Such Wonders

Let your heart reside with your Master and you will see such wonders of His providence unfurl that were never seen by your predecessors!

• Transcribed from: The Legacy of the Prophet: An explanation of his advice to ibn ‘Abbās; being a translation of his Nūru’l-Iqtibās fī Mishkāt Waṣiyyah al-Nabī li’bn ‘Abbās | Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī

Praising Allāh in the Midst of Calamity

One of the Salaf said, “When I am afflicted with calamity, I praise Allāh four times: I praise Allāh for it not being worse than it is, I praise Allāh for nourishing me with the ability to bear it patiently, I praise Him for granting me the accord to say, ‘To Allāh we belong and to Him we return,’ and I praise Him for not making the tribulation in my religion.”

Looking to relief through patience is an act of worship since tribulation never remains forever.

Patiently bear every calamity, take heart,

Know that harm never endures forever.

Be patient, just as the nobles were patient:

It is a fleeting event; here today, gone tomorrow. 

If the most severely afflicted person were to be dipped but once in the bliss of Paradise and then asked, “Have you ever seen calamity?” He will reply, “My Lord, no!” [1]

Appreciated Blessings Remain

When the blessing is appreciated, it remains, and when it is unappreciated, it escapes. For this reason, some of the scholars have called gratitude “the protector” and “the reason;” because it safeguards the blessing that is already in place and it brings about blessings that do not exist.

• Transcribed from: The Wise Counsel of Luqman | Shaykh Abdur Razzaq Al-Badr

The Sentry That Never Sleeps

Qatādah said,

Allāh is with those who have taqwā of Him. Whoever has Allāh with him, then with him is the party that will never be overcome, the sentry that will never sleep and the guide who will never go astray. [1]

Seclusion Does Not Beget Loneliness

Many of them would not have the strength to interact with creation and, as a result, would flee so that they could be alone with their beloved; this is why many of them would spend long periods of time in seclusion. When one of them was asked, “Do you not feel the bite of loneliness?” He replied, “How can I when He has said that He is the companion of one who remembers Him?” Another said, “How can one feel the bite of loneliness when he is with Allāh?” Yet another said, “Whoever feels the bite of loneliness when alone does so because of his lack of solace with his Lord.”

Yaḥyā ibn Mu’ādh would frequently seclude and isolate himself, when his brother censured him for this by saying, “If you are a man amongst men, you need the company of men,” he replied, “If you are a man amongst men, you are in need of  Allāh.” It was once asked of him, “You have migrated from the people, with whom do you live?” He replied, “With the One for whose sake I migrated.” Ghāzwan was once censured for his seclusion to which he said, “I attain relief in my heart by sitting with One who meets my needs.”

Night Prayers

O you whose nature is unyielding and whose heart is inclined towards his nature: think of the purpose for which you were created, and what it is that Allāh made incumbent upon you. If you wish to ride the stallion that is your soul, then you must tame it, and counteract the effect of your mercurial nature, so that you can harness it for proper use. Look for the dawn of reward during the night, and pour out the intoxicant of your desires, so that you do not get caught by the One in authority [i.e. Allāh].

The water of your nature is brine, whereas the water of your heart is sweet, your intellect standing between the two as a barrier, just as al-Khidr’s firm stance. So be like Musā (‘alayhi as-salām), and do not abandon your self-discipline until you arrive at the meeting point of the two oceans. Stand on the leg of patience [praying all night] even if standing is too wearisome, as it is better than sitting down. O you who has been asleep all night long, the company has already left, and the sun of old-age is upon you and yet your sleep does not end. If you had been awake in the last part of the night, you would have seen how the road of the pious slaves is crowded and had you gone to drink from the well of Madiyan [1], you would have many people quenching their thirst from it.

Begin with Kindness

When you desire to counsel or advise someone, it is befitting that you are personable with them by using kind statements and nice speech that will allow your speech to enter and open their heart to your speech. Notice that while Luqman was advising his son, he used beautiful speech, an effective method, and words that would enter his heart. Look at the words he used with his son while advising him. You will find that the phrase “Oh my dear son” is repeated throughout the advice because this phrase has an enormous impression on the son; it affects his soul and it aids him in being attentive [so that he may] completely benefit.

