Praise be to Allah for His gracious favour, and blessings and peace be upon the Prince of His Prophets and upon his family and his friends.
The following are the words of our Supreme Helper [Ghawthuna'l-A'zam], the Mainstay of the Arabs and the non-Arabs [Sanad al-'Arab wa'l-'Ajam], the Light of Mankind and the Jinn [Nur ath-Thaqalain], the Axis of East and West [Qutb al-Khafiqain], the Reviver of the Prophetic Example [Muhyi's- Sunna], Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Qadir al-Hasani al-Husaini al-Jilani (may Allah the Exalted sanctify his innermost being, and may He pour His gracious blessings in abundance upon those who follow his lofty example):
Praise be to Allah, for every book must begin with the declaration of His praise, as every speech must start with the mention of His name. The people of bliss will take delight in praising Him [hereafter] in the abode of requital and reward. By His name is every sickness healed, and with it every grief and tribulation is removed. Toward Him hands are raised in earnest entreaty and supplication, in hardship and in ease, in good times and in bad. He is Attentive [Sami'] to all voices, with all their various forms of speech in different languages, and He is Responsive [Mujib] to those who feel the need to appeal [to Him].
Praise be to Him, therefore, for all that is best and finest, and thanks be to Him for all the favours He has bestowed, for all the gifts He has granted, and for the evidence and guidance He has clearly shown. May His blessings be upon His chosen friend [safi] and Messenger [Rasul], Muhammad, through whom He has guided us out of error, and on his family, his companions, his brother Envoys [Mursalun] and the angels brought near [mala'ika muqarrabun], and may He grant them peace.
Now to address the subject of the present work: One of my friends had been pressing me, urging me in very emphatic terms to compose this book, because of his excellent appreciation of what is right and proper. Of course, Allah is the One who protects from harm ['Asim] in words and deeds, the One who has insight [Muttali'] into consciences [dama'ir] and intentions [niyyat], and the Benefactor [Mun'im] who graciously condescends to facilitate whatever He wishes. Refuge with Him (Almighty and Glorious is He) must be sought through cleansing hearts of pretence [riyal] and hypocrisy [nifaq], and replacing bad deeds with good. He is Forgiving [Ghafir] of sins and mistakes, and Accepting [Qabil] of repentance from His servants.
I came to recognize the sincerity of his [my friend's] wish to acquire real knowledge [ma'rifa] of modes of behaviour consistent with the sacred law [adab shar'iyya], namely obligatory religious duties [fara'id], recommended practices [sunan] and formal refinements [hai'at]; real knowledge of the Maker [Sani'] (Almighty and Glorious is He) through signs [ayat] and indications ['alamat]; then instruction in the Qur'an and Prophetic utterances [alfaz nabawiyya], in discourses [majalis] we shall mention later; and real knowledge of the morals and ethics of the righteous [salihun], which we shall review in the course of the book, so that it may serve as a helper to him in following the path of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), in carrying out His commandments and observing His prohibitions.
I found that he had a sincere intention [niyya sadiqa], which I experienced within me among the revelations of the Unseen [futuh al-ghaib], so I gave him a positive response in this matter.
Promptly and eagerly, counting on the reward, hoping for salvation on the Day of Reckoning, I set about the work of compiling this book, with the helpful guidance of the Lord of lords [Rabb al-arbab], the Inspirer of what is right [Mulhim as- sawab], and I have given it the title:
Sufficient Provision for Seekers of the Path of Truth [AI- Ghunya li-Talibi Tariq al-Haqq].
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