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Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
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01/15/03 at 03:44:58
[u]On Ubudiyyah:[/u] Uboodiyyah is a comprehensive term that asserts the meaning of the Aayah: "You Alone do we worship and You Alone do we seek for Help." (Qur'an 1:5) It comprises the slavery of the heart, tongue and limbs to Allaah ta`aala. The slavery of the heart includes both the Qawl (saying of the heart) and `Amaal (actions of the heart). The Qawl of the heart is the belief (I`tiqaad) in what Allaah has informed about His Self, His Names and Attributes, His Action, His Angels, and that which He revealed in His Book and sent upon the tongue of His Messenger Muhammad sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam. The `Amaal of the heart include love for Allaah, reliance upon Him, turning to Him in repentance, fearing Him, having hope in Him, devoting the Deen sincerely to Him, having patience in what He orders and forbids, having patience with His decrees and being pleased with them, having allegiance for His pleasure, having humility for Him and humbling oneself in front of Him, and becoming tranquil with Him. The Qawl (saying) of the tongue is to convey what Allah has revealed (in the Qur'an and authentic Sunnah) regarding Himself, His Names and Attributes, His Actions, His Commands, His Prohibitions, and all that is related to this Deen), to call to it, defend it, to expose the false innovations which oppose it, and to establish its remembrance and to convey what it orders. The `Amaal (actions) of the limbs include the Salaat (prayers), Jihaad, attending the Jumu`ah prayers and the rest of the Jamaa`aat (congregational prayers), assisting those who are unable, and acting with goodness and kindness to creation, and other such acts. This comprehensive meaning of the `Uboodiyyah pertains to its specific type. The people who fall under this type of `Uboodiyyah are the believers who obey, love, and sincerely follow the Deen of Allaah ta`aala. The second type of `Uboodiyyah is the general one in which all creatures in the heavens and in the earth are subdued to Allaah's sovereign Authority and Power; everything is subservient to His Will, and Authority; nothing occurs or ceases to occur except by His leave; His is the Kingdom and He disposes the affairs as He pleases. This type of `Uboodiyyah is known as the `Uboodiyyah of Qahr (Subduing) and Mulk (Sovereignty, Kingship, Possession, Mastership, etc.). So, the part of the Aayah signifying "You do we worship" asserts the adherence to the four principles of `Uboodiyyah: The sayings of the heart The actions of the heart, The sayings of the tongue, and The actions of the limbs. The other part, "You Alone do we seek for Help," stresses the fact that the believer must ask Allaah alone to help him establish the `Uboodiyyah and succeed in executing all what it requires. From a footnote in "The Dispraise of Al-Hawaa (Desire) by Ibnul Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah
01/15/03 at 04:37:41
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Re: Ibn al Qayyim
jannah
01/15/03 at 03:47:44
[u] On the hardness of the heart: [/u] The servant is not afflicted with a punishment greater in severity than the hardening of the heart and it's being distant from Allaah. The Fire was created to melt the hardened heart -  this heart which is the most distant of hearts from Allaah. If the heart becomes hardened, the eye becomes dry [and finds no joy or tranquility]. There are four matters, when the limits are transgressed with regards to them, that harden the heart: food, sleep, speech and sexual intercourse. A body afflicted by disease does not derive nourishment from food and water and similarly a diseased heart does not benefit from admonishment or exhortation.   Whosoever desires to purify his heart then let him give preference to Allaah over his base desires.  The heart that clings to its base desires is veiled from Allaah in accordance to the strength of its attachment to them. The hearts are the vessels of Allaah upon His earth, hence the most beloved of them to Him are those that are most tender, pure and resistant to deviation.   [A reference to the hadeeth, "Truly, Allaah has vessels from amongst the people of the earth, and the vessels of your Lord are the hearts of his righteous slaves, and the most beloved of them to Him are the softest and most tender ones" and it is hasan. Refer to as-Saheehah (no. 1691)]   The transgressors preoccupied their hearts with the pursuance of this world. If only they had preoccupied them with Allaah and seeking the Hereafter then they would have instead reflected upon the meaning of His Words and His Signs that are witnessed in creation. Their hearts would have returned to their owners (in whose chests they reside) bestowing upon them marvelous wisdom and pearls of benefit. When the heart is nourished with dhikr, its thirst quenched with contemplation and cleansed from corruption, it shall witness remarkable and wondrous matters and be inspired with wisdom.   Not every individual who is endowed with knowledge and wisdom and dons its robe is from among its people. Rather the People of Knowledge and Wisdom are those who have infused life into their hearts by slaughtering their desires. As for the one who has destroyed his heart and given precedence to his desires then knowledge and wisdom are deprived from his tongue. The destruction of the heart occurs through possessing a sense of security and negligence. The heart is fortified through fear of Allaah and dhikr. If the heart renounces the pleasures of this world then it will be directed towards pursuing the bliss of the Hereafter and it will be amongst those who call to it. Should the heart become content with the pleasures of this world the bliss of the Hereafter ceases to be pursued.   Yearning for Allaah and His meeting is like a gentle breeze blowing upon the heart, blowing away the blazing desire for this world. Whosoever causes his heart to settle with his Lord shall find himself in a calm and tranquil condition and whosoever sends it amongst the people shall be disturbed and excessively perturbed. This is because the love of Allaah can never enter the heart that contains love of this world until the camel passes through the eye of a needle.   Therefore the most beloved servant to Allaah is the one whom He places in His servitude, whom He selects for His Love, whom He causes to purify his worship for Him, who dedicates his life to Him, his tongue to His dhikr and his limbs to His service.  The heart becomes sick as the body becomes sick and its cure lies in repentance and seeking protection from evil. It becomes rusty as a mirror becomes rusty and it is polished through dhikr. It becomes naked as the body becomes naked and its adornment comes about through taqwaa. It becomes hungry and thirsty as the body becomes hungry and thirsty and its hunger and thirst is satiated through knowledge, love, reliance, repentance and servitude to Allaah. From Al-Fawaa'id
01/15/03 at 03:49:38
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Re: Ibn al Qayyim
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01/15/03 at 03:55:57
[u] On knowledge: [/u] There are six stages to knowledge: Firstly: Asking questions in a good manner. Secondly: Remaining quiet and listening attentively. Thirdly: Understanding well. Fourthly: Memorising. Fifthly: Teaching. Sixthly - and it is its fruit: Acting upon the knowledge and keeping to its limits. From Miftaah Daarus-Sa 'aadah

Re: Ibn al Qayyim
jannah
01/15/03 at 04:04:11
[u]On the people of bliss: [/u] Contrary to the miserable people discussed in the last chapter, our discussion will now focus on the people of happiness and bliss. These can be divided into two classes. The First Class of Happy People The first class consists of those who possess the quality of intellectual independence; they are described by Allah (Ta'ala - the Most High) as follows: "The first and foremost [to embrace Islam] of the Muhaajireen [1] and the Ansaar [2], and also those who follow them in the best way; Allah is well-pleased with them, and they are with Him." [Qur'an - Soorah at-Tawbah 9:100] These are the happy ones for whom Allah's acceptance is confirmed. They are the Companions of Allah's Messenger (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam (May Allah's peace and blessing be upon him)) and those who follow them in the best way until the Day of Resurrection. The conventional expression 'Taabi'oon' applies to the companions' followers who have met with them in person. However, the description here is not restricted to them, but includes anyone who righteously follows their way; and any such person is of those with whom Allah (Ta'ala) is pleased and who are also pleased with Him. FOLLOWING WITH IHSAAN The manner of following the Sahaabah (in this aayah) is not ambiguous. It is restricted by Allah (Ta'ala) to being in the 'best way'. It cannot be fulfilled merely by wishes, or by adhering to them in some matters while rejecting them in others. It should always be done with Ihsaan (with righteousness and in the best way); this is a condition to deserve Allah's (Ta'ala) acceptance and His Gardens. He (Ta'ala) said: "He it is Who has sent among the unlettered a messenger [Muhammad] from among themselves, to convey unto them His messages, to sanctify them, and to instruct them in the Book and the Wisdom, although they had been before in manifest error. And He has sent him also to other people who have not quite reached them (the Sahaabah); He is All-Mighty, All-Wise. That is the bounty of Allah which He bestows on whom He wills. Allah is the One of great bounty." [Qur'an - Soorah Al-Jumu'ah 62:2-4] The first group of people mentioned here are those who met the Messenger (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and accompanied him. The latter are those who did not meet the first group; this applies to anyone who comes after them and adheres to their way, until the Day of Resurrection. This group falls behind the first group (the Sahaabah) both in era and in stature, even though both groups are of the happy ones. THREE KINDS OF HEARTS A third group of people would be those who reject the Guidance that Allah (Ta'ala) sent with His Messenger (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam), or who do not benefit from it. Those are described by Allah (Ta'ala) in the following: "The likeness of those who were entrusted with the responsibility of the Torah, but who subsequently failed in that, is as the likeness of a donkey which carries a huge burden of books [but understands nothing of them]..." [Qur'an - Soorah Al-Jumu'ah 62:5] The Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) also classified people into three groups based on their response to his Message and Guidance. He said: "An example of the guidance and knowledge with which Allah (Ta'ala) has sent me is that of a rain that falls on different kinds of land:    1) One land is good; it accepts water and produces vegetation and grass in plenty.    2) Another land is dry with a solid bed that reserves water so that people can drink and irrigate with it.    3) The third kind is a porous land that can neither retain water nor produce vegetation. This is an example of those who acquire the knowledge of the Deen and benefit from that with which Allah (Ta'ala) sent me, and of those who do not take heed and who insist on rejecting Allah's (Ta'ala) Guidance." [3] The Messenger (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) likens the knowledge (with which he came) to rain, because both are causes of life. Rain is the cause of life for the body, while knowledge is the cause of life for the heart. He (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) also likens different hearts to different valleys, as Allah (Ta'ala) said: "He sends down water from the sky, making different valleys flow according to their different natures..." [Qur'an - Soorah Ar-Rad 13:17] Thus, just as there are three kinds of land, there are three kinds of hearts: 1) The first is a good land which accepts water and is ready to produce vegetation. When rain falls on it, it absorbs the water eagerly, giving rise to all sorts of pleasant vegetation. This is an example of one with a healthy, pure, and intelligent heart, which embraces knowledge, and is guided by its true intelligent nature, blossoming by that wisdom and true faith. Therefore, it is eager to take the knowledge, and ready to bear fruits because of its good nature. It is also like a rich business man who has experience in different trades and investments, which enables him to invest his wealth in that which brings the best profit. 2) The second kind is a hard, solid land prepared to preserve and keep water: It benefits people who visit it to drink or irrigate. This is an example of one whose heart preserves knowledge and safeguards it so as to convey it just as he hears it, without changing it or deriving conclusions from it. This is also described in another hadeeth (saying, action or silent approval of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam): "There is often one who conveys knowledge to one who is more knowledgeable than himself; and there is often one who carries knowledge when he himself is not knowledgeable." [4] It is also like a rich man who does not possess the knowledge or experience to invest his wealth, but who knows very well how to preserve it. 3) The third is a barren land which is incapable of holding water or producing vegetation: no matter how much rain falls, it does not profit by it. This is an example of one whose heart does not accept any knowledge or wisdom. It is also like a poor man who neither possesses wealth nor knows how to preserve it. The first of the above three examples applies to a learned man who teaches knowledge, and who calls people to Allah (Ta'ala) with clear guidance; such are the inheritors of the Prophets. The second applies to one who preserves the knowledge, and who transmits what he hears precisely; he carries to other people precious goods that they can use for trade and investment. The third applies to one who neither accepts Allah's Guidance nor benefits from it. Thus this hadeeth covers the different types of people and their different attitudes toward the Prophet's (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) Da'wah, which makes them either happy or miserable. The Second Class of Happy People The second class of Happy People consists of the believers' followers from their offspring who die before reaching the status of takleef [5]. They will be with their parents [in the Hereafter], as Allah (Ta'ala) said: "As for those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith, We shall unite them with their offspring, and We shall not let any of their deeds go to waste; every person is responsible for that which he has earned." [Qur'an - Soorah At-Tur 52:21] Allah (Ta'ala) tells that He unites the offspring with the parents in the Jannah [6], just as He united them in faith (Eemaan). And because the offspring did not do deeds that would make them deserve this high honour, Allah (Ta'ala) informs that this union does not waste any of the deeds of the parents. They receive their full reward for what they did, plus the bonus of uniting them with their offspring. Also, because this reunion in rewards and ranks is a bounty from Allah (Ta'ala), one might imagine that it would be in violation of the rules of justice. To clarify this, the ayah indicates that if the children committed sins, they alone would be liable for punishment, and that every person is responsible for what he does without involving others with him in punishment. Thus this union takes place in terms of rewards and bounties, but not in terms of justice and penalty. This is indeed one of the keys and treasures of Qur'aan, the knowledge of which Allah (Ta'ala) gives only to those whom He wills. Thus this ayah covers all people: the miserable and the happy - those who are followed, and those who follow them. Consequently, let a prudent person who cares about his well-being see to which class he belongs. Let him not be influenced by habits or ruled by laziness. If he finds that he belongs to a happy class, let him strive to move to a higher rank, seeking Allah's help and facilitation. And if he finds that he belongs to the miserable class, let him move out of it into a happy class while it is still possible, and before he would have to say: "Oh! Would that I had followed the path shown to me by the Messenger." [Qur'an - Soorah Al Furqan 25:27] FOOTNOTES: 1. Muhaajir: A migrator - one who undertakes hijrah. Plural: muhaajiroon or muhaajireen. Reference here is specifically to those who migrated from Makkah to al-Madeenah in obedience to Allah 2. Ansaar: Those who give help and aid. It usually refers to the citizens of al-Madeenah who gave aid to the Muhaajireen when they migrated to their town 3. Al-Bukharee and Muslim 4. Narrated by Zayd bin Thaabit, Anas bin Maalik and others; recorded by Aboo Daawood, at-Tirmithee, Ahmad, and others; authenticated by al-Albaanee (as-Saheehah no.404) 5. Takleef: Responsibility for one's deeds 6. Jannah: Literally: garden. It usually refers to the Gardens of Paradise. From Ar-Risaalat ut-Tabukiyyah
