Stories and Sayings of Khwaja Ubayd Allah al-Ahrar

Khwaja Nasir ad-Din Ubayd Allah al-Ahrar (may God sanctify his innermost being), the twentieth Shaykh in the Naqshbandi Golden Chain and at the same time, the eleventh Khwaja of the ‘Khwajagan’ – the Masters of Wisdom of Central Asia, said the following:-

Concerning Trials and Tribulations:-
“Nothing is so effective as real trial and tribulation for purifying the heart of the human being. In particular, trial and tribulation are effective in thinning the veil between God and His servant. Such is the import of the saying of the Prophet,
‘The greatest trials befall the Prophets, then the Saints, and then that person and this, in turn.’
This also represent my personal conviction.”

Shaykh Nuruddin Abd ar-Rahman Jami, the famous Naqshbandi Shaykh and poet, generally referred to as ‘Jami’, used to meet with Khwaja Ubayd Allah al-Ahrar and said the following about him:-
“At this present time, the venerable Khwaja Ubayd Allah is the one who truly displays the characteristic signs of the rank of the ‘Khwajagan’ – the Masters of Wisdom, who is a focal point for their states of charisma and sainthood, who preserves the continuity of their chain of transmission (silsila), and who is the means of securing their good order. Committed to him with sincere devotion, the hopeful person prays that, by the grace of his blessed being, the linkage and good order of this chain of transmission will continue until the Day of Resurrection.”