How to Become a Saint

If JWK wanted to become a saint (however unlikely), he could worse than follow the plan presented in 1453 by Abu Abdallah Muhammad Al-Jazuli Al-Simlali, known as al-Jazuli (from Cornell):

(The image of Mecca is taken from a 1718 manuscript of Jazuli's Signs of Blessings.)

1. Follow spiritual masters who are knowledgeable in both the exoteric and esoteric aspects of religion. This rule sets the epistemological parameters of the faqir’s knowledge.
2. Avoid places where prohibited things are done. This lessens the urge to sin.
3. Practice self-discipline. This combats the laziness of the soul.
4. Avoid the immoral, love the good, follow the Sunna of the Prophet, befriend the friends of God, and be an enemy to the enemies of God. This defines salah, socially conscious virtue.
5. Practice constant remembrance of God and prayers on behalf of the Prophet. This takes the faqir outside of the individual self.
6. Never hate those with faith. This fosters unity by encouraging love for all Muslims.
7. Perform the five daily prayers at their proper times. This upholds the Shari'a.
8. Never sully spiritual practice with egoism, arrogance, tyranny, or self-love in act, word, or deed. This builds character.
9. Make your speech wisdom, your silence contemplation, and your vision deliberation. This fosters spiritual maturity.
10. Know that salvation is in God, His saints, and the prophets of God, and that perdition is in the ego and what arises from it. This establishes the hierarchy of spiritual authority.
11. Avoid backbiting, gossip, and slander. This eliminates dissension and disharmony in the Muslim community.
12. Do not love the mighty, but love the doers of good and be their companion. This combats elitism and worldly ambition.
13. Avoid evildoers and love the poor and the Sufis and be one of them. This maintains the link between spiritual poverty and social consciousness.
14. Learn the knowledge that brings one closer to God. This reinforces the understanding that the only true ambition for the Sufi is himma, the ambition to find God.

After mastering all these Rules of Repentance, acquire the 10 attributes of the dog—the example of the dog is to get rid of any feelings of self-importance:

In the dog are ten praiseworthy attributes that are found in the sincere disciple:
1. He sleeps only a little at night; this is a sign of the lovers of God.
2. He complains of neither heat nor cold; this is a sign of the patient.
3. When he dies, he leaves nothing behind which can be inherited from him; this is a sign of the ascetics.
4. He is neither angry nor hateful; this is a sign of the faithful.
5. He is not sorrowful at the loss of a close relative, nor does he accept assistance; this is a sign of the secure.
6. If he is given something, he consumes it and is content; this is a sign of the contented.
7. He has no known place of refuge; this is a sign of the wanderers.
8. He sleeps in any place that he finds; this is a sign of the satisfied.
9. Once he knows his master, he never hates him, even if he beats or starves him; this is a sign of the knowers.
10. He is always hungry; this is a sign of the virtuous.