01/15/03 at 04:13:14
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Re: Ibn al Qayyim
jannah
01/15/03 at 04:08:01
[u] On reciting surah Fatiha: [/u] 1. The Hadeeth Qudsee [Reported by Muslim, Maalik, at-Tirmidhee, Abu Daawood, an-Nasaaee and Ibn Maajah]: I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant Abu Hurairah (ra) said: I have heard the Prophet (sas) say: "Allah (the Mighty and Sublime) has said: I have divided prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. When the servant says: All praise belongs to Allaah the Rabb of all the Worlds. Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: My servant has praised Me. And when he says: The Most Gracious the Most Merciful Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: My servant has extolled Me, and when he says: Master of the Day of Judgement Allah says: My servant has glorified Me -and on one occasion He said: My servant has submitted to My power. And when he says: You alone do we worship and from You alone do we seek help He says: This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. And when he says: Guide us to the Straight Path, the Path of those whom you have favoured, not of those upon whom is your anger, nor of those who are astray He says: This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for And when he says: All praise is due to Allaah the Rabb of all the Worlds, he pauses for a short while waiting for the response of his Lord: "My servant has praised Me." Then when he says: The Most Gracious the Most Merciful, he waits for the response: "My servant has extolled Me" and when he says: Master of the Day of Judgement, he waits for the response: "My servant has glorified Me." It is the delight of his heart, the pleasure of his eye and the joy of his soul that his Lord says about him: "My servant" three times. By Allaah! If the fumes of desire and the darkness of the souls were not upon the hearts, they would have flown out of happiness and joy that their Lord, Maker and Deity says: "My servant has praised Me, My servant has extolled Me and My servant has glorified Me." Then there would have been space in his heart to witness (the reality) of these three names which are the basis of all the Beautiful Names and these are: Allaah, ar-Rabb and ar-Rahmaan... ...When he says: Master of the Day of Judgement, he witnesses the glory which be fits none but the King, the Truth, the Manifest. So he witnesses a very powerful and compelling King, to Whom the whole creation has yielded, to Whom the faces are humbled, to Whom the creation humbles itself, and to Whom every possessor of power and honour submits to. He witnesses with his heart a King (Who is) upon the Throne of the Heaven... ...And when he says: You alone do we worship and from You alone do we seek help, in which lies the secret of the creation and the affair, of the world and the hereafter, and which contains the loftiest of goals and the most excellent of means (of approach to Allaah). The loftiest of goals is enslavement to Allaah and the most excellent of means is His help and assistance. There is no deity deserving of worship in truth except He and there is no helper in His worship besides Him. Therefore, His worship is the greatest of goals and His aid is loftiest of means... ...And these words contain the two types of Tawheed and they are Tawheed ur-Ruboobiyyah and Tawheed ul-Uloohiyyah. Devotion and Enslavement to Allaah is comprised in the names ar-Rabb and Allaah, so he is worshipped on account of His Uloohiyyah, help is sought from Him on account of His Ruboobiyyah and He guides to the Straight Path on account of His Mercy. The first part of the surah therefore, mentions His names Allaah, ar-Rabb and ar-Rahmaan for the purpose of the one who seeks His worship, help and guidance. He is alone in being able to bestow all of that. There is no one who can aid others in His worship besides Allaah and none can guide (to the Straight Path) except Him. Then the caller realises with the speech of Allaah: Guide us to the Straight Path, his extreme need for this (guidance). He is never in need of any other thing as much as he is for this guidance. He is need of it in every moment and at every glance of the eye... ...Then Allaah makes it clear that the people of this Guidance are those who have been specified with His favour, not of those upon whom is His anger, and they are the ones who know the Truth but do not follow it and not of those who are astray, and they are those who worship Allaah without knowledge. Both of these groups share with each other in speaking about His creation, His command and His Names and Attributes without knowledge. The path of those upon whom is His favour and blessing is different from the people of falsehood with respect to knowledge and action. When he finishes from this praise, supplication and tawheed he has been ordered to end it with "aameen", which is a seal to (to his supplication) and to which the aameen of the angels in sky coincides with. This aameen is from the beautification of the prayer, just like the raising of the hands is a beautification of the prayer, a following of the sunnah, veneration of the command of Allaah, worship by the hands and a sign of the movement from one pillar (of the prayer) to another. [Taken from [As-Salaat wa Hukmu Taarikihaa], p. 171-172]
01/15/03 at 04:12:26
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Re: Ibn al Qayyim
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01/15/03 at 04:09:17
[u] On the 3 types of hearts: [/u] Just as the heart may be described in terms of being alive or dead, it may also be regarded as belonging to one of three types; these are the healthy heart, the dead heart, and the sick heart. The Healthy Heart On the Day of Resurrection, only those who come to Allah with a healthy heart will be saved. Allah says: "The day on which neither wealth nor sons will be of any use, except for whoever brings to Allah a sound heart." (26:88-89) In defining the healthy heart, the following has been said: "It is a heart cleansed from any passion that challenges what Allah commands, or disputes what He forbids. It is free from any impulses which contradict His good. As a result, it is safeguarded against the worship of anything other than Him, and seeks the judgement of no other except that of His Messenger. Its services are exclusively reserved for Allah, willingly and lovingly, with total reliance, relating all matters to Him, in fear, hope and sincere dedication. When it loves, its love is in the way of Allah. If it detests, it detests in the light of what He detests. When it gives, it gives for Allah. If it withholds, it withholds for Allah. Nevertheless, all this will not suffice for its salvation until it is free from following, or taking as its guide, anyone other than His Messenger." A servant with a healthy heart must dedicate it to its journey's end and not base his actions and speech on those of any other person except Allah's Messenger. He must not give precedence to any other faith or words or deeds over those of Allah and His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah says: "Oh you who believe, do not put yourselves above Allah and His Messenger, but fear Allah, for Allah is Hearing, Knowing." (49:1) The Dead Heart This is the opposite of the healthy heart. It does not know its Lord and does not worship Him as He commands, in the way which He likes, and with which He is pleased. It clings instead to its lusts and desires, even if these are likely to incur Allah's displeasure and wrath. It worships things other than Allah, and its loves and its hatreds, and its giving and its withholding, arise from its whims, which are of paramount importance to it and preferred above the pleasure of Allah. Its whims are its imam. Its lust is its guide. Its ignorance is its leader. Its crude impulses are its impetus. It is immersed in its concern with worldly objectives. It is drunk with its own fancies and its love for hasty, fleeting pleasures. It is called to Allah and the akhira from a distance but it does not respond to advice, and instead it follows any scheming, cunning Shaytaan. Life angers and pleases it, and passion makes it deaf and blind (1) to anything except what is evil. To associate and keep company with the owner of such a heart is to tempt illness: living with him is like taking poison, and befriending him means utter destruction. The Sick Heart This is a heart with life in it, as well as illness. The former sustains it at one moment, the latter at another, and it follows whichever one of the two manages to dominate it. It has love for Allah, faith in Him, sincerity towards Him, and reliance upon Him, and these are what give it life. It also has a craving for lust and pleasure, and prefers them and strives to experience them. It is full of self-admiration, which can lead to its own destruction. It listens to two callers: one calling it to Allah and His Prophet and the akhira; and the other calling it to the fleeting pleasures of this world. It responds to whichever one of the two happens to have most influence over it at the time. The first heart is alive, submitted to Allah, humble, sensitive and aware; the second is brittle and dead; the third wavers between either its safety or its ruin.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim
jannah
01/15/03 at 04:16:32
[u] On the wisdom behind delaying the answer for a supplication:[/u] It is puzzling your insistence on asking for your desires and when ever they were delayed your insistence increase without thinking that your are not granted what you ask for because of: 1. Your benefit (for what you have asked could be a harm to you in a way) 2. Your sins (for the sinner's prayers are not answered). If it was the second reason, you will have to clear the path of answering from the stains of sins. If it was the first reason then look at what you ask for: Is it to strengthen your religion, or just a plain earthly desire? If it was only an earthly desire, then know that it is the kindness and the mercy of Allah that delayed it for you, and by your insistence, you are like a child that asks for what harms him and he is denied that for his own good. And if you think that what you asked for is for the benefit of your religion then your benefit could be in delaying it, or the well-being of your faith is by the nonexistence of it. In other words, the planning of the Truth the Almighty (Allah) is better for you than your own planning, and He could deprive you from what you ask to test your patience. So let Him see from you a determined patience and you will soon see from Him what will give you joy. And when you have cleaned the paths of answering (of supplication) from the stains of sin and was patient about what He has chosen for you, then every thing that happens to you is better for you weather you were given or deprived of what you have requested.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim
jannah
01/15/03 at 04:22:30
[u] On deluding oneself: [/u] There are two things one should be take heed of if one wishes to attain success and felicity: 1) To know the details of the means of attaining good and evil, and to be clear about these through witnessing them in the world around, through one's own experience and that of others, as well as through reports one has heard about earlier and latter nations. One of the most effective means for attaining this is pondering over the Qur'an, for along with the Sunnah, it clearly explains the paths to good and evil. If you turn your attention to them, they will suffice you. They will inform you of Allah's treatment of the obedient, and of the sinners. Moreover, apply what you read to practical experience, and you will see the illustration of this - that Allah is true, the Messenger is true, the Qur'an is true, and that Allah fulfills His promise. History contains details of the paths to good and evil mentioned in the Qur'an and Sunnah. 2) Beware of deceiving oneself with regard to these paths. This is very important, for the servant knows that sin and heedlessness are harmful to him in his world and the Hereafter, and yet he may deceive himself through relying on Allah's pardon and forgiveness, by procrastination of repentance, by performing istighfar only verbally, by doing good deeds [after impetuously sinning], by knowledge, by justifying his sins by the argument of destiny, by citing exam ples of people committing similar sins, or by following in the footsteps of ancestors and elders. Many people think that they can perform some sin, and then if they say "Astaghfirullah" the sin will disappear. Or, they may deceive themselves with ahadith such as: "Whoever says "SubHaanallaahi wa-biHamdih" one hundred times in a day, his sins are taken off from him, even if they be like the foam of the ocean." Or: "A servant committed a sin and then said, 'O Lord! I have committed a sin, so forgive me,' and so he was forgiven . . . . then Allah says, 'My servant knows that he has a Lord Who forgives sins, and takes [to task] for them. I have forgiven My servant, so let him do as he wishes.'" Such people cling to the texts of hope, and hold fast to them with both hands, and put [all] their reliance in them, such that if they are reprimanded for committing some sin, they will recite all that they known about Allah's mercy and forgiveness. Some went to excessive limits in this, such that they claimed that to remain free of sins is being ignorant or under-estimating Allah's mercy and pardon. Some deceived people cling to the notion of fatalism; that the servant has no free-will and that he is compelled to commit sins. Other cling to the notion of irja' (false hope), claiming that faith is merely affirmation, and that deeds are neither a part of faith nor have any effect upon it. According to their claim, the iman of the most sinful of believers is just like the eeman (faith) of the angels Cabriel and Michael. Some are deceived by their fathers and elders, thinking that they have a rank before Allah, such that they would not leave them to perish. They take this by analogy from the behavior of worldly kings, who might grant a favor or pardon to someone based on the merits of his father or relatives. Such  people are used to being taken out of difficult situations by their fathers, and are under the impression that this may happen in the Hereafter too. Others deceive themselves by reasoning that Allah has no need of punishing them since He gains nothing from it, and He does not lose anything by showing them mercy. Such a person may say, 'I am in dire need of His mercy, and He is not at all needy of [anything]. if a poor, thirsty person were in dire need of a drink of water from someone in whose premises there flows a river, he would not be denied it, and Allah is more generous, and more expansive in mercy.' Others are deceived by ridiculous misinterpretations / misunderstandings, e.g.: "Your Lord will give you, so that you become pleased." [Surah Duha, 5] He says : I am not pleased to enter the Fire. This is despicable ignorance, and clear lies, for he should be pleased by what Allah is pleased by, and it is not against Allah's pleasure to punish the oppressors, wrong-doers, evil-doers, traitors and those persistent on major sins. "Allah forgives all sins." [Surah Zumar, 93] This is also despicable ignorance, for this verse refers to those who repent; otherwise it would imply invalidation of the verses threatening punishment for the sinners. This is specified by another verse, "Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, and He forgives anything beneath that to whomever He wills." [Surah Nisa,48], Also, "None will burn in it except the most miserable one who rejected and turned away [from the truth]." [Surah Layl, 15-16]. This is a specific fire from among the various levels of Jahannam, and moreover the fact that only the rejecters will burn in it does not rule out that others may enter it. "[Hell] has been prepared for the unbelievers." [Surah Baqarah, 24] . The fact that it has been prepared for the unbelievers does not rule out that sinful Muslims may also be punished in it, just as the fact that Heaven "...has been prepared for the pious" [Surah Aali-`Imran, 133] does not rule out that people with the smallest grain of faith may enter it even if they were not pious. Some are deceived by fasting the days of `Ashura and `Arafah, such that some may even say that the fast of `Ashura' expiates the whole year, and the fast of `Arafah remains as a surplus of reward. Such people have failed to realize that the fast of Ramadan and the 5 daily prayers are greater and more noble than the fasts of `Arafah and `Ashura, and that [it is understood that] sins are [only] forgiven as long as major sins are avoided. So, [fasting] from one Ramadan to another, [praying] from one Jumu`ah to the next, act in a mutually strengthening manner to achieve forgiveness of minor sins, provided major sins are avoided. So, how then can an optional fast expiate every major sin of a person while he still persists upon the sins, and has not repented from them? Also, it is possible that these two optional fasts expiate all sins in totality, but that this has certain prerequisites and conditions, such as avoidance of major sins, or that the expiation