A Pearl of Wisdom from Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Mursī

Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Mursī said:

مَنْ أَرَادَ الظُّهُورَ فَهُوَ عَبْدُ الظُّهُورِ، وَمَنْ أَرَادَ الْخَفَاءَ فَهُوَ عَبْدُ الْخَفَاءَ، أَمَّا مَنْ أَرَادَ اللهَ وَهُوَ عبدٌ لَهُ، فَهُوَ الَّذِي إِذَا شَاءَ أَظْهَرَهُ وَإِذَا شَاءَ أَخْفَاهُ، لَا يَخْتَارُ لِنَفْسِهِ ظُهُورًا وَلَا خَفَاءً

“One who desires conspicuousness, he is its slave. And one who desires anonymity, he is its slave. Regarding one who desires Allāh and is His slave, when Allāh wills, He will make him known; and when He wills, he will make him unknown. One does not choose this matter for himself.”

(Munāwī’s Fayḍ al-Qadīr, 5:437)