Thread by @Jawnmard1

The ego is by its nature an egoist, since it has to believe in its own self-existence. Like spaniels we quiver with delight when we are praised, wagging our tails and rolling over to be tickled some more;
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particularly when we are praised by those whom society loves to praise. The pleasure is supplied by the opportunity to avert our eyes from the filth in our hearts. If others see us as praiseworthy, then our self-doubt shrinks,
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and we feel reassured.
The saint may praise, but his skill is to do so only to gift us with the blessing of Expansion (bast). Here the rūh is freed from darkness and our natural joy in creation is liberated.
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The saint praises the disciple so that his soul may dance in God’s sunshine, not so that he may be comforted about his ego. The saint is the
nightingale that sings to the heart’s rose.
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— Shaykh Dr. Abdal Hakim Murad (TJ Winter)

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Commentary on the Eleventh Contentions

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Taken by Jaihoon Mujeeb

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