is achieved in conjunction with other good deeds, much the same as the 5 daily prayers and the fasting of Ramadan expiate minor sins in conjunction with the avoidance of major sins. "If you abjure the major things which you are prohibited from, We shall expiate you your evil deeds." [Surah Nisa, 31] Some are deceived by the Hadeeth Qudsi, "I am according to the good expectation/thought of My servant, so let him think of Me as he wishes." i.e. that whatever he thinks I will do to him, I will. But, good expectations can only be with good conduct, for one who does good expects that his Lord will deal with him well, will not break His promise, and will accept his repentance. As for the one of evil conduct, who persists upon major sins, oppression and other evils, the desolation of sin, wrongdoing and [other] prohibited things prevent him from having good expectations of his Lord. This is something we witness in everyday life. A disobedient employee who has run away with company property will not have a good expectation of his boss. The evil of wrong deeds cannot coexist with good expectation. The best in expectation of his Lord's mercy is the most obedient to Him. Al-Hasan al-Basri said, "The believer has good expectation of his Lord, so he make his deeds good. But, the evil person has bad expectation of his Lord, so he does evil." How can someone claim to have good expectation of his Lord when he is like a runaway, and is doing things which displease and anger his Lord, and has abandoned His orders, and is at war with Him. How can one have good expectation of his Lord if he thinks that He does not see him? "And, you used not to conceal yourself, lest your hearing, sight and skin testify against you, but you though that Allah does not know much of what you used to do. And that, your expectation which you entertained about your Lord, has destroyed you, so you have become among those lost/ruined." [Surah Fussilat, 23] So, these people, who thought that Allah did not know much of what they did, actually had ill-expectation of their Lord, and that destroyed them. Such people are deceived if they think they will directly enter Heaven; they are fooling themselves; Satan is leading them astray and beguiling them. Ponder over this. Consider : how is it possible for one's heart to be certain that one is going to meet Allah, that Allah sees and hears all that he does, and knows his secret open affairs, and that he will be made to stand before Allah, answerable for all his deeds - how can one be certain and aware of all of this, and yet persist upon things which displease Allah; persist upon abandoning Allah's orders, neglecting His rights, and yet claim that he has good expectation of Allah?!! Abu Umamah Sahl ibn Hanif reports: `Urwah ibn al-Zubayr and I entered upon `A'ishah and she said : If only you had seen the Messenger of Allah in one of his illnesses; [when] he had 6 or 7 dinars. The Messenger of Allah ordered me to distribute them [in charity?], but the pain of the Messenger of Allah kept me from doing that, until Allah cured him. Then, he asked me about them : "What have you done? Had you distributed the 6 dinars?" I said, "No, by Allah. Your pain had kept me from doing so." He asked for them to be brought [to him], and put them in his hand then said, "What would be the expectation of Allah's prophet if he met Allah with these in his possession?" What, then would be the expectation of the people of major sins, and the oppressors, if they were to meet Allah with these sins and forfeited rights of people on their backs? If their claim that they entertained good expectations that Allah would not punish evil and wrongdoing people, were to benefit them, then everyone could do as he wished, doing everything that Allah has forbidden, provided he kept good expectation of Allah, thinking that the fire will not touch him. Subhanallah! How deceived can one be? Prophet Ibrahim said to his people, "Is it a lie, gods besides Allah, that you desire? What then is your expectation of the Lord of the Worlds?" [Surah Saffat, 86] i.e. what is your expectation of Allah, what do you expect He will do to you if you meet Him having worshipped other than Him? So, if we reflect over this, we will realize that good expectation of Allah is equivalent to good deeds, for one is moved to good deeds by good hope of Allah, that He will reward him for his efforts and accept them. Otherwise, good expectation along with pursuit of whims and desires and lusts is incapacity. In short, good expectation can only occur if the means for salvation are pursued. Pursuit of the means to destruction cannot accompany good expectations. Someone might claim : It might, based on the expansiveness of Allah's mercy and forgiveness and generosity, and that His mercy exceeds His wrath, and that punishing does not benefit Him, nor does forgiveness harm Him. The reply is : Allah is indeed most generous and merciful, but this is in the appropriate place. Allah is also described as possessing wisdom and might and inflicting retribution, seizing with might, and punishing those deserving punishment. So, if the good expectation is based merely on some of Allah's attributes, then the righteous and the evil, the believer and the unbeliever, would equally be candidates for it. But, the names and attributes of mercy do not benefit the unbeliever or similarly one who has neglected his duty and exposed himself to Allah's curse. Rather, good expectation of Allah is for one who repents, regrets his sins and desists from the. This is good expectation, whereas the first is deception. "Those who believe, and those who perform hijrah and jihad in the path of Allah - they are hopeful of Allah's mercy." [Surah Baqarah, 218] So, these people are the ones who can be truly hopeful of Allah's mercy; not the evil and sinful people. "...then, your Lord is, to those who make hijrah after they have been persecuted, and then perform jihad and are patient/steadfast - indeed, your Lord is, after that, Most Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Surah Nahl, 119] So, the knowledgeable one is he who puts hope in its correct place, whereas the deceived one is he who puts it elsewhere. from 'al-Jawab al-Kafi li-man sa'al `an al-Dawa' al-Shafi'
01/15/03 at 04:26:51
jannah

Re: Ibn al Qayyim
jannah
01/15/03 at 04:24:27
[u] On beauty: [/u] From ?Abdullaah Ibn Mas?ood radiallaahu ?anhu who said that the Prophet sallallaahu ?alayhi wa sallam said, ?No one will enter Paradise who has an atom?s weight of pride in his heart.? A man said, ?What if a man likes his clothes to look good and his shoes to look good?? He said, ?Allaah is beautiful and loves beauty. Pride means denying the truth and looking down on people.? [1] Ibnul-Qayyim (d.751H) radiallaahu ?anhu said, commenting upon this hadeeth: ??The phrase ?Allaah is beautiful and loves beauty,? includes the beautiful clothing which was asked about in the same hadeeth. It is included by way of generalization, meaning that beauty in all things is what is meant here. In Saheeh Muslim, it says: ?Allaah is good and only accepts that which is good.? [2] In Sunanut-Tirmidhee it says: ?Allaah loves to see the effects of His blessing on His slave.?? [3] It was reported that Abul-Ahwas al-Jashamee said: The Prophet sallallaahu ?alayhi wa sallam saw me wearing old, tattered clothes, and asked me, ?Do you have any wealth?? I said, ?Yes.? He said, ?What kind of wealth?? I said, ?All that Allaah has given me of camels and sheep.? He said, ?Then show the generous blessings that He has given you.? [4] Allaah, may He be glorified, loves the effects of His blessings to His slave to be made manifest, for this is part of the beauty that He loves, and that is part of the gratitude for His blessings which forms an inner beauty (beauty of character). Allaah loves to see the external beauty of His slaves which reflects His blessings on them, and the inner beauty of their gratitude to Him for those blessings. Because He loves beauty, He sends down on His slaves clothes and adornments with which they may make their outward appearance beautiful and He gives them taqwaa which makes their inner characters beautiful. Allaah says: ?O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover yourselves (screen your private parts, etc.) and as an adornment, and the raiment of righteousness, that is better.? [Sooratul-A?raaf 7:26] And He says, speaking of the people of Paradise: ??and He gave them Nadrataan (a light of beauty) and joy. And their recompense shall be Paradise and silken garments, because they were patient.? [Sooratul-Insaan 76:11-12] Their faces will be made beautiful with the nadrah (light of beauty), their innermost being with joy and their bodies with silken garments. Just as Allaah loves beauty in words, deeds, garments and outward appearance, so He hates ugliness in words, deeds, garments and outward appearance. He hates ugliness and its people, and loves beauty and its people. But two groups are misguided with regard to this issue: a group who say that everything that He has created is beautiful, so He loves all that He has created and we should love all that He has created and not hate anything. They say: whoever realizes that all that exists comes from Him will see that it is beautiful ? these people have no sense of jealousy for the sake of Allaah or hatred and enmity for the sake of Allaah, or denouncing what is evil (munkar), or jihaad (struggle) for the sake of Allaah, or adhering His limits. They regard the beauty of images, male or female, as being part of the beauty that Allaah loves, and seek to worship Allaah through immoral acts. Some of them may even go so far as to claim that the One Whom they worship is manifested or incarnated in those images. The second group, on the other hand, say that Allaah condemns the beauty of images, forms and outward appearances. Allaah says about the munaafiqoon (hypocrites): ?And when you look at them, their bodies please you?? [Sooratul-Munaafiqoon 63:4] ?And how many a generation have We destroyed before them. Who were better in wealth, goods and outward appearance?? [Soorah Maryam 19:54] In Saheeh Muslim it is reported that the Prophet sallallaahu ?alayhi wa sallam said: ?Allaah does not look at your outward appearance and your wealth, rather He looks at your hearts and deeds.? [5] According to another hadeeth: ?Shabbiness is part of faith.? [6] Allaah condemns those who are extravagant, which applies to extravagance in clothing as well as in food and drink. In order to settle this dispute, we may say that beauty in clothing and outward appearance is of three types, one of which is commendable, one is blameworthy and one of which is neither. The kind of beauty which is to be commended is that which is done for the sake of Allaah, to help one to obey Allaah and fulfill His commands, such as when the Prophet sallallaahu ?alayhi wa sallam made himself look beautiful (i.e. handsome) when meeting the delegations that came to him. This is like wearing armour or battle-dress when fighting, or wearing silk and showing off (in front of the enemy). This is commendable because it is done to make the word of Allaah supreme and to support His religion and annoy His enemies. The blameworthy kind of beauty is that which is done for the sake of this world, for reasons of power, false pride and showing off, or to fulfill some (selfish) desires. This also includes cases where beauty is an end in itself for a person and is all he cares about. Many people have no other concern in life. As for the kind of beauty which is neither commendable nor blameworthy, it is that which has nothing to do with either of the two purposes mentioned above (i.e., it is neither for the sake of Allaah nor for the sake of worldly purposes). The hadeeth under discussion refers to two important principles, knowledge and behaviour.  Allaah is to be acknowledged for beauty that bears no resemblance to anything else, and He is to be worshipped by means of the beauty which He loves in words, deeds and attitudes. He loves His slaves to beautify their tongues with the truth, to beautify their hearts with sincere devotion (ikhlaas), love, repentance and trust in Him, to beautify their faculties with obedience, and to beautify their bodies by showing His blessings upon them in their clothing and by keeping them pure and free of any filth, dirt or impurity, by removing the hairs which should be removed, by circumcision, and by clipping the nails. Thus they recognize Allaah through these qualities of beauty and seek to draw close to Him through beautiful words, deeds and attitudes. They acknowledge Him for the beauty which is His attribute and they worship Him through the beauty which He has prescribed and His religion. The hadeeth combines these two principles of knowledge and behaviour.?? [7] Footnotes: [1] Related by Muslim (no. 131) [2] Related by Muslim (no. 1686) [3] Hasan Saheeh: Related by at-Tirmidhee (no. 2963), who said it was hasan saheeh. [4] Saheeh: Related by Ahmad (no. 15323),  at-Tirmidhee (no. 1929) and  an-Nisaa?ee (no. 5128) [5] Related by Muslim (no. 1356) [6] Saheeh: Related by Ibn Maajah (no. 4108), Aboo Dawood (no. 3630) [7] al-Fawaa?id (1/185)

Re: Ibn al Qayyim
jannah
01/15/03 at 04:30:22
[u] On humility: [/u] Ibn al-Qayyim - rahimahullaah - said: One of the Salaf (Pious Predecessors) said: "Indeed a servant commits a sin by which he enters Paradise; and another does a good deed by which he enters the Fire." It was asked: How is that? So he replied: "The one who committed the sin, constantly thinks about it; which causes him to fear it, regret it, weep over it and feel ashamed in front of his Lord - the Most High - due to it. He stands before Allaah, broken-hearted and with his head lowered in humility. So this sin is more beneficial to him than doing many acts of obedience, since it caused him to have humility and humbleness - which leads to the servant's happiness and success - to the extent that this sin becomes the cause for him entering Paradise. As for the doer of good, then he does not consider this good a favour from his Lord Upon him. Rather, he becomes arrogant and amazed with himself, saying: I have achieved such and such, and such and such . So this further increases him in self adulation, pride and arrogance - such that this becomes the cause for his destruction." From Al-Waabilus-Sayyib
01/15/03 at 04:32:50
jannah

Re: Ibn al Qayyim
jannah
01/15/03 at 04:32:16
[u] On Jihad: [/u] "Jihaad" (striving) against the soul has four stages: Firstly: To strive in learning guidance and the religion of truth, without which there will be no success. Indeed, there can be no true happiness, nor any delight in this world and in the Hereafter, except through it. Secondly: Striving to act upon what has been learnt, since knowledge without action will not benefit, rather it will cause harm. Thirdly: Striving to invite others towards it and to teach those who do not know, otherwise he may be considered from those who hide what Allaah has revealed of guidance and clear explanation. Such knowledge will neither benefit, nor save a person from the punishment of Allaah. Fourthly: Striving to be patient and persevering against those who oppose this da'wah (call) to Allaah and those who seek to cause harm - patiently bearing all these hardships for the sake of Allaah. When these four stages are completed then such a person is considered to be amongst the Rabbaaniyyoon. The Salaf were agreed that a Scholar does not deserve the title of Rabbaanee until he recognises and knows the truth, acts upon it, and teaches it to others. So whosoever has knowledge, acts upon it, and teaches this knowledge to others, is considered from the Rabbaaniyyoon." From  Zaad ul-Ma'aad fi Hadee Khayril-'Ibaad
01/15/03 at 04:33:22
jannah

Re: Ibn al Qayyim
jannah
01/15/03 at 04:35:36
[u] On purifying the heart: [/u] "There is no doubt that the heart becomes covered with rust, just as metal dishes - silver, and their like - become rusty. So the rust of the heart is polished with dhikr (remembrance of Allaah), for dhikr polishes the heart until it becomes like a shiny mirror. However, when dhikr is abandoned, the rust returns; and when it commences then the heart again begins to be cleansed. Thus the heart becoming rusty is due to two matters: sins and ahafah (neglecting remembrance of Allaah). Likewise, it is cleansed and polished by two things : istighfaar (seeking Allaah's forgiveness) and dhikr." From  Al-Waabilus-Sayyib

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
deenb4dunya
01/16/03 at 13:59:45
