Three facets of the Hadith and the biography of Shaykh ꜤAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه 

Dear Islamic brothers! Three matters have been mentioned in this noble Hadith:

1) the rank and nobility of the righteous saints in the court of Allah Almighty.

2) The linguistic meaning of وَلِی is friend, the beloved servant of Allah Almighty. There are two forms to this. One is that Allah Almighty selects a person as a beloved saint. This is not by attainment, rather it is bestowed. A person does not become a saint through his own efforts. Allah Almighty grants the crown of sainthood to whomever He wills. The second form is that a person exhibits love for Allah Almighty, and this is acquired. A person can express this love through his efforts. The method of attaining this has been explained in this Hadith.

3) What is the status of a person who expresses his love for Allah Almighty and is accepted in His court by His grace such that He makes him one of His saints? This has also been explained in this Hadith.

Let us look at the life of the Crown of the Saints, Shaykh ꜤAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه in light of this narration.

A declaration of war from Allah Almighty

It is mentioned in the Hadith Qudsī that Allah Almighty states:

مَنْ عَادٰی لِیْ وَلِــیًّا فَـقَـدْ آذَنْـتُہٗ بِالْحَرْبِ

“I declare war against the one who bears enmity towards any friend of Mine.”

This is the rank and glory of the noble saints. Whoever harbours even the smallest amount of enmity towards the noble saints can neither be