THE JOB OF THE SHAYKH

When you are a shaykh, it means
that you are on Allah’s side. In other
words, Sufism means you are on
Allah’s side. When I [the shaykh]
see something wrong with you, it is
my job to point this out to you. The
context in which I point this out to
you may be different. Sometimes
it is urgent; sometimes not. Now
do not get mad at me, when I point
this out to you, especially in a case
where there is a conflict between
two parties, for example, mother and
daughter, mother and daughter-in-law,
son and father, father and son,
two brothers, neighbors. It is not our
job as a shaykh to solve the problem.
We do not interfere in relationships
and business. Our interest in the
matter is to see what is wrong with
the students that we are dealing with
and to correct them so they can go
forward towards Allah.
I do not take sides and you
should not either. On the other hand,
they say, “You are right, Shaykh.”
Eywallah. But I am not after being
right either. As the position of the
shaykh, Allah is right. What am I
after? I am after the Truth, I am after
Allah. What Allah says is what I try
to do. In Sufism, we say you should
not see the right in you.