It is mentioned that Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Jaylani was once walking when a drunkard man approached him. The man asked, "Is Allah able (Qadir) to change my state?" The Shaykh replied, 'He is able (Qadir) to do it instantly if He wills. Then the drunkard asked, "Is Allah able to take me from my state of sin, distance and lowliness to being a wali of Allah?" The Shaykh replied, 'He is able to do it instantly if He wills!' The drunkard then asked a question that caused the Shaykh to weep and to be overcome with emotion. He asked, 'Is Allah able to change my state to your state - such that I am blessed with incomparable wilaya and closeness to Allah? And bring you down from your lofty and exalted state to my sinful and evil state?' The Shaykh's state completely changed and in a state of humility he replied, "He is able to do so instantly if He wills!' On the minbars of Damascus, some of the 'ulema would say the following every Jumm'ah, 'Don't look at the faults and sins of others like you are God over them, for surely man is of two types. He is in either in a state of wellbeing and avoiding sin due to Allah's protection and blessing; or he in a state of calamity, sin and tribulation. Ask Allah for His protection and seek refuge from calamity and tribulation.' May Allah make us humble and grateful when we are in a state of obedience - and grant us the ability to make tawba and return back to Him when we are in a state of sin and distance.
