It was Sayyid Muhammad ibn al-Khadir al Husaini (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "I once heard my father say: ‘At his regular public session [majlis], our Master, Shaikh Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him) used to deliver lectures on all the religious sciences [ulim], and he always spoke spontaneously [impulsively]. From the moment when the Shaikh stepped up to the lectern, until well into the middle of the session, the awe he inspired would keep the audience perfectly still and quiet. No one could be heard clearing his throat, blowing his nose, making the slightest cough, or saying a word. And no one could get up from his seat.
Then the Shaikh would say: "Now the talking [qal] is over, and we are ready to receive the spiritual state [hal]!" The people present would immediately feel an intense vibration, and they would experience the spiritual state and the rapture of ecstasy [wajd].
Our Master (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "The saints of Almighty Allah have someone who awakens them, a teacher who teaches and guides them". The Exalted One provides for them the means of learning and the beloved Prophet (Allah bless him and guide him) said: "Even if the believer were on top of a mountain, Almighty Allah would assign to him a knowledgeable person to teach him".
Among the Saints are those who, during their sleep, eat from the food of Paradise, drink from its drinks and see all its contents. Among them are those who become free of any need for food and drink, retreat from the creatures, become invisible to them and live on earth without dying, such as Ilyas and al-Khidr (Radhiya Allah ta’ala anhuma). Almighty Allah [Exalted is He] has a large number of them behind a veil on this earth. They can see people, yet people cannot see them. The saints among them form a majority but the eminent ones represent a minority who are a few, isolated individuals to whom everyone comes and draws near. It is through their agency that the earth becomes full of plants; rain falls from the sky and affliction is removed away from creatures. The food and drink of the angels is the remembrance of Almighty Allah, the True One, glorification and recitation of "There is no God save Allah [la ilaha illa Allah]". There are a few individuals among the saints for whom this comes to be their food.
As for the exceptions, they are a few individuals among His creatures. He created them for something that lies beyond the limits of the normal. He has created them for the task that He knows. He created them for His company, His deputyship, His Ambassadorship, and His Guidance of His creatures to Him. He sends them to the East, to the West and to the sea. They address the creatures in their own language; He appointed them as His deputies among the creatures. They do not wish for life or death, for they are totally extinct in Him that they have no will of their own. Their will has died, their lower selves have come to rest, their passions have broken, the fires of their natural inclinations have died out, their devils have been defeated and this world has surrendered in submission to them. In other words, they have nothing left to be blamed for. These are the rarest of rare and no love other than Him has been left in their hearts. They are the beloved of the True One [Exalted is He] and the one’s among His creatures who love Him.
The people of Almighty Allah have inherited the spiritual states of the Prophets (salawat Allah wa salamuh alayhim). They have inherited their spiritual stations, not their names and titles and have inherited the qualities and virtues they had. The saints and the spiritual substitutes are restricted to a certain number that never increases or decreases. Among them is one who attains his spiritual status early in his life, while another would attain his spiritual status in the latter part of his life. Before the attainment of the latter, his states would change continuously, although he is a confirmed saint of Allah in the foreknowledge of Allah [Exalted is He], for infallibility [not willing to be mislead] is not a prerequisite for spiritual substitution and sainthood. There would be no infallibility beyond the time of the Prophets as infallibility is among their characteristics (Salawat Allah wa salamuh alayhim).
It is reported that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said: "When one of the Saints of Allah disobeys Allah, the angels laugh and say to one another: "Look at this saint of Allah, see how he is disobeying Allah"". How could they not be astonished at his disobedience, his disbelief, his remoteness and his hypocrisy when thy know what a few days later he will become a beloved saint, one who is drawn near, honored and purified, an intercessor, a guide and an heir?
If you are among the People of Allah, serve them, accompany them, sit in their presence, draw near to them, make your money available for their use and follow them by emulating their deeds, not by repeating, applauding and expressing your astonishment at their words. Make sure that your heart not your clothes is the abode of your righteousness. Dress as common people dress, but do not do what they do. Monasticism is not to be defined with relation to food, clothing and sex. Almighty Allah said: {And monasticism they invented, We did not impose it on them} [from 57:27]. The beloved Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "There is no monasticism in Islam."
For those who are sincere in their belief in the oneness of Almighty Allah, their cells are their hearts; their austerity is imposed on their lower selves, passions and natural inclination. The fruits that they enjoy are their periods of loneliness and visions. Their intimacy with their Lord [Exalted is He] lies in the private conversation with Him. The True One [Invincible and Exalted is He] informs you about the spiritual state of the righteous through my tongue in order for you to become among them and emulate them. So do not only hear this, He uses my tongue to inform you in order for you to inform one another so heed to the good advice. He calls you through tongue, so respond to His caller. He calls you to be rememberers of Him so that you become remembered in His presence. The servant who is truthful in seeking his Master [Invincible and Exalted is He] continues to remember Him outwardly and inwardly, in both his private and public lives, by night and by day, in hardship and in prosperity, in blessing and in agony, until he becomes remembered in His presence.