TOPShaykh 'Abd al-Qādir's spirituality had its roots in his concept and experience of God. For him God was neither a theological myth nor a logical abstraction of unity but an all-embracing personality present in man's ethical, intellectual, and aesthetic experience. He felt as if he were always in His Presence. This consciousness of the Divine Presence around him was the guide and motive of his active waking life and gave it a transcendent value. The Prophet's exhortation to people "to pray as if you see Him; and if you see Him not then He sees you" was the motto of his life and he translated it into practice. His sermons illustrated the extent of his own realization of the Omnipresence of God. He believed that this realization purged and purified the heart of an individual and put it in tune with the world of the Spirit (al-Fatḥ al-rabbānī, XXIII133). He did not, however, allow this consciousness to blur the distinctness of the Creator and the creation. His discussions about fanā' (annihilation) and baqā' (subsistence) were also careful insofar as they scrupulously avoided any pantheistic implications, although many later Qādirī saints, such as Miyān Mīr (d. 1045/ 1635) and Mullā Shāh Badakhshānī (d. 1071/ 1661) of India were not so careful. 19
One day when Shaykh ' Abd al-Qādir's mind was in a state of ferment, he said to himself:
I want a death which has no life in it and a life which has no death in it.
Then he began to explain:
So I was asked what kind of death it is that has no life in it and what kind of life it is that has no death in it. I said: "The death that has no life in it is my death from my own species... so that I do not live in any of these and am not found in them. And as for the life that has no death in it, it is my life with the act of my Lord in such a manner that I have no existence in it and my death in it is existence with Him." Since I have attained understanding, this has been the most precious of all purposes of mine. (Futūḥ al-ghayb, 167) 20
As a result of the teachings of Muḥammad ibn Karrām, anthropomorphic ideas were current in certain regions of Central Asia and Iran. 21 The Shaykh firmly combatted such ideas. "Our Creator is on the 'arsh (heavenly throne) but He has no body" ( al-Fatḥ al-rabbānī, XIX, 124).
The ideal life in the eyes of the Shaykh was one which was absolutely devoted and dedicated to God. For this purpose alone did God create mankind, as the Quran says, "I have not created jinn and mankind except to serve Me" (LI, 56). The more a man strives to "live for the Lord," the nearer he comes to realizing the divine purpose of life. One has to surrender his life, his will, and his material means to God if he aims at divine realization. "God-conscious existence" gives man spiritual strength; it lifts him from mundane struggles for petty gains and joys of life to a life of spiritual solace and serenity and sets him in tune with the real source of spiritual power (al-Fatḥ al-rabbānī, XXI, 122-25).
An introspective study of one's own self is the first step in the direction of divine realization. "Whoever understands his own self, also understands God," said the Shaykh. This interiorization of spiritual experience paves the way for a deeper study of both noumena and phenomena. Creation points to the existence of its Creator, "because creation indicates the existence of the Creator and strong power is an indication of the wise actor behind it; because all things are in existence through Him. And it is this which is reported from Ibn 'Abbās in his explanation of the word of God: 'God has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and earth'" (XXXI, 20) (Futūḥ al-ghayb, ed. Muhammad 'Ālam Qayṣarī, 151-54). This power, however, comes to man when he identifies himself with the Divine Purpose of Existence and leads a life in consonance with the Divine Will. The Divine Will is revealed in the Sunnah (sayings and doings of the Prophet). So whoever follows it meticulously and in all details of life in effect subordinates himself to the Divine Will.
The Shaykh looked upon this world as a veil (ḥijāb) that hides from view the world of the hereafter. The more one involves his heart in this world and all that it has to offer, the greater become the thickness and darkness of the veil between him and the noumenal world (al-Fatḥ al-rabbānī, XXI, 122).
Whoever desires spiritual progress must come out of his "self" and develop an attitude of detachment toward all things worldly and material. Engrossment in material pursuits deadens man's spiritual sensibilities and makes his heart irresponsive to divine communications. In developing his ideas about "detachment," the Shaykh went to the extent of saying that unless one cuts oneself off completely, both physically and mentally, from the world around him and stops putting reliance on his own effort, action, and intelligence, his spiritual being remains dormant.
Spiritual life, he used to say, is not possible unless one controls his natural urges and adopts the path of the Law (Sharī'ah). In every matter, whether it is related to food and drink, dress and marital relationship, or habits and predilections, one has to subordinate himself to the injunctions of the Law. He recited this Quranic verse in support of his exhortations: "Whatever the Messenger gives you, take; Whatever he forbids you, give over" (LIX, 7) ( Futūḥ al-ghayb, 159).