Two Paradises

Imām Ibn al-Qayyim said: ‘There is no [true] bliss, nor any delight, joy, or completeness for him, except in knowing Allāh, loving Him, being tranquil in the remembrance of Him, feeling delighted in drawing closer to Him and in yearning to meet Him; this being the paradise of the worldly life. Likewise, there is no delight or success for him in the Afterlife, except with his being enveloped in the Abode of Bliss in the Paradise of the next life. So there are for him two paradises, he will not enter the latter without first entering the former.

I heard Shaykh’l-Islām  Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allāh sanctify his soul, saying: ‘Indeed there is a paradise in this world, whoever does not enter it will not enter the Paradise of the Afterlife.’

One of the gnostics said: ‘There are times that pass over the heart about which I say: If the people of Paradise are in the likes of this [state], then what a wonderful life they are in.’

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

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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.

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“Guide Us to the Straight Path”

Some of them say concerning His saying, اهدِنَــــا الصِّرَاطَ المُستَقِيمَ ‘Guide us to the Straight Path’ saying: ‘Allaah has already guided the believer, so what benefit is there in seeking guidance?’ Then some of them reply by saying that the meaning is ‘keep us firm upon guidance’, as the Arab would say to the one who is asleep, ‘sleep until I come to you.’ Others from amongst them say that the meaning is, ‘keep our hearts firm upon the guidance’ and that the request for firmness has been omitted. Yet others from amongst them say that it means, ‘increase me in guidance’.

This question really occurs due to the absence of their contemplating upon the Straight Path to which the servant seeks guidance to, for the meaning (of the verse) is (seeking guidance to) act according to what Allaah ordered, and leave what He forbade in all matters.

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