What is gham-e-Madinah?

The renowned spiritual guide and leader of Ahl al-Sunnah, Mawlana Ilyas Attar al-Qadiri دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ was asked a question: “What is gham-e-Madinah?”

 He answered: “Gham means sorrow, pain, etc. However, gham-e-Madinah here refers to love for Madinah. When someone is engulfed in love, that person becomes restless and struck with grief when separate from his beloved, to the extent that the love takes the form of sorrow.”  

The one who attains gham-e-Madinah has acquired everything

The honourable sheikh also stated:

Note that if someone actually attains gham-e-Madinah—meaning true love for Madinah—he becomes a true lover of the Prophet  صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم , and such a person is one who also loves Allah. Upon reaching this status, one gains the pleasure of Allah, and the one who gains the pleasure of Allah will die upon faith and certainly enter Paradise. I swear by Allah, you will need nothing once you attain gham-e-Madinah, for you will gain everything by virtue of this, ان شآء اللہ.

How can one acquire gham-e-Madinah?  

The Amir of Ahl al-Sunnah دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ states:

In order to acquire gham-e-Madinah, one must:

*   Love the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and everything associated with him.

*   Act upon the Sunnah.

*   Read about how our pious predecessors respected the two holy sanctuaries.