Some of the sayings of Hazrat Sahal bin Abdullah Tastari Rahmatullahi alaih

“Taubah is compulsory on every person, whether he is of the elite (i.e. Auliya and pious Ulama) or of the laypeople or whether he is a sinner or an obedient person.”

Since the time he became the mureed of Hadhrat Zunnun Misri (rahmatullah alayh), Hadhrat Sahal never spread his feet nor leaned against the wall. One day in Tastar (his home city), he suddenly stretched his legs and said: “Ask me whatever you wish.” When the people in surprise said: “Hadhrat, you had never done so before.” He replied: “As long as the Ustaadh is alive, the student should conduct himself with respect.” The people made a note of the time and date. Later it was established that Hadhrat Zunnun Misri (rahmatullah alayh) had died in Egypt precisely on that day and time.

Hadhrat Sahal had prescribed for one of his mureeds the constant thikr of Allaahu-Allaah. The mureed was at all times engrossed in this Thikr. One day, a rafter from the ceiling fell on the head of the mureed. Blood gushed from his head. Every drop which fell on the ground formed the word: ‘Allaah.’

In a dream I saw the accursed Iblees. I asked him: “What is most difficult for you?” He said: “The heart of a Muslim in which is ingrained the Remembrance of Allah.”

“When man’s stomach is filled with haraam food, then he desires futility. His bestial lusts multiply, and his worldly wishes and hopes increase.”

“Haraam food entraps the eyes, the ears, the tongue, the stomach, the reproductive organs, the hands and the feet in sins. Then sin emanates from him intentionally and unintentionally. When only halaal is consumed, these organs engage in obedience, and he becomes the repository of virtue.”

“Say to the one who desires to attain perfection in Taqwa: “Abstain from all sins.”

“The amal (act of ibaadat) which does not conform to (the method) of the pious predecessors (Salafus Saaliheen) is a cause for punishment.” (i.e. acts of bid’ah; adding to ibaadat; deleting from ibaadat; introducing new acts in the form of ‘ibaadat’.)

“The Noor of Allah never settles in a heart in which are things which are displeasing to Allah Ta’ala.”