frequently in contact with him, during his residence at the Sacred Shrine [Haram].

The Shaikh asked Mawlana: “What is wrongdoing [zulm]?”

“Putting something in a place that is not its proper place.”

“The place in which to remember the Truth is the heart. It is wrongdoing to put anythin gother than the Truth into that place.”

The Shaikh also asked: “What is rememberance [zikr]?”

“It is the affirmation of Oneness [Tawhid].”

“This is not remembrance; it is worship [ibada].”

“What is remembrance, then? You tell me!”

“Remembrance is acknowledging that it is not possible for Him to be truly acknowledged.”

The Shaykh went on to say: “It is necessary to emphasize ignorance, and to formulate the intention to perform the ritual prayer by saying ‘I shall worship Allah, whom I am incapable of truly knowing!’”

-Rashahat Ain al-Hayat