A Meeting with Khwaja Abdul Khaliq

On the day of Ashura, a large congregation was listening to Khwaja Abdul Khaliq al-Gijdivoniy (may God sanctify his innermost being), the eleventh Shaykh in the Naqshbandi Golden Chain, who was giving a sermon about esoteric knowledge.

A young man wearing a tattered cloak, with a prayer rug on his shoulder appeared and sat in the corner. After a while, the young man stood and asked the Khwaja, “The venerable Messenger (peace & blessings of God be upon him) said, ‘Beware of the intuition of the true believer, for he sees by the light of Allah (Almighty & Glorious is He)’. What is the secret meaning of this noble Prophetic saying?”

The Khwaja replied, “The secret meaning of his saying is that you must cut off the ‘zunnar’ (waistband worn by Magians) and come to the true faith.” The young man said, “We take refuge from God with the waistband.” Upon these words, the Khwaja asked a follower to remove the tattered robe from the young man’s back. The ‘zunnar’ then came into view from beneath the tattered robe. The young man immediately cut off the waistband and came to Islam.

The Khwaja then said to those present, “O my companions, let us fulfill our duty in accordance with the example set by this brave young man. Just as he has cut off the waistband of his outer being, we must cut off the waistband of the inner being, which is vain-conceit and self-adulation. Just as he has been forgiven, let us be forgiven.”