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.

Read Full Post »

A Father’s Advice to His Son

Ibn al-Jawzī authored the following as an advice to his son, Abu’l-Qasim Badr al-Dīn ‘Alī al-Nasikh.1 

You should know, my son, may Allāh guide you to what is right, that man has been distinguished by intellect only so that he would act according to it. Bring it to the fore, use it in contemplation and spend time alone with yourself. You will conclude that you are a created being who has responsibilities and obligations and that the two angels are counting your every word and glance. Every breath is a step closer to death. The time we spend in this world is short, the time we are held in our graves is long, and the punishment for following our base desires is calamitous.

Where is the delight of yesterday? It has departed leaving only regret in its wake. Where is the soul’s desire? How many has it brought low, how many has it caused to slip and falter? People have only attained happiness by going against their lusts and desires. People have only become wretched by giving preference to the life of this world. Learn from the lives of kings and ascetics: where is the delights of the kings and where is the weariness of the ascetics? The only thing left is the abundant reward and beautiful mention for the pious, and the malicious words and calamitous punishment for the disobedient. It is as if those who starved never starved and those who ate to their fill never did so. Laziness in virtuous deeds is an evil companion indeed, and love of comfort causes regret greater than any enjoyment. So take heed and tire yourself for your self.

Read Full Post »

The Nature of Things

Ibn al-Qayyim says: “For the tongue does not keep quiet at all. It is either a tongue that remembers or a tongue that is frivolous and it has to be one of these two.

It is the (nature of the) soul; if you do not preoccupy it with truth, it will occupy you with falsehood. It is the (nature of the) heart; if you do not accommodate it with love of Allaah, it will dwell with love of creation and this is a certain reality. It is the (nature of the) tongue; if you do not preoccupy it with remembrance, it will most definitely occupy you with frivolity.

Thus, choose for your own self one of the two courses and confer upon it one of the two standings.”

• Source: Al-Waabil as-Sayyib | Pgs. 166-167 | Ibn al-Qayyim
• Transcribed from: Causes Behind the Increase and Decrease of Eemaan | ‘Abdur-Razzq al-‘Abbaad

Read Full Post »

The Difference between Caution and Suspicion

One who is cautious resembles one who travels with his wealth and riding animal while being mindful of thieves. He resembles one who has prepared himself with armor and weapons to meet his enemy.

As for suspicion, it is a heart filled with bad thoughts of others, and backbiting, slander, and hatred is the result. One who is cautious intermingles with people while protecting himself, though one who is suspicious harms them while avoiding them. The former advises them while the latter despises them.

• Transcribed from: The Soul | Imaam Ibn Al Qayyim

Read Full Post »

True Nobility

Dhun-Noon said, “Who is more noble and honourable than one who is cut off from everyone except the One who has sovereignty of everything in His Hand?

• Transcribed from: The Evil of Craving for Wealth and Status | al-Haafidh Ibn Rajab al-Hanbalee

Read Full Post »

Complain of Yourself

Imām Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allāh have mercy upon him,  said:

The ignorant one complains about Allāh to the people! This is the height of ignorance in complaining and in whom the complaint is about. For if a person were to truly know his Lord, he would never complain of Him. If he truly knew people, he would never complain to them … The gnostic complains only to Allāh, and the most knowledgeable of the gnostics are those who complain to Allāh about themselves, not others … So there are three levels: The most contemptible of them is to complain to people about Allāh; the loftiest of them is to complain to Allāh about oneself; the middle level is to complain to Allāh about others.

• Source: al-Fawa’id
• Transcribed from: Translator’s Footnote from ‘The Exquisite Peal – The Journey to Allāh & The Home of the Hereafter’ | Shaykh ‘Abd Al-Rahmān Al-Sa’di

Read Full Post »

O Miskeen!

Al Fudayl ibn ‘Iyaad said,

“O Miskeen! You are an evil-doer and you think yourself to be one who does good. You are an ignoramus and you think yourself to be a scholar. You are a miser and you think yourself to be generous. O foolish one! You see that you are intelligent. Your time is short, but your hope is long.”

[Adh-Dhahabi]: I say: Yes, by Allah, he has spoken the truth. And you are an oppressor and you think yourself to be the one who is oppressed. And you eat what is unlawful and you think that you are cautious and fearful (in this regard). And you are a sinner and you think yourself to be just and upright. And you seek the knowledge (of the religion) for the world, and yet you think that you seek it for Allaah.

• Source: Siyaar A’laam an-Nubalaa 8/440
• Retrieved from: Sincerity in Speech and Action

Read Full Post »

He is Both the Oppressor and the Oppressed

‘Adl (fairness and justice) is i’tidaal (balance), and in balance lies the correction of the heart, just as in dhulm (imbalance/oppression) lies its corruption. This is why for every sin that the person has committed he has oppressed his self (dhaaliman li nafsihi). The opposite of dhulm is ‘adl, so this sinful person has not been just to his self, rather he has oppressed it. The correction of the heart lies in ‘adl and its corruption lies in dhulm. Therefore, when the servant oppresses himself he is the oppressor and the oppressed at the same time, likewise when he is just then he is the one who is just and the one upon whom the justice is carried out.

Read Full Post »

The Flavor of the Heart

Imaam Ibnul-Qayyim, rahimahullah said: If you would like to draw a conclusion of what is contained in someone’s heart then use as a proof the movements of his tongue, for surely, he will show you what is contained in his heart regardless of whether he wants to or not. Yahyaa Ibn Mu’aadh said,

The hearts are like pots. They boil with that which they contain and their tongues are their ladles [i.e. scooping spoons]. So look at a man when he speaks. His tongue will scoop out for you that which is contained in his heart, whether it is sweet or bitter, fresh or salty and other than that. And the flavor of his heart will become clear to you from that which his tongue scoops out. 1

This means that just as you can taste the flavor of foods being cooked with your tongue and you realize the true flavor of them, similarly you can taste what is in a man’s heart by way of his tongue, in the same manner that you can taste what is in the pot with your tongue.

• Footnote: 1) Collected by Aboo Nu’aym in “al-Hilyah” (vol. 10/pg. 63)
• Source: “al-Jawaabul-Kaafee/ad-Daa wad-Dawaa” (pg. 242-249) – K.S.A.: Daaru Ibnil-Jauzee-2006
• Transcribed from: The Appendix of An Explanation of the Hadeeth: “Say, ‘I believe in Allah’, and then be upright and steadfast” | Ibn Rajab

Read Full Post »

Clean Your House!

“Today, everyone is an ‘aalim and they’re always saying nahnu (we).

They clean the house of the neighbours, and they keep the rubbish in their house.

Clean your house before you look to your neighbours!”

Shaykh Muhammad al-Maalikee

 

Points to Ponder:

1. The acquisition of ‘ilm (and this is only by the blessings of Allaah upon us) should humble us, not give us delusions of grandeur.

2. We are living in a strange time when people have an answer to every question they are given, when they make haste to answer it, when they speak from a position they have not been granted and when the gem of a phrase Allaahu a’lam (Allaah knows best) has become so foreign to the tongues.

3. How does one who is so busy with the mistakes of fulaan (so and so) open his eyes to his own mistakes? Rather he is so busy assessing the state of others, that he becomes blind to his own faults. Allaah will not ask you concerning the deeds of fulaan on the Day of  Judgement, rather He will ask you of your own deeds, so what of them?

Read Full Post »