What does the life of a true shaykh look like?

I have been blessed to witness in my Shaykh, Mowlana Shamsur Rehman may his blessings continue, a few of the attributes of a true shaykh as the scholars describe them, and many more. He stays in the state of ablution at all times.

Ablution for him is a state of readiness, and this was the habit of the Beloved Prophet ﷺ, who said, "No one remains upon ablution but a true believer" [Sahih Ibn Hibban 1037].

I had the favour of Allah to join my Shaykh on one of his visits for Umrah, the lesser pilgrimage. When we went to Madinah and checked in to our hotel rooms, the fellows called out in excitement as they could view the tomb of the Masjid al-Nabwi from the window. My Shaykh, even though he was already in the state of ablution, renewed it to have the view of the Masjid al-Nabwi.

Most of my Shaykh's family is settled in Madinah, and we were invited for dinner by his family members. By the time we returned to our hotel room it was past midnight, and it is his routine in summer to be up by 3 am.

Finally we retired, but he had to use the toilet, so he got up and afterwards thoroughly performed his wudu, dressed up, tied his head dress, the amama, and performed two rak'ahs of Tahayat ul Wudu, as he would do at any other time. I have always witnessed him follow the same routine, may it be cold winter nights or long travels.

Once at a gathering he looked very upset, and when I asked him about the matter, he told me that he forgot his siwak, the teeth-cleaning twig as per Sunnah, at home. He therefore had to perform wudu without the siwak, and this bothered him, as he had never missed the Sunnah over years. He is one of those whose obedience to Allah is perpetual.

Once there was a discussion about attendance at the Masjid before the first takbeer (Adhan), and a person was being praised for not having missed his first takbeer for a few years. Out of curiosity, I asked my Shaykh if he had missed any, to which he replied, "You know! I just manage to reach in time". I knew that he had never missed the first takbeer, yet he concealed the fact out of true humility.

His scrupulousness and taqwa, piety, is to the degree that he had never missed his tahajjud, or before dawn prayers, even as a child. As a young boy, before coming of age, he used to perform his tahajjud prayers in the Masjid.

Once, he saw a strange light and got scared, and only after that he would perform his tahajjud prayers in his room. As a child, instead of playing with other boys, he dedicated his time to invoking the name of Allah and sending the blessings to the Prophet ﷺ.

Recently, he went through major heart surgery which lasted about six or seven hours and only finished by evening. The same evening of his heart surgery, as soon as he regained some consciousness, he performed his isha prayers.

I have been blessed to be a disciple and be in his company for over thirty years, yet never witnessed anything except adherence to Sunnah. I have seen in him a learned man who has learnt the Divine command, holds it at the centre of his life and lives it in every aspect.

His humility and modesty sometimes surprise me, but this is what each one of those before him in the chain have possessed and passed on to the next: Love and absolute surrender to the Lord. As in the Qur'an:

"Lo, Verily the friends of Allah, never need they be feared for, nor shall they grieve: Those who believe, and are ever Godfearing. Theirs are the great good tidings in this life and the next: There is no changing the words of Allah; That is the mighty triumph" [Qur'an, Yunus 10:62-64]