[u]On Perfecting One's Character:[/u] The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam used to make a number of supplications related to good character. "O Allah, guide me to good character, none guides to good character but You..." [Muslim] "O Allah, I seek refuge in you from bad character, deeds and desires." [at-Tirmidhee] "O Allah, You perfectly created me, so perfect my character." [Ahmad] "O Allah, I seek refuge in you from disability and laziness; from cowardice and avarice; from decrepitude and harshness; from negligence and impoverishment, from lowness and humiliation. And I seek refuge in You from poverty and disbelief; from sinfulness, disunity and hypocrisy; from notability and riyaa' (show off)..." [Ahmad, Maalik, Bazaar, Haithami and ibn `Abd al-Barr authenticated it. The following beneficial excerpt is from "The Magnificent Journey" by ibn ul Qayyim [published by QSS]. It explains three conditions needed to acquire good manners, meaning proper nature, controlling one's nafs and sound knowledge. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three Conditions to Acquire Excellent Manners This is one example of the excellent manners with which Allah (ta`aala) has equipped his Messenger (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam). He described him as, "Verily, You [Muhammad] are on an exalted standard on character." [68:4] `Aa'ishah, radhiallaahu `anhu, described him as, "His character was just [a reflection of] the Qur'aan." [Muslim, Aboo Daawood, Ahmad] Such excellent character cannot be attained without three conditions: 1. The foundation must be good. Inf one has a rough and dry nature, it will be hard for him to submit to this [excellence of character] through knowledge, will, or practice. On the other hand, a mild and smooth nature will be ready and willing to receive the plowing and the seeds [to prepare it for character excellence]. 2. The soul must be strong and capable of conquering calls of laziness, transgression, and desire. Those matters contradict perfection, and souls which cannot defeat them will always be defeated and conquered. 3. [One must possess] a discerning knowledge of the truth of matters, enabling one to put them in the rightful position, and to distinguish between flash and cancer - between glass and jewels. If these three qualities are present in a man, and Allah's facilitation helps him, then he will be among those whom the best (husnaa) has been decreed and for whom Allah's care has been secured.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 22:55:21
[slm] He is my favorite scholar, subhan'Allah such a brilliant man. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Station of Al-Khawf Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzeyah ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Al-Khawf or fear station is one of the most splendid stations of the road and the most beneficial to the heart. It is also mandatory upon everyone. Allah said, "So fear them not, but fear Me, if you are believers." [3:175], "And fear none but Me." [2:40], "So fear not men but fear Me." [5:44] Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, also praised His people in His book, saying, "Verily! Those who live in awe for fear of their Lord . . . It is these who race for the good deeds and they are foremost in them." [23:57-61] Aisha once asked the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam, "O Messenger of Allah, when Allah says And those who give that (their charity) which they give with their hearts full of fear . ." [23:60] is he the one who commits adultery, drinks alcohol or steals?" He said, "No, daughter of As-Siddeeq. It is the man who fasts, prays, and pays sadaqah. But he fears that none will be accepted from him." (Tirmithi and others) Al-Hasan al-Basri said, "By Allah, they performed the acts of obedience and struggled in them and they were afraid that their deeds will be rejected." The believer has combined good deeds and fear and the hypocrite has combined bad deeds and a sense of security. Other terms have similar meanings to al-khawf but are not synonymous, such as wajal, khashyah and rahbah. Abu Al-Qasim Al-Junaid said, "khawf is to expect punishment as long as you breathe." It has been said that khawf is the restlessness of the heart because of the remembrance of the cause of fear. It has also been said that khawf is the strength in knowledge of the rulings and decrees. This is the reason for khawf and not khawf itself. It was also said that khawf is the escape of the heart from the occurrence of adversity when the heart senses it. Khashyah is more specific than khawf. Khashyah is a quality that is particular of the people knowledgeable of Allah. Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, says, "It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allah." [35:28] As a result khashyah is associated with knowledge. The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam, is reported to have said, "Indeed I have the most piety for Allah and have the greatest khashyah for Him." (Bukhari and Muslim) And he is the most knowledgeable of Allah. Khawf can be likened to a movement or a reaction but khashyah is involvement, action and tranquillity. A person who sees the enemy, floods or similar causes of fear will have one of the following two reactions: movement; i.e., running away from the cause, which is the state of khawf; or staying calm and staying in a place where the cause cannot reach him, and this is khashyah. Rahbah is diligence in running away from adversity. The opposite of this is raghbah or longing which involves the travel of the heart toward its desires. There is symmetry between raghbah and rahbah both in their pronunciation and meanings. Wajal is the shivering and breaking of the heart when remembering the One it fears, His authority, punishment or seeing Him. Haybah is khawf associated with glorification and reverence. It's peak is achieved when love and knowledge are strongly combined. Ijlaal is glorification associated with love. Khawf is for the common believers, while khashyah is for the knowledgeable and the scholars. Haybah is for those who love and Ijlaal is for those who are close (to Allah). The presence of Khawf and khashyah is according to how much knowledge is there, as the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "Indeed I am the most knowledgeable of Allah amongst you and have the most khashyah for Him." (Bukhari and Muslim) He also said, "If you would know what I know, you would laugh little and weep much. You would not have joy with your wives in bed and you would go out to high places and pray fervently to Allah, The Mighty." (Ahmad, Tirmidhi and others) The person with khawf resorts to fleeing and holding. The person with khashyah resorts to holding to knowledge. Their similitude is like a person who has no knowledge of medicine and a skilled, highly trained and educated physician. The former resorts to diet and escape for treatment of his ills while the doctor resorts to knowledge of diseases and medicines. Abu Hafs said, "Khawf is the whip of Allah. He corrects with it those straying from His door." He also said, "Khawf is a light in the heart, with it one can see the good and evil. Everyone you fear you run away from except Allah. When you fear Him, you run away to Him." The person with khawf is a person fleeing from His Lord to His Lord. Abu Sulaiman said, "When khawf departs from any heart, it falls apart." Ibrahim bin Sufyan said, "When khawf settles in the heart, it burns the places of vain desires within it and it kicks out the love for this world." Thun-Nun said, "People are on the road (meaning the Straight Path) as long as they have khawf. When they lose it, they stray from the road." Khawf is not sought itself. It is simply a means sought to obtain something else. It disappears when the cause of khawf disappears. That is why the people of Paradise will have no khawf, nor will they grieve. Khawf is related to deeds and actions, while love is related to Allah and His Attributes. The love of the believers to their Lord multiplies when they enter the House of Bliss and they will have not fear. For that, the station of love is greater and higher than the station of khawf. The truthful khawf is what comes between the person and the prohibitions of Allah. If khawf exceeds that, then there may be a concern for getting into despair and hopelessness. Abu Uthman said, "The true khawf is being cautious of committing sins manifest or hidden." I heard Shaikhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah say, "The commendable khawf is what restrains you from the prohibitions of Allah." Al-Harawi said, "Khawf is to slip away from comfort and security by recognizing the warning of Allah." The beginning of khawf is to fear the punishment. This is the kind of khawf that produces sound emaan (faith). This can be attained by believing in the warnings of Allah and remembering the sin. Khawf is preceded by feeling and knowledge. It is impossible that a person may have khawf without having feelings of fear. Khawf is associated with two things: first, the thing feared; and second, any thing that may lead to it. Khawf can then be as great as the feeling of the person to the feared thing and what leads to it. When a person doesn't think that something would lead to the object that should be feared, then would not fear that thing. The same is true if he does not know the measure of the fearful thing then, he would not have the correct fear. Khawf (fear) and rajaa' (hope) complement one another. The similitude of the heart in its travel to Allah is like a bird. Love is its head, and khawf and rajaa' are the wings. When the head and both wings are sound, the bird is capable and skilled in flying. However, when the head is cut off, the bird will die. When the bird loses a wing, it then becomes a target for every hunter and predator.The scholars favored, however, the wing of khawf over the wing of rajaa', especially wh en the person is young and healthy. They favored the wing of rajaa' over the wing of khawf when the person is about to leave this world. Abu Sulaiman said, "The heart ought to have more khawf. When rajaa' dominates, it ruins it." It was also said, "The best state is to have the same amount of khawf and rajaa', but to have more love. Love is the boat, rajaa' is the leader, khawf is the driver, and Allah is the One Who helps those reach the goal by His Grace and Generosity."

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 22:56:41
[slm] Taken from "Kitaab At Tawheed" (p.302) Quote from Ibn Qayyim Al Jawziyyah provided by brother Hisham Assing Ibn Qayyim says concerning the tafseer of the ayah wherein Allah the Almighty states: "Of mankind are some who say: "We believe in Allâh," but if they are made to suffer for the sake of Allâh, they consider the trial of mankind as Allâh's punishment." {Al Ankabut: 10} Whenever messengers are sent to a people, they are between two positions wherein they must make a decision between one of them. Either they say we believe or they refuse to say it, as matter of fact they can continue upon their disbelief and sinning. As for those who say we believe their lord will put them through trials, tribulations and fitnah, fitnah being the test to distinguish the truthful ones from the liars. Thus, those who do not say we believe should not think that they can escape or avoid Allah's' punishment. As for the ones who believe in the messengers and obey them, then the enemies of the messengers will seek to punish and afflict harm upon them. On the hand, those who neither believed in the messengers nor obeyed them, they will also be punished in this dunya and the in akhira, in addition to being afflicted by that which they dislike. And this affliction (of those reject faith) is much greater and longer lasting than that which the followers of the messengers bear. Hence, that which is hurtful must afflict every soul. Whether they believe or they refuse to believe. However, for the mu'min, in this dunya he is tested by that which is hurtful to him in the initial stages, then the {victorious} end result will for him, both in this life in the next. As for the one who refuses to believe, in the beginning stages he enjoys the pleasures of this life, but after this he will be in eternal pain. As human beings we must live amongst people, and people have wants and objectives, thus they desire that one agree to that which they are upon, and if this request is refused they inflict hurt and pain on the one who refuses to do so. Even if one agrees to that they want he still is inflicted with pain and punishment, sometimes from them and other times from others. Such is the case of the one who has piety, whereby he tries to avoid the oppression of an evil people and he cannot avoid their oppression except by {outwardly} agreeing with them or remaining quite about their injustices. Thus, if such a person agrees to what these evil people do, or remains silent about their evil, he will be safe from their evil in the initial stages, however in the long run they will shower upon humiliation and harm far greater than that which he initially feared if he had rejected their ways and differed with them. Hence, it is imperative upon us that we understand and implement the statement of the mother of the believers `A`ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) when she reported the Allah's Messenger (saas ) to have said: "Whoever seeks Allah's Pleasure at the expense of men's displeasure, will win Allah's Pleasure and Allah (swt ) will cause men to be pleased with him. And whoever seeks to please men at the expense of Allah's Displeasure, will win the Displeasure of Allah (swt ) and Allah (swt ) will cause men to be displeased with him." (Narrated by Ibn Hibban in his Saheeh) So whoever Allah guides and inspires to that which is correct, He {Allah} saves him from phe evil of himself and prevents him from agreeing to that which is haram, enabling him to be patient upon the harm and hurt of those who call to this haram, and such a person will have the victorious end result in this life and the next, in the same manner as the messengers and their followers had this victory.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 22:58:16
[slm] THE LEVELS OF PEOPLE WITH REGARD TO THEIR PRAYER Taken from the book "The Path to Guidance" by Ibn al-Qayyim ============================================================== Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, "And mankind, with regard to their performance of prayer are in five levels. The First: The level of the one who is negligent and wrongs his soul. He is the one who falls short in performing ablution properly, performing the prayer upon its time and within its specified limits, and in fulfilling its essential pillars. The Second: The one who guards his prayers upon their proper times and within their specified limits, fulfils their essential pillars and performs his ablution with care. However, his striving is wasted due to whisperings in his prayer so he is taken away by thoughts and ideas. The Third: The one who guards his prayers within the specified limits, fulfils their essential pillars and strives with himself to repel the whisperings, thoughts and ideas. He is busy struggling against his enemy      (Shaitan) so that he does not steal from the prayer. On account of this he is engaged in (both) prayer and jihaad. The Fourth: The one who stands for the prayer, completes and perfects its due rights, its essential pillars, performs it within its specified limits and his heart becomes engrossed in safeguarding its rights and specified limits, so that nothing is wasted from it. His whole concern is directed towards its establishment, its completion and its perfection, as it should be. His heart is immersed in the prayer and in enslamvement to his Lord, the Exalted. The Fifth: The one who stands for the prayer! Like the one mentioned above. However, on top of this, he has taken and placed his heart in front of his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, looking towards Him with his heart with anticipation, (his heart) filled with His love and His might, as if he sees and witnesses Allaah. The whisperings, thoughts and ideas have vanished and the coverings which are between him and his Lord are raised.  What is between this person and others with respect to the prayer, is superior and greater than what is between the heavens and the earth. This person is busy with his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, delighted with Him. The first type will be punished, the second type will be held to account,  the third will have his sins and shortcomings expiated, the fourth will be rewarded and the fifth will be close to his Lord, because he will receive the portion of the one who makes his prayer the delight and pleasure of his eye. Whoever makes his prayer the delight and pleasure of his eye, will hav! e the nearness to his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, made the delight and pleasure of his eye in the hereafter. He will also be made a pleasure to the eye in this world since whoever makes Allaah the pleasure of his eye in this world, every other eye will become delighted and pleased with him.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 22:59:11