Speech will have the greatest impact if it is accompanied by affability. As for the speech that is devoid of affability – for example: if a person said, while counseling or warning, “oh boy!” or, as it has been mentioned about some of them when they speak to their son or prohibit him from something, they call him by the names of some animals. So how will the heart of the one being advised be opened with the likes of this type of speech that insults them? No doubt this will close and alienate the mind. Therefore, there is a far cry between using this method and warning by implementing kindness as Luqman did in his statement to his son: “Oh my dear son” – [stated] with compassion and fatherliness, and sympathy and mercy so the heart would open.

Conversation between the Dead

Muhammad ibn Ja’far related: I heard Muhammad ibn Sabīh, saying: “I was informed  that when a person is placed in his grave [and he has sinned], he is encountered by what he detests therein; the dead from the neighbouring graves say to him: ‘O you whose brothers and neighbours passed away, while you were left behind in the world! Did you not learn a lesson from us [when we died but you stayed alive]? Have you not thought about the notion of us preceding you in death? Did you not notice that our deeds ended by our death, yet you were still given time [i.e. to perform more deeds]? So why did you not take advantage of what we have neglected?’ Then the earth calls him saying: ‘O you who was befooled with the appearance of this worldly life! Why did you not learn a lesson from those who were befooled with this wordly life then they were removed and buried underneath?'” [1]

Footnotes

1.  cf. Ibn Rajab in Ahwāl al-Qabur (p.26) and Ihyā‘ ‘Ulum al-Dīn (4/482)

• Transcribed from: Disturber of Hearts; Kitab al-Mugliq | Ibn al-Jawzī

Like a Summer Cloud

The greatest aid for him in [preferring the Everlasting Hereafter to the transient world] is to take a look at the state of the Messenger (salAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) and his biography as well as his Companions. The fact that they renounced the world, turned their hearts away from it and discarded it. They never accustomed themselves with it and instead deserted it. They never inclined towards it and they regarded it to be a prison and not a heaven, and thus, abstained from it in a true manner. And if they had desired it they would have acquired every loved thing and arrived at every cherished matter from it. Indeed, the keys to the treasures of the world were offered to the Prophet (salAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) but he rejected them. The world also poured out to the Companions but they did not opt for it and did not exchange their portion of the Hereafter for the world.

They knew that the world was a crossing point and passageway, not a place of dwelling and settling, that it was a place of transit (‘uboor) and not a place of happiness (suroor) and it was a summer cloud which will soon disperse and an apparition no sooner is it completed than is it on the brink of departure.

Overcoming Laziness

Loving leisure, preferring idleness and the perceived difficulty of tasks are what lead one to laziness. Bukhāri and Muslim reported from Anas ibn Mālik (radiAllāhu ‘anhu) that the Prophet  (salAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) used to frequently say, “I seek refuge in Allāh from grief and distress, old age and laziness.” 1

Muslim reported in his Sahih that Abu Hurayrah (radiAllāhu ‘anhu) narrated that the Prophet (salAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, “A strong believer is better and more loved by Allāh than a weak believer.” 2

At all times, strive for that which will benefit you, seek the help of Allāh, and do not be helpless. If anything (bad) befalls you, do not say , ‘If only I had done such-and-such, then such-and-such would have happened.’ Rather you should say, ‘Allāh preordained this, and whatever He wills He does,’ for the words ‘if only’ open the door to Shaytaan.

Ibn Mas’ood (radiAllāhu ‘anhu) said, “I detest a man whom I see idle from striving for this world and the hereafter.” 3 He also said, “At the end of time there will be people whose best actions will be blaming each other, also known as the lazy ones.”

Ibn ‘Abbās (radiAllāhu ‘anhu) said, “Slackening married laziness and they gave birth to poverty.”