Sayings of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karim al-Kasnazan

Sayings of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Kasnazan

These are some of the words of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Kasnazan:

• This world has a smooth feel, sharp teeth, and poisonous tongue. Our capital in it is worship as stated in this verse: وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ “I have not created the jinn and the human beings but to worship Me” (51.56).

• The impact of the vocal dhikr on the heart is like the hammer’s on the bent iron, whereas the impact of the silent dhikr is like that of a light piece of wood on the iron.

• On the necessity of fulfilling one’s duties in both this world and the hereafter the Shaikh used to say: “The person has to be a worker and a dervish, a student and a dervish, a public servant and a dervish, a farmer and a dervish.”