[slm] The Bitter Consequences of Sins Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- It is essential to know that sins and acts of disobedience are, necessarily, very harmful. Their harm effects upon the heart are akin to the harmful effects of poison upon the body, though the effects vary in their levels and intensities. So is there any evil or harm in this world, or in the Hereafter, except that it is due to sins and disobedience? So what was it that expelled the two parents [i.e. Adam and Eve] from Paradise; the home of delight, bliss, splendor and joy; to the home of pain, sorrow and misfortune? What was it that expelled Iblees [i.e. Satan] from the heavenly realms, causing him to be rejected and cursed; transforming him both inwardly and outwardly, so that his form became ugly and hideous - his inner form more hideous than his outer - replacing his nearness with remoteness, mercy with curse, his beauty with ugliness, from being in Paradise to being in the blazing Fire, from having faith to being an unbeliever, from having the patronage and friendship of Allaah, the Praiseworthy Guardian, to being the greatest enemy and opponent, from glorifying and praising Him to committing acts of unbelief, shirk, lies, deception and shamelessness, from being adorned with faith to being clothed in the garment of unbelief, sinfulness and disobedience, causing him to reach the deepest depths of despicability, plunging down in the sight of Allaah as far as it is possible to plunge; causing the anger of Allaah the Exalted to be upon him, making him an outcast - despised and hum iliated - so that he became a leader for every sinner and criminal, becoming pleased with leadership for himself, after having reached the station of worship and nobility? O Allaah, we seek refuge in You from opposing Your command and falling into what You have forbidden. What was it that caused the people of the earth to drown, to the extent that the water rose above even the mountaintops? What was it that caused the violent winds to overcome the people of `Aad, such that it flung them down dead upon the face of the earth - as if they were lopped-off palm trunks - and it destroyed whatever dwellings and crops it came across, thus making them an example for nations until the Day of Resurrection? What was it that caused the piercing shrieks to be set loose upon the Thamood people, such that their hearts were severed within their very bodies, by which they all perished? What was it that caused the town of the homosexuals to be raised­ up and turned upside down, such that they were all destroyed? Then stones from the sky pelted down upon them so that they suffered a combined punishment, the like of which was not given to any other nation! And for their brothers will be its like; and it is not far off from the transgressors! What was it that caused the clouds of punishment to overcome the people of Shu'ayb, such that when these clouds were above their heads it rained scorching fire upon them? What was it that caused the Pharaoh and his people to be drowned in the ocean, and caused their souls to be transported to the Hellfire, so their bodies drowned and their souls burned? What was it that caused Qaaroon, his dwelling, wealth and family to sink down into the earth? What was it that caused the destruction of those generations after Noah, and how they were afflicted with various punishments that caused their annihilation? What was it that caused the destruction of the companions of Yaa Seen, with the clamorous shout, which destroyed them? What caused there to be sent against the Children of Israa'eel enemies of great strength and might, plundering their homes, killing their men, enslaving their women and children, burning their dwellings, seizing their wealth, and then returning again a second time, destroying what was rebuilt after the first onslaught? What was it that caused the various types of punishments to be set loose upon the Children of Israa'eel? Killing them, enslaving them, destroying their land and at times causing them to be oppressed by kings, whilst at another time causing them to be transformed into apes and swines -and finally the Lord took an oath that: "He would certainly keep on sending against them, until the Day of Resurrection, those who will inflict them with a humiliating torment." [Soorah al-A'raaf 7:167] Imam Ahmad said: al-Waleed ibn Muslim related to us; that Safwaan ibn 'Amr related to us; that `Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Jubayr ibn Nufayr related; from his father, who said: "When Cyprus was conquered and its people were dispersed and they started weeping to each other, I saw Abud-Dardaa sitting alone and weeping. So I said to him: O Abud-Dardaa! What makes you weep on this day that Allaah has granted strength and honor to Islaam and its people? So he said: Woe be to you O Jubayr! How insignificant the creation becomes to Allaah when they turn away from His command. In front of us is a nation who were evidently powerful and who haddominion, yet they abandoned Allaah's command, so look what has become of them." [2] `Alee ibn al-Ja'd said: Shu'bah ibn `Amr ibn Murrah informed us; I heard Abul-Bukhtaree say: I was informed by someone, who heard the Prophet (saw) saying: "The people will not perish, until they have no excuse left for themselves."[3] Imaam Ahmad reports in his Musnad, from the hadeeth of Umm Salamah, who said: I heard Allaah's Messenger (saw) saying: "When acts of disobedience become widespread in my ummah, then Allaah may send punishment upon them all from Himself" So I said: "O Allaah's Messenger! Even if there are righteous people amongst them that day? So he replied: "Indeed!" So I said: "How will that be?" He replied: "They will be afflicted with what afflicts the people, then they will move on to the forgiveness of Allaah and His good pleasure." [4] Footnotes [1] Ad-Daa' wad-Dawaa' (pp.65-67). [2] Reported by Imaam Ahmad in az-Zuhd (i/86) with an authentic (saheeh) chain of narration. [3] Reported by Ahmad (4/260) and Abu Daawood (no.4347) with an authentic chain of narration. [4] Reported by Ahmad (6/304) and one of its narrators is Layth ibn Abee Sulaym, who is weak. However the hadeeth is established due to further supporting narrations. Consult Silsilatul-Ahaadeethus-Saheehah (no.1372) of Shaykh al-Albaanee.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 23:00:23
[slm] Human Being Has a Great Capacity For Self-Delusions by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzeyah Al-Jawab al-Kafi li-man sa'al `an al-Dawa' al-Shafi Translation: Suheil Laher ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- There are two things one should be take heed of if one wishes to attain success and felicity: 1) To know the details of the means of attaining good and evil, and to be clear about these through witnessing them in the world around, through one's own experience and that of others, as well as through reports one has heard about earlier and latter nations. One of the most effective means for attaining this is pondering over the Qur'an, for along with the sunnah, it clearly explains the paths to good and evil. If you turn your attention to them, they will suffice you. They will inform you of Allah's treatment of the obedient, and of the sinners. Moreover, apply what you read to practical experience, and you will see the illustration of this - that Allah is true, the Messenger is true, the Qur'an is true, and that Allah fulfills His promise. History contains details of the paths to good and evil mentioned in the Qur'an and sunnah. 2) Beware of deceiving oneself with regard to these paths. This is very important, for the servant knows that sin and heedlessness are harmful to him in his world and the Hereafter, and yet he may deceive himself: Through relying on Allah's pardon and forgiveness, by procrastination of repentance, by performing istighfar only verbally, by doing good deeds [after impetuously sinning], by knowledge, by justifying his sins by the argument of destiny, by citing examples of people committing similar sins, or by following in the footsteps of ancestors and elders. Many people think that they can perform some sin, and then if they say "Astaghfirullah" the sin will disappear. Or, they may deceive themselves with ahadith such as: "Whoever says "SubHaanallaahi wa-biHamdih" one hundred times in a day, his sins are taken off from him, even if they be like the foam of the ocean." Or "A servant committed a sin and then said, 'O Lord! I have committed a sin, so forgive me,' and so he was forgiven . . . . then Allah says, 'My servant knows that he has a Lord Who forgives sins, and takes [to task] for them. I have forgiven My servant, so let him do as he wishes.'" Such people cling to the texts of hope, and hold fast to them with both hands, and put [all] their reliance in them, such that if they are reprimanded for committing some sin, they will recite all that they known about Allah's mercy and forgiveness. Some went to excessive limits in this, such that they claimed that to remain free of sins is being ignorant or under-estimating Allah's mercy and pardon. Some deceived people cling to the notion of fatalism; that the servant has no free-will and that he is compelled to commit sins. Other cling to the notion of irja' (false hope), claiming that faith is merely affirmation, and that deeds are neither a part of faith nor have any effect upon it. According to their claim, the iman of the most sinful of believers is just like the iman of the angels Gabriel and Michael. Some are deceived by their fathers and elders, thinking that they have a rank before Allah, such that they would not leave them to perish. They take this by analogy from the behavior of worldly kings, who might grant a favor or pardon to someone based on the merits of his father or relatives. Such people are used to being taken out of difficult situations by their fathers, and are under the impression that this may happen in the Hereafter too. Others deceive themselves by reasoning that Allah has no need of punishing them since He gains nothing from it, and He does not lose anything by showing them mercy. Such a person may say, 'I am in dire need of His mercy, and He is not at all needy of [anything]. if a poor, thirsty person were in dire need of a drink of water from someone in whose premises there flows a river, he would not be denied it, and Allah is more generous, and more expansive in mercy.' Others are deceived by ridiculous misinterpretations/ misunderstandings, e.g.: "Your Lord will give you, so that you become pleased." [Surah Duha, 5] he says: I am not pleased to enter the Fire. This is despicable ignorance, and clear lies, for he should be pleased by what Allah is pleased by, and it is not against Allah's pleasure to punish the oppressors, wrong-doers, evil-doers, traitors and those persistent on major sins. "Allah forgives all sins." [Surah Zumar, 93] This is also despicable ignorance, for this verse refers to those who repent; otherwise it would imply invalidation of the verses threatening punishment for the sinners. This is specified by another verse, "Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, and He forgives anything beneath that to whomever He wills." [Surah Nisa,48] Also, "None will burn in it except the most miserable one who rejected and turned away [from the truth]." [Surah Layl, 15-16]. This is a specific fire from among the various levels of Jahannam, and moreover the fact that only the rejecters will burn in it does not rule out that others may enter it. "[Hell] has been prepared for the unbelievers." [Surah Baqarah, 24]. The fact that it has been prepared for the unbelievers does not rule out that sinful Muslims may also be punished in it, just as the fact that Heaven "has been prepared for the pious" [Surah Aali-`Imran, 133] does not rule out that people with the smallest grain of faith may enter it even if they were not pious. Some are deceived by fasting the days of `Ashura and `Arafah, such that some may even say that the fast of `Ashura' expiates the whole year, and the fast of `Arafah remains as a surplus of reward. Such people have failed to realize that the fast of Ramadan and the 5 daily prayers are greater and more noble than the fasts of `Arafah and `Ashura, and that [it is understoodthat] sins are [only] forgiven as long as major sins are avoided. So, [fasting] from one Ramadan to another, [praying] from one Jumu`ah to the next, act in a mutually strengthening manner to achieve forgiveness of minor sins, provided major sins are avoided. So, how then can an optional fast expiate every major sin of a person while he still persists upon the sins, and has not repented from them? Also, it is possible that these two optional fasts expiate all sins in totality, but that this has certain prerequisites and conditions, such as avoidance of major sins, or that the expiation is achieved in conjunction with other good deeds, much the same as the 5 daily prayers and the fasting of Ramadan expiate minor sins in conjunction with the avoidance of major sins. "If you abjure the major things which you are prohibited from, We shall expiate you your evil deeds. [Surah Nisa, 31] Some are deceived by the hadith Qudsi, "I am according to the good expectation/thought of My servant., so let him think of Me as he wishes." i.e. that whatever he thinks I will do to him, I will. But, good expectations can only be with good conduct, for one who does good expects that his Lord will deal with him well, will not break His promise, and will accept his repentance. As for the one of evil conduct, who persists upon major sins, oppression and other evils, the desolation of sin, wrongdoing and [other] prohibited things prevent him from having good expectations of his Lord. This is something we witness in everyday life. A disobedient employee who has run away with company property will not have a good expectation of his boss. The evil of wrong deeds cannot coexist with good expectation. The best in expectation of his Lord['s mercy] is the most obedient to Him. Hasan Basri said, "The believer has good expectation of his Lord, so he make his deeds good. But, the evil person has bad expectation of his Lord, so he does evil." How can someone claim to have good expectation of his Lord when he is like a runaway, and is doing things which displease and anger his Lord, and has abandoned His orders, and is at war with Him. How can one have good expectation of his Lord if he thinks that He does not see him? "And, you used not to conceal yourself, lest your hearing, sight and skin testify against you, but you thought that Allah does not know much of what you used to do. And that, your expectation which you entertained about your Lord, has destroyed you, so you have become among those lost/ruined." [Surah Fussilat,23] So, these people, who thought that Allah did not know much of what they did, actually had ill- expectation of their Lord, and that destroyed them. Such people are deceived if they think they will directly enter Heaven; they are fooling themselves; Satan is leading them astray and beguiling them. Ponder over this. Consider: how is it possible for one's heart to be certain that one is going to meet Allah, that Allah sees and hears all that he does, and knows his secret open affairs, and that he will be made to stand before Allah, answerable for all his deeds - how can one be certain and aware of all of this, and yet persist upon things which displease Allah; persist upon abandoning Allah's orders, neglecting His rights, and yet claim that he has good expectation of Allah?!! Abu Umamah Sahl ibn Hanif reports: `Urwah ibn al-Zubayr and I entered upon `A'ishah and she said : If only you had seen the Messenger of Allah in one of his illnesses; [when] he had 6 or 7 dinars. The Messenger of Allah ordered me to distribute them [in charity?], but the pain of the Messenger of Allah kept me from doing that, until Allah cured him. Then, he asked me about them: "What have you done? Had you distributed the 6 dinars?" I said, "No, by Allah. Your pain had kept me from doing so." He asked for them to be brought [to him], and put them in his hand then said, "What would be the expectation of Allah's prophet if he met Allah with these in his possession?" What, then would be the expectation of the people of major sins, and the oppressors, if they were to meet Allah with these sins and forfeited rights of people on their backs? If their claim that they entertained good expectations that Allah would not punish evil and wrongdoing people, were to benefit them, then everyone could do as he wished, doing everything that Allah has forbidden, provided he kept good expectation of Allah, thinking that the fire will not touch him. Subhanallah! How deceived can one be? Prophet Ibrahim said to his people, "Is it a lie, gods besides Allah, that you desire? What then is your expectation of the Lord of the Worlds?" [SurahSaffat, 86] i.e. what is your expectation of Allah, what do you expect He will do to you if you meet Him having worshipped other than Him? So, if we reflect over this, we will realize that good expectation of Allah is equivalent to good deeds, for one is moved to good deeds by good hope of Allah, that He will reward him for his efforts and accept them. Otherwise, good expectation along with pursuit of whims and desires and lusts is incapacity. In short, good expectation can only occur if the means for salvation are pursued. Pursuit of the means to destruction cannot accompany good expectations. Someone might claim: It might, based on the expansiveness of Allah's mercy and forgiveness and generosity, and that His mercy exceeds His wrath, and that punishing does not benefit Him, nor does forgiveness harm Him. The reply is: Allah is indeed most generous and merciful, but this is in the appropriate place. Allah is also described as possessing wisdom and might and inflicting retribution, seizing with might, and punishing those deserving punishment. So, if the good expectation is based merely on some of Allah's attributes, then the righteous and the evil, the believer and the unbeliever, would equally be candidates for it. But, the names and attributes of mercy do not benefit the unbeliever or similarly one who has neglected his duty and exposed himself to Allah's curse. Rather, good expectation of Allah is for one who repents, regrets his sins and desists from the. This is good expectation, whereas the first is deception. "Those who believe, and those who perform hijrah and jihad in the path of Allah - they are hopeful of Allah's mercy." [Surah Baqarah, 218] So, these people are the ones who can be truly hopeful of Allah's mercy; not the evil and sinful people. "Then, your Lord is, to those who make hijrah after they have been persecuted, and then perform jihad and are patient/steadfast - indeed, your Lord is, after that, Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. [SurahNahl, 119] So, the knowledgeable one is he who puts hope in its correct place, whereas the deceived one is he who puts it elsewhere.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 23:01:43
