Shaykh Ali Aliki (ks) – A member of this order, he lived in the vicinity of Mecca the Ennobled.

He once said: “If someone is satisfied with this world, he is accursed. If someone is
satisfied with knowledge per se, he is tempted. If someone is satisfied with abstinence for
the sake of praise, he is veiled. If someone is satisfied with the truth for some reason other
than the truth, whatever it may be, he is a rebel.”

With reference to this, Shaikh al-Islam said: “Do you know what this world is?
Whatever occurs to your heart and distracts you from the Lord of Truth, that is this world
for you. Whatever distracts you from Him (Exalted is He), that is a temptation for you.
As for his assertion that those who are satisfied with knowledge per se are tempted,
knowledge is a term for information, and any information that does not lead you to
obedience and worship, that is a temptation for you.”

In his intimate conversation with the Lord, he used to say: “O my God, do not
leave us addicted to information, because all such addiction amounts to preoccupation
with that which is other than You. Do not leave us attached to the well-informed, for if
someone claims to be well-informed, he is trouble from start to finish. As long as the
servant is left to his own devices, he is rubbish and rusty iron. If someone is satisfied with
abstinence for the sake of praise, he is veiled from the Lord of Truth (Exalted is He). Half
of a small silver coin in the Sufi’s possession is a treasure!”

May Allah be well pleased with him!

- Excerpted from Nafahat al-Uns – Maulana Jami (ks)