[slm] The Heaven of this World From Ibn al-Qayyim's Al-Wabil as-Sayyib ======================================== I heard the Sheikh of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah - may Allah sanctify his soul - say, 'Truly, there is a Heaven in this world, [And] whoever does not enter it, Will not enter the Heaven of the next world.' And once he said to me, 'What can my enemies do to me? I have in my breast both my Heaven and my Garden. If I travel they are with me, and they never leave me. Imprisonment for me is a religious retreat [khalwa]. To be slain for me is martyrdom [shahada] And to be exiled from my land is a spiritual journey [siyaha].' During his imprisonment in the fortress, he would say, 'I could not be more grateful for this blessing were I to have this entire fortress in gold'; or, 'I could never repay them for the good that has come to me in [thisprison].'158 And in prostration he would say, whilst in a state of imprisonment 'O Allah, help me in my gratitude to You, remembrance of You and the most comely worship of You' as much as Allah willed. 159 Once he said to me, 'The real prisoner is someone whose heart is imprisoned from his Lord; the true captive is someone captured by his passions.' And when he entered the fortress and was inside its walls, he gazed upon them and recited the verse, 'And a wall between them is struck which has a gate. On the inside there is a mercy, on the outside punishment.' 160 Allah knows, I have never seen anyone who had a better life than his. Despite the difficulties and all that expunges comfort and luxury, nay, things completely opposite to them; despite intimidation and oppression, Ibn Taymiyyah had a purer life than anyone could. He was the most generous, the strongest of heart and the most joyful of soul, with 'the radiance of bliss' on his face.161 When we were seized with fear and our thoughts [aboutAllah's decree] turned negative, and the earth grew narrow for us, we would go to him. No sooner did we look at him and hear his words than all these [feelings] would leave us, to be replaced by relief, strength, certainty and tranquility. So glory be to the One who lets His servants witness His Heaven well before they meet Him, who opens its doors to them in this world of deeds and who gives them something of its refreshment, its breeze and its perfume - that they might seek it and hasten towards it with all their strength. A gnostic once said, 'If kings and the sons of kings knew what we had, they would try to take it from us by the sword!' Another said:'How pitiful, the wordly people! They leave this life without ever having tasted the sweetest thing in it.' When asked what that was, he replied, 'The love of Allah, the knowledge of Allah and the remembrance of Allah,' or words to that effect.162 Another said: 'There are times when the heart dances in joy.' And another said, 'There are times when I say, If the people of Heaven have anything like this, how truly sweet their lives!' To love Allah, to know Him intimately, to remember Him constantly, to find peace and rest in Him, to make Him alone the [ultimate] object of love, fear, hope and trust; to base one's act on His control of His servant's cares, aspirations and will - such is the world's Heaven, and such is a blessing with which no other blessing can compare. It is by this that the hearts of those who love Allah are gladdened and that the gnostics find life. As their hearts are gladdened by Allah, so others are gladdened by them. For whoever finds his source of gladdness in Allah, gladdens all hearts; whoever does not, finds nothing in this world but restlessness. Anyone with life in his heart will confirm this. But someone whose heart is dead will only estrange you from Allah; and so seek intimacy [with Allah] without him, when you can, for his mere presence will estrange you. If you are tested by him, show him only your outer aspect, but leave him behind in your heart. Depart from him with your soul and do not let him distract you from the one who is most important to you. Know that the greatest of all losses is the involvement with someone who weakens your relationship and standing with Allah, cutting you off from Him, wasting your time, dispersing your heart, weakening your resolve and dividing your aspirations. Therefore, if you are tested with this [kind of situation] - and it is inevitable that you will be - then bear up for the sake of Allah, and acknowledge Him as much as you are able. Draw near to Allah by whatever of it pleases Him. Make your association [with wordly people] a profit not a loss. Be like the man travelling along, whom another invites to stop: seek to take him along with you. When he comes along, lead him but be not lead by him. And if he refuses, and you have no hope that he will journey, then [atleast] do not let him detain you. Rather, hasten on, pay him no heed. Do not [even] turn in his direction, for he is a highway robber regardless. Protect your heart and be careful of how you spend your day and your night. Let not the sun set on you before you reach camp, 'lest you be carried off'. Nor let the dawn find you abandoned in the camp after the caravan has moved on, and the time is nigh for you to reach them. 163 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- NOTES 158 Ibn al-Qayyim accompanied Ibn Taymiyyah to prison (cf. Introduction). 159 A prayer recommended by the Prophet to Mu'adh. Nasa'i, Sahw, 1286; Abu Dawud, Salat, 1301. 160 Qur'an LVII:13. 161 'Nadratun al-na'im'. Qur'an LXXXIII:24. 162 Possibly referring to the saying by 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak: ' Wordly people leave the world before having feasted on the sweetest thing in it.' They asked him what that was and he answered, 'The knowledge of Almighty Allah.' Isfahani, Hilya, VIII:167. 163 There are some ommisions in the arabic editions here. The sense of the last sentence is not at all together clear.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 23:03:15
[slm] Beneficial and Comprehensive Principles Concerning Afflictions and Trials Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah "The Delight of Faith" Abdullah bin Jarullah al-Jarullah, transl. J. Zarabozo; Dar as-Salaam, 1996 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- "The affair of the believer is amazing! The whole of his life is beneficial, and that is only in the case of the believer. When good times come to him, he is thankful and it is good for him, and when bad times befall him,, he is patient and it is also good for him." [Saheeh Muslim #7138] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- 1. The evil that the believers are inflicted with is less than that which occurs to the disbelievers. 2. When the believers are inflicted with anything it should be accompanied with pleasure with Allah's decree and hoping for His reward. Hence, if they miss anything that they want, this should lead them to patience and hoping for reward and this will, without doubt, lessen the catastrophe. 3. The believer will be relieved of such hardship according to the amount of his obedience, purity and the existence of the realities of Faith in his heart to the point that if this hardship had occurred to another [who hasnot that amount of Faith], he would not be able to bear it. This is how Allah repels hardship from His believing slave. 4. If the love of Allah is firmly planted in the heart, then bearing the pain from the Beloved will be pleasureful for those who love Him and will not be something hated. 5. What the disbeliever and evildoer attain of power and strength is also accompanied with its opposite. 6. Allah afflicting His believing slave is like a kand of medicine that removes a disease. If that disease were to remain, it would destroy the person or lessen his reward. 7. Such occurrences are part of the necessary aspects of being a human. 8. In such ocurrences, Allah has a great and recognized wisdom. 9. Those afflictions and trials make it apparent who is the truthful person and who is the liar. 10. Humans by their nature are social creatures. They must mix with others. However, they have different natures and desires that may cause difficulties. The believer is obliged to fulfill his responsibilities concernig them and this makes the trial much easier. 11. The affliction that occurs to a person cannot but be from one of four types: Either it is with respect to his life, or with respect to his wealth, or with respect to his honor, or with respect to his family and those whom he loves from among mankind. These things affect all different peoples. Those who are not believing pious people are afflicted by much more than the believing pious person, as is witnessed.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 23:04:48
[slm] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FOUR KINDS OF LOVE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said regarding this matter:      There are four kinds of love, which we must differentiate between, and those who go astray do so because they do not make this distinction. The first of them is love of Allaah, but this alone is not sufficient to save a person from the punishment of Allaah and to earn him His reward. The Mushrikeen, worshippers of the cross, Jews and others all love Allaah. The second is love of that which Allaah loves. This is what brings a person into Islam and out of Kufr. The most beloved of people to Allaah is the one who is most correct and most devoted in this kind of love. The third kind is love for the sake of Allaah, which is one of the essentials of loving that which Allaah loves. A person's love of that which Allaah loves cannot be complete until he also loves for the sake of Allaah. The fourth is love for something alongside Allaah, and this love has to do with shirk. Everyone who loves things alongside Allaah but not for the sake of Allaah has taken that thing as a rival to Allaah. This is the love of the Mushrikeen. There remains a fifth kind of love which has nothing to do with our topic; this is the natural love which is a person's inclination towards that which suits his nature, such as the love of a thirsty person for water or of a hungry person for food, or the love of sleep, or of one's wife and children. There is nothing wrong with this unless it distracts a person from remembering Allaah and keeps him from loving Him. Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings):      "O you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allaah" [al-Munaafiqoon 63:9]      "Men whom neither trade nor sale (business) diverts from the remembrance of Allaah" [al-Noor 24:37]      (Al-Jawaab al-Kaafi, 1/134)      And he said (may Allaah have mercy on him):      The difference between loving for the sake of Allaah and loving something alongside Allaah is one of the most important distinctions. Everyone needs to make this distinction and is indeed obliged to do so. Loving for the sake of Allaah is a sign of the perfection of faith, but loving something alongside Allaah is the essence of shirk. The difference between them is that a person's love for the sake of Allaah is connected to his love of Allaah; if this love becomes strong in his heart, this love dictates that he will love that which Allaah loves. If he loves that which his Lord loves and he loves those who are the friends of Allaah, this is love for the sake of Allaah. So he loves His Messengers, Prophets, angels and close friends because Allaah loves them, and he hates those who hate them because Allaah hates those people. The sign of the love and hatred for the sake of Allaah is that his hatred for the one whom Allaah hates will not turn into love merely because that person treats him kindly, does him a service or meets some need he has; and his love for those whom Allaah loves will not turn to hatred simply because that person does something that upsets or hurts him, whether it is done by mistake or deliberately, in obedience to Allaah or because the person feels that he has a duty to do it for some reason, or because the person is a wrongdoer who may yet give up his wrongdoing and repent. The entire religion revolves around four principles: love and hatred, and stemming from them, action and abstinence. The person whose love and hatred, action and abstinence, are all for the sake of Allaah, has perfected his faith so that when he loves, he loves for the sake of Allaah, when he hates, he hates for the sake of Allaah, when he does something, he does it for the sake of Allaah, and when he abstains from something, he abstains for the sake of Allaah. To the extent that he is lacking in these four categories, he is lacking in faith and commitment to religion. This is in contrast to the love of things alongside Allaah, which is of two types. One is diametrically opposed to the principle of Tawheed and is shirk; the other is opposed to perfection of sincerity and love towards Allaah, but does not put a person beyond the pale of Islam.      The first kind is like the love of the Mushrikeen for their idols and gods. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):      "And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allaah as rivals (to Allaah). They love them as they love Allaah" [al-Baqarah2:165]      These Mushrikeen love their idols and gods alongside Allaah as they love Allaah. This love and devotion is accompanied by fear, hope, worship and supplication. This love is pure Shirk which Allaah does not forgive. Faith cannot be perfected unless a person regards these idols as enemies and hates them intensely, and hates the people who worship them, and regards them as enemies and strives against them. This is the message with which Allaah sent all His Messengers and revealed all His Books. He created Hell for the people of shirk who love these rivals, and He created Paradise for those who strive against them and take them as enemies for His sake and to earn His Pleasure. Anybody who worships anything from the vicinity of the Throne to the lowest depths of the earth and takes a god and a supporter besides Allaah and associates another beings in worship with Him, will be disowned by the object of his worship when he is most in need of it [i.e.,on the Day of Judgement].      The second kind is love for the things which Allaah has made attractive to people, such as women, children, gold, silver, branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. People love them with a kind of desire, like the love of the hungry person for food and the thirsty person for water. This love is of three kinds. If a person loves them for the sake of Allaah and as a means of obeying Allaah, he will be rewarded for that; it will be counted as a part of love for the sake of Allaah and a means of reaching Him, and he will still find enjoyment in them. This is how the best of creation [i.e. the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] was, to whom women and perfume were made dear in this world, and his love for them helped him to love Allaah more and to convey His Message and fulfil His commands. If a person loves them because they suit his nature and his own desires, but he does not give them preference over that which Allaah loves and is pleased with, and he gets them because of his natural inclination, then they come under the heading of things which are permissible, and he will not be punished for that, but his love of Allaah and for the sake of Allaah will be lacking somewhat. If his sole purpose in life is to get these things, and he gives priority to that over that which Allaah loves and is pleased with, then he is wronging himself and following his own desires.      The first is the love of al-Saabiqoon (those who are foremost in Islam); the second is the love of al-muqtasidoon (those who are average) and the third is the love of al-zaalimoon (the wrongdoers).      Al-Rooh by Ibn al-Qayyim, 1/254.      May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 23:05:33
[slm] The Fitnah of "Shahawaat" and "Shubuhaat" {An excerpt from Ibn Qayyim Al Jawziyyah's book "Ighaathatu' Lahfaan fee Masaayid As Shaytaan", Vol: 2 pg. 239-242} Translated by Hisham Assing ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fitnah of  "shubuhaat" Fitnah is of two types: the fitnah of "shubuhaat", {doubts and misunderstandings}, this one being the greater fitnah of the two, and the fitnah of "shahawaat" {desires}. It is quite possible that {these two fitnah} can be present in the abd {servant} at the same time, or one of them may be within him to the exclusion of the other. Regarding the fitnah of shubuhaat {doubts and misunderstandings}, this is due to having a weak vision and a lack of knowledge, not to mention if this is accompanied by corrupt intentions and the goal of fulfillment of ones' desires, and herein lies the greatest of all fitnah, this is indeed the worst of afflictions. Say what you like about the deviation of evil motives, the dominant factor in such a person is his hawa {desires}, and not huda {guidance}, in addition to his weak vision and the lack of knowledge with which the messenger {sallahu alayhi wasalam} . Hence, he is like those whom Allah describes: "They follow but a guess and that which they themselves desire, whereas there has surely come to them the Guidance from their Lord!" {An Najm:23} And indeed Allah {subhaanhu wa ta'la} has informed us that the following of desires misguides one from Allahs' path, He says: "O Dâwûd (David)! Verily! We have placed you as a successor on earth, so judge you between men in truth (and justice) and follow not your desire for it will mislead you from the Path of Allâh. Verily! Those who wander astray from the Path of Allâh (shall) have a severe torment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning". {Sad: 26} This is the kind of fitnah which leads to kufr and nifaaq {hypocrisy}, which is the fitnah of the hypocrites and ahl'il bidah {the people of innovation}, according to the degree of their bidah. Thus, the majority of them innovate because of the fitnah of shubuhaat {doubts and misunderstandings}, whereby they confuse the truth with falsehood and guidance with misguidance. There is no salvation from this kind of fitnah except by exclusively following the messenger {sallahu alayhi wasalam} by appointing him as the judge in the fine {detailed} matters in the deen and its simpler ones, the public aspects of his life and the private one, his beliefs and his actions, his reality and his legislation, thus he takes from him {the messenger sallahu alayhi wasalam} the reality of emaan and the legislation of islaam. He also accepts from him {alayhi as salam} what all he {alayhi as salam} has confirmed from Allah's' names, attributes and actions, and he does not negate them, in the same manner he accepts from him {alayhi as salam} the obligation of salah, its' time and the number {per day}, the percentage of ones' wealth on which zakat is due and those who deserve it, the obligation of wudu and ghusl {from sexual impurity}, the obligation of fasting in the month of ramadan, etc. Therefore, he does not see him {alayhi as salaam} only as a messenger in some aspects of the deen to the exclusion of others, but to the contrary he is the messenger for everything this ummah is in need of - be it knowledge or actions. So, he does not accept nor take {anything} except if it is from him {alayhi as salaam}, for the all guidance surrounds around his statement and actions. And everything which is outside of his guidance is dalaal {a deviation}. Thus, if this {principle} is implanted in the heart of  the servant and he turns away from everthing except this {the messengers' prophetic guidance}, whereby whenever he judges anything he examines it in the light of that which the messenger came with, if  it agrees with what he {alayhi as salaam} came with then he accepts it. And this is not because that particular person said what he said, but rather {he accepts it} because it agrees with the message {the sunnah}, and if it contradicts the sunnah he rejects it, regardless of whoever it came from. And this is what will save a person from the shubuhaat {doubts and misunderstandings}, and if he misses this {principle} then fitnah will afflict him in accordance to the degree he neglected this {principle}. This fitnah is sometimes as a result of incorrect understanding, wrong information, the truth being confirmed and is present, but one was unaware of it so he was not able to get the most out of it, or sometimes it can simply be that a person has evil intentions and is just following his desires, thus he becomes from amongst those who are blinded in their vision and habours evil in intentions. The Fitnah of shahawaat {desires} Allah has indeed combined in the following ayat the description of those whom the two types of fitnah have befallen them: "Like those before you, they were mightier than you in power, and more abundant in wealth and children. They had enjoyed their portion awhile, so enjoy your portion awhile as those before you enjoyed their portion awhile; and you indulged in play and pastime (and in telling lies against Allâh and His Messenger Muhammad SAW) as they indulged in play and pastime. Such are they whose deeds are in vain in this world and in the Hereafter. Such are they who are the losers". {At Tawbah: 69}. So Allah is pointing out to us here what happens from the corruption of  the hearts and the deen because of  taking pleasures in their portion {of this world} and indulging in {speaking about} falsehood, {and this is so} because curropting ones' deen occurs either by falsehood and engaging in it, or by doing deeds which contradicts correct action. As for the first one; it is bidah and what results from it. And the second one is sinful actions. The first one {bidah} is consequence of shubuhaat, and the second {sinful actions} is an outcome of shahwaat. This is why the salaf used to say be aware of two kinds of people: a person of desires {innovator} whose  desires has misguided him, and a person of this world (dunya people} whom this world has blinded him. They also used to say {the salaf}: be careful of the fitnah of evil scholar and the ignorant worshipper, for indeed their fitnah afflicts everyone who is misguided. The source of  {all} fitnah is a consequence of giving precedance to opinions over what Allah has leglislated, and preferance of desires over intellegence. Thus, the basis of the first fitnah is shubuhaat and the basis of the second one is shahawaat. The Cure for These Two Fitnah As for the fitnah of shubuhaat this prevented and cured by possessing "Al Yaqeen" certainty, and fitnah of shahawaat can be fended off and remedied by "As sabr" patience. This is why Allah made leadership of this deen by possessing these two qualities, hence He says: "And We made from among them leaders, giving guidance under Our Command, when they were patient and used to believe with certainty in Our Ayât". {As Sajdaah: 24}, thus this indicates that by having patience and certainty one achieves leadership in this religion. Allah has also interlined these two characteristics in surah Al Asr wherein He says:  Except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and recommend the truth to each other and recommend one another to patience." {Al Asr: 3}. Therefore, advising each other in truth repels "shubuhaat" and recommending patience to each other restrains one from his deires. So by having patience and a sound intellect {this} restrains one from the fitnah of "shahawaat", and by possessing a clear vision and certainity {this} repels the fitnah of  "shubuhaat", wallahulmusta'an.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 23:06:17
[slm] The Traps of Iblees by Ibn al-Qayyim from At-Tafseer Al-Qayyim of Shaikh Ibn Al-Qayyim [Al-Hijra magazine] It is not possible to encompass one of Iblees' evils, let alone all of them. Since Iblees' evil is of six types, Iblees remains behind the son of Adam until he gets him to do one or more of these six evils. THE FIRST EVIL IS THE EVIL OF KUFR AND SHIRK and enmity to Allaah and His Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam). If he gains this from the son of Adam, his moaning is eased, and he rests from his ordeal with this man. Further, this is the first thing Iblees wants from al-'Abd (the worshipper). If Iblees gains this, he makes this person part of his army, one of his soldiers, and he appoints him as a deputy or agent against other human beings. Then, this person becomes one of the deputies or callers of Iblees. If he despairs of enticing him with the first evil, and if this person is one of those for whom it was written that he would be a Muslim in his mother's womb, Iblees tries the SECOND CLASS OF EVIL. THIS IS BID'AH (innovation). Iblees loves Bid'ah more than debauchery and disobedience because the harm of Bid'ah is in the essence of the religion. Moreover, it is an unrepentable sin and is against the call of the messengers and is a call to a message different from the one conveyed by Ar-Rasool. Bid'ah is a gate to Kufr and Shirk. Therefore, if Iblees gains the performance of Bid'ah from a person and makes him one of the people of Bid'ah, he also becomes one of his agents and a caller of his. If Iblees fails and is unable to trap Al-'Abd at this class, and if he is one of those who were granted by Allaah the gift of As-Sunnah and hatred of the people of Bid'ah and error, he proceeds to the THIRD CLASS OF EVIL, which is the class of MAJOR SINS in their various forms. Iblees is very covetous of letting a person fall into major sin, especially if he is a scholar who is followed. Iblees is covetous of that, so that he may repel people from him and spread his sins and disobedience amongst the people. He uses some people as his agents to spread this person's sins under the false pretence that this will help them to get closer to Allaah. But in fact this person is the deputy of Iblees without knowing it. For those who would like abomination to be spread amongst the believers there is a great torment in this life and in the Hereafter especially if they take charge of spreading about enormities, not out of advice, but by obeying Iblees and being his agent. All this is to repel people from the Scholar and from his benefit. Furthermore, the sins of this person (scholar), even if they reach the sky, are less to Allaah than the sins of those who would like to spread his sins about. The scholar's sins are wrongdoing to himself. If he seeks forgiveness from Allaah and repents, Allaah will accept his repentance, and He will change his bad deeds to good deeds. However, the sin of those who spread about abominations are doing wrong to the believers by looking for their mistakes and by intending to expose them. Allaah is in close observation, and He knows about this ambuscade. Nothing hidden in the chest or soul is hidden to Allaah. If Iblees is unable to snare Al-'Abd at this degree he moves him to the FOURTH CLASS, or the MINOR SINS. These sins may ruin a person if they accumulate. That is why Ar-Rasool (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, Be aware of the minor sins, because the simile of the minor sin is like the people who went to a desert. Then he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) mentioned a Hadeeth the meaning of which is that every one of them brought a stick of wood until they had kindled a huge fire (just as the minor sins add up little by little until they become a major sin). The person continues taking the matter of minor sins easily until he considers them inconsequential. Therefore, a person who commits major sins but fears their effect is in a better condition than he is. If the Al-'Abd has prevented Iblees from trapping him at this level, he moves him to the fifth level. The FIFTH LEVEL IS TO OCCUPY HIM WITH PERMISSIBLE THINGS that do not gain him reward or punishment. However, the punishment of this level is caused by passing the reward missed by being occupied with these deeds. If Al-'Abd has kept Iblees from succeeding at this level, and if he is careful about his time, being covetous with it, knows the value of moments, and knows the value of what comes of comfort or torment, Iblees transfers him to the sixth level. The SIXTH CLASS is to OCCUPY HIM WITH DEEDS OF LESSER REWARD to keep virtue away from him and to prevent him from attaining the reward of the favoured deed. Therefore, he orders him to do a good action with less reward if that includes leaving a better action. Very few people are aware of this. Because if a person feels a strong urge to some kind of obedience, he does not doubt that it is true obedience and that he is getting closer to Allaah. He never thinks that this call is from Iblees because he believes that Iblees never calls one to do good. Therefore, he thinks that this call is from Allaah. Actually he is excused because he never knew that Iblees would call one to seventy doors of good deeds either to get him to one door of evil or to let a better deed than these seventy deeds pass away from him. This cannot be known except by a light from Allaah, a light he instils in the heart of Al-'Abd. The source of this type of knowledge is following the way of Ar-Rasool (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and taking care of the levels of deeds with Allaah, the deeds of His favoured ones, the deeds more pleasing to Him, and those more beneficial to Al-'Abd, and deeds that have more Naseehah (guidance) from Allaah, His Rasool, His Book, and His believing worshippers. No one has this type of knowledge except the inheritors of Ar-Rasool (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), his deputies in the Ummah, and his successors on earth. In addition, most of the creation is screened from this. This call does not come to their hearts. Allaah gives His favour to whomever He wills from among His worshippers. If Al-'Abd prevents Iblees from trapping him at any of these six levels, and if it becomes difficult for Iblees, he empowers his party of jinn and human beings with different kinds of harm, IMPUTING DISBELIEF TO HIM, CALLING HIM MISGUIDED AND AN INNOVATOR, WARNING PEOPLE AGAINST HIM, and intending to weaken him and to disturb his heart. Iblees, by using this method, tries to confuse this person's thinking and tries to PREVENT PEOPLE FROM BENEFITING FROM HIM. Therefore Iblees expends his utmost effort to empower the defenders of falsehood, from human beings and from jinn, against him. Then the believer is at war until death. Whenever he gives up, he is hurt or is taken captive. Hence the believer is in Jihad until he meets with Allaah. Finally, we hope you take note of this chapter and think about its great benefit. Moreover, make this knowledge your balance to weigh people and deeds. This shows you some universal realities and the level of people. Allaah is the one from whom we seek aid, and on Him we depend.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 23:07:09
[slm] Strangeness and the Strangers Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah Adoptted by Ammar ibn Abdullah al-Hindi Based on a booklet by ibn Qayyim entitled al-Ghurbathu wa al-Ghuraba -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Islam began as something strange, and it shall return to being something strange, so give glad tidings to the strangers." The Meaning of "Strangeness" Many times in many situations the people that follow the religion of Allah feel a sense of not belonging, of being out of place, of not fitting in, and, in other words, of being strange. This feeling could occur in a gathering of non-Muslims, but, unfortunately, this feeling sometimes also occurs when one is with his fellow Muslims. A person sees his brothers and sisters doing acts that are contrary to Islam, or taking part in innovations that sometimes even border on kufr (apostasy), yet he feels that he does not have enough power or courage to stop them in these acts. Some brothers and sisters, especially if they do not have enough taqwa or Islamic knowledge, sometimes buckle under the pressure of their peers and join in these acts, knowing that this is not what Allah wants them to do. However, feeling helpless, since it seems that they are alone in their ideas and without any support to help them do what is right, they succumb to such pressures. These brothers and sisters, may Allah have mercy on them, should take consolation in the verses of the Qur’an and the many statements of the Prophet (peace be upon him) describing this very situation of strangeness that they feel. Why Have They Been Called "Strangers"? Allah says in the Qur’an, "If only there had been, in the generations preceding you, people having wisdom, prohibiting others from evil in the earth; except a few of those whom we have saved from among them." (Hud 116). This verse speaks of the few people on earth, the "strangers", who prohibit mankind from evil. These are the same people the Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke about when he said, "Islam began as something strange, and it shall return to being something strange, so give glad tidings [ar. Tooba. This is a tree in Paradise. So the Prophet (peace be upon him) is giving the good news of Paradise to these strangers.] to the strangers." It was asked, "Who are those strangers, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied, "Those that correct the people when they become corrupt." [Reported by Abu Amr al-Dani, from the hadith of ibn Masoud. It is authentic according to al-Albani. Another narration says, "Those that correct my sunnah which has been corrupted by the people after me."] In another narration he said in response to the same question, "They are a small group of people among a large evil population. Those who oppose them are more than those who follow them." [Reported by ibn Asaakir. It is authentic according to al-Albani.] These praiseworthy people are called strangers since they are a small minority among mankind. Thus, Muslims are strangers among mankind; the true believers are strangers among Muslims; and the scholars are strangers among the true believers. And the followers of the Sunnah, those that clear themselves from all peoples of innovation, are likewise strangers. In reality, however, their strangeness is only because they are the minority and it is not because their actions and beliefs are strange. This is what Allah says in surah al-Anaam, "And if you obey most of the people on Earth, they will lead you astray" (al-Anaam 116). Allah also says, "And most of mankind will not believe, even if you (O Muhammad) desire it eagerly" (Yusuf 103); "And truly, most of mankind are rebellious and disobedient (to Allah)." (al-Maidah 49); "But nay, most of mankind are ungrateful" (Yusuf 38). Therefore, Allah, the all-Knowing Creator, knows the most of mankind will not follow the truth. Instead, only a small group of people will be set apart that truly and correctly believe in Him, the strangers from among mankind. The strangers in belief, however, and the strangers in character and actions are in reality the majority of mankind, for they are strange to Islam and to the laws that Allah has revealed. Thus we see that there are various types of strangeness, of which some are praiseworthy, some are blameworthy and some are neither praiseworthy or blameworthy. We will discuss these various categories separately below. The Various Types of Strangeness You should know, may Allah have mercy upon you, that strangeness is of three types: The first type of strangeness is the strangeness of the "People of Allah and the People of His Messenger" (peace be upon him), which we mentioned previously. This strangeness is a praiseworthy strangeness, as it has been praised by Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him). Therefore, this kind of strangeness should be sought and its people must be supported. This strangeness occurs in different times, in different places, and among different peoples. These strangers, then, are the true "People of Allah" for they do not worship ought save Him, and they do not take support from any path except the path of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and they do not call to anything except that which has been brought by the Prophet (peace be upon him). These are the people who left mankind when they (the strangers) were in need of them the most. For, on the Day of Judgment, when all other groups will go with that which they used to worship, they will stay in their places. It will be said to them, "Will you not go as the other people have gone?" They will answer, "We had abandoned the people (in this life), and we were more in need of them then we are today, and we will wait for our Lord whom we used to worship." [Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim] Thus it is apparent that this strangeness does not cause its bearer any discontent. Rather it is a comforting strangeness, a solace to the believers. This is because he knows that his helpers are Allah, His Messenger and those who believe [This is a reference to verse 55 of surah al-Maidah], even if all of mankind left and abandoned him. These strangers are again described in a hadith narrated by Anas ibn Malik, in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "It is possible that a disheveled, dusty person, with not many belongings [Literally, "with two headdresses"], who is not noticed among the people, if he asks of Allah, Allah will fulfill his prayer." [Reported by at-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim. Al-Albani said it is authentic.] Al-Hasan al-Basri [a very famous Follower – tabi` - known for his piety, asceticism and knowledge] said, "A believer is a stranger in this world, he is never afraid of its humiliation, and he never competes for its glory. The people are in one situation and he is in a different situation. The people are content with him, yet he is in turmoil [Literally, "tired"] with himself." From the characteristics of these strangers that the Prophet (peace be upon him) described is the holding on to the sunnah of the Messenger (peace be upon him), even if the people abandon it. They, the strangers, leave all the innovations that their people invent, even if such practices should be common among them. They also stick to tawheed, even if the people corrupt it with shirk. They do not ascribe themselves to anything besides Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him); they do not, that is, ascribe themselves to a shaikh, tariqah, particular madhhab or a group of people. They are dedicated only to Allah, with their sincere worship of Him and Him alone, and to His Prophet (peace be upon him), by following the path that he followed. These are the people who grasp the glowing hot embers [A reference to the hadiththat is to follow], even though most of mankind - nay, all of them - blame them for this. This is the meaning of the statements of the Prophet (peace be upon him) alluding to the fact that they stick to his sunnah, even if the people corrupt it. Allah, all praise be to Him, sent His Prophet (peace be upon him) when mankind followed different religions, for there were those who worshipped rivers and trees, and there were those who worshipped idols, and there were Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians. Islam, when it first appeared among these people, was strange to them. If a person from among them accepted Islam and followed the call of Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him), he would be shunned by his family and his tribe. He would live the life of a stranger among his people. Eventually, however, Islam spread far and wide. The Muslims became stronger and stronger, so much so that the strangers were those that did not accept the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). But, alas, Satan deceived mankind again. People took to the ways that their forefathers, who had accepted Islam, had abandoned until, finally, Islam became strange again, just like it had started and just like the Prophet (peace be upon him) had foretold. Nay, indeed, rather the true Islam - that which the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Companions were following [this is a reference to the reply that the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave when asked what the characteristics of the "Saved Group" were] has become even stranger to the people then when it initially appeared, even though its outward signs and external relics are well known and widespread. [This is what ibn al-Qayyim, wrote in the 8th Century of the Hijrah, wrote. Imagine our situations six centuries after him. May Allah protect us.] How can it not be so, when these strangers are only one group among seventy-two others [the Prophet (peace be upon him) said in an authentic hadith that this Ummah would divide into seventy-three groups, all of which would go to Hell except the one Saved Group.], each of which follows its own desires and takes its passions as gods? Those are the groups that base their teachings on doubts and innovations and whose sole purpose is the gratification of their own desires. Thus, the group whose goal is to achieve the pleasure of Allah by following the path of His Messenger (peace be upon him) will be the strange one among all of the other groups. This is why the true Muslims - those that adamantly cling to the Sunnah - will have the reward of fifty Companions. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about the verse, "O you who believe! Take care of your own selves. If you follow right guidance, no harm can come to you from those who err" (al-Maidah 105), he said, "Nay indeed, order good and forbid evil until you see stinginess being obeyed, and desires being followed, and this world preferred [over the next], and each person being deluded by his own opinions. Then take care of yourself and leave the common people. For indeed, after you there will be days of patience, where patience will be like holding on to glowing embers. Whoever is able to do this will have the reward of fifty people that do like him." They asked, "O Messenger of Allah, the reward of fifty of them?" He replied, "The reward of fifty of you" [Recorded by al-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud with a weak chain but it has supporting evidence. Al-Albani calls it sahih. See al-Sahiha, #957]. This reward is due to his strangeness among the people. So, if the believer whom Allah has blessed with wisdom and knowledge wants to tread upon this path, the path of Allah, then let him be prepared to resign himself to the life of a stranger among his people, just like his predecessors who accepted Islam were treated by the people. For indeed, he will be a stranger in his beliefs, because his people have corrupted their beliefs. He will be a stranger in his religion, due to what the people have done to it. He will be a stranger in his manner of praying, because the people are ignorant of the prayer of the Prophet (peace be upon him). He will be a stranger in his ordering of good and prohibiting evil, for the people have taken what is evil as good and they have abandoned what is good as evil. In short, then, he will be a stranger in all his matters of this world and the Hereafter, calling to the path of Allah and withstanding the harm of all those that go against him. As for the second type of strangeness, then know, O reader, that this strangeness is the blameworthy strangeness, for its people are the evil sinners, the ignorant and the arrogant of mankind. Their strangeness is due to their refusal to follow the correct and straight path of Allah. This strangeness is the strangeness of not conforming to the religion of Islam and, as such, it will remain strange even if its followers are numerous, its power is strong and its existence is widespread. These are the strangers to Allah. May Allah keep us from becoming one of them. The third category of strangeness is, in essence, neither praiseworthy or blameworthy. It is the strangeness that a traveler experiences when he travels to a different country, like a person who lives in a place for a short period of time, knowing that he has to move on. One aspect of this strangeness is that all of us, whether we realize it or not, are strangers in this world, for we will all go one day to our permanent abode in the Hereafter. This is the meaning of the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he told Abdullah ibn Umar, "Live in this world as though you are a stranger or a wayfarer." Thus, this category of strangeness has the potential to become a praiseworthy strangeness if we realize the meaning of this statement of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him). We pray that Allah bless us to be Muslims, knowledgeable and pious, and that He forgive us our sins and bless us with His Mercy. Glorified be your Lord, the Lord of Honor and Power! (He is free) from what they attribute to Him And Peace be on the Messengers. And all Praise and thanks be to the Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 23:08:40
[slm] The State of Repentance Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah Madaarij as-Saalikeen Al Jumuah Magazine -------------------------------------------------------- The state of repentance, tawbah, is at the beginning, the middle and the end of all states of submission to the will of Allah. The servant who seeks the pleasure of Allah never abandons tawbah. He remains in the state of tawbah until his death. Whatever his state of belief, the servant makes tawbah his constant companion. Thus, tawbah is at the beginning and at the end of his servitude to his Creator. His need for tawbah at the end, just as at the beginning, overrides, and supersedes all other needs. Allah says: "And turn to Allah altogether (make tawbah), O you who believe so that you may succeed," (24:31) The verse above is contained within a Madinan Surah (revealed after the migration to Madinah), in which Allah addresses the people of emaan, who are the best of His creation. He calls upon them to make tawbah "turn in repentance" to Him after they had already believed, gone through hardships, trials of faith, executed patience, migrated and performed jihad. Allah then made success conditional on perfecting such tawbah, as the effect is often conditional on the cause. No one can hope for success, except: those who make tawbah. Allah says: "And those who do not make tawbah are indeed the dhaalimoon (wrongdoers)." (49:11) Allah divides His servants into two categories only: the repentant and the wrongdoers. There is no third category. Allah calls those who do not make tawbah, "dhaalimoon" (wrongdoers and transgressors) and no one is more of a wrongdoer and a transgressor than a person who does not repent for his evil actions. This state is a result of a person's ignorance of his Lord and the rights due to Him, as well as, his own defects and the evil of his deeds. The Prophet, sallallahu alayeh wa sallam, is reported to have said: "O people, make tawbah to Allah. By Allah, I make tawbah to Him more than seventy times each day." (Bukhari) His companions used to count for him in each congregation his saying one hundred times: "My Lord, forgive me and accept my repentance, for You are At-Tawwab (the One who accept repentance), Al-Ghafoor (The Oft Forgiving)." The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, is also reported to have said: "No one will be rescued (on the Day of Judgment) by his deeds. They (his companions) asked even you Messenger of Allah? He said, even me, unless Allah would grant me His mercy and Grace." May Allah's blessings and peace be upon His Messenger, the most knowledgeable among His creation of Him, His Rights, His Greatness and what servitude He deserves. He is the most knowledgeable of servitude and its requirements and the most committed in servitude to Allah. The Starter (Fatihah) of Tawbah Tawbah is the return of the servant to Allah. It is also his turning away from the path of those with whom Allah is angry and those who are astray. This returning cannot be done except by Allah's guidance to the Straight Path. The servant will not attain guidance except through Allah's help and the servant's submithrough tawheed. Suratul-Fatihah explains this concept in the most complete and eloquent manner. Whoever appreciates Surat-ul-Fatihah and gives it is right estimate, through knowledge, contemplation upon its facts and by living its directives, will realise that one cannot recite it, with the true recitation of a servant, unless one makes sincere tawbah. The perfect guidance to the Straight Path cannot be attained with the indifference to sins or the persistence on sins. Indifference to sins negates the knowledge of guidance. Persistent sinning negates the intention and the will of the servant. Thus, tawbah will not be valid except after one recognises the sins, admits to them and seeks to rid oneself of their evil consequences. Seeking Refuge from Sin The first aspect of tawbah, then, is to see how one was taken away from seeking the pleasure of Allah, by committing sins. Next, one has to recognize that Allah didn't safeguard him from sin. One should also ponder how happy one was while sinning and being persistent on the sin, while knowing with surety that Allah ever watches over whatever is done in the heavens or on the earth. If the servant had sought refuge in Allah, he would not have gone away from the guidance of obedience, "And whoever holds firmly to Allah, then he is indeed guided to a Right Path." (3:101) If one's holding onto Allah is firm, one would never be forsaken by Allah, "And hold firmly to Allah, He is your Mawlaa (Protector) and what an excellent Mawlaa and what an excellent Naseer (Helper)." (22:78) In other words, whenever we hold firm to Him, He will become our Protector and He will support us against our nafs (inclinations) and the Shaytan. These two enemies, the nafs and Satan, are the ones that do not leave the servant for even a moment. Their enmity is more harmful to the servant than the enemies from without. Attaining victory over such enemies is more difficult, and the servant's need for such a victory is far more important. The degree of help rendered to defeat these enemies is dependent upon the degree of our dependence and holding onto Allah. If we do not hold firmly to Allah, we will go away from Allah's protection. This is indeed the true loss. Allah could have aided us in staying away from sins, however, because we deserted Him, we were allowed to listen to any obey our nafs. If He wished to protect us, the sin would not have found a way to get to us. When the servant becomes heedless of the consequences of sin, he finds pleasure when he satisfies unlawful desires. This pleasure in disobedience is evidence of his ignorance of the Greatness of the One of disobeys, and his ignorance of the evil consequences of sins and evil actions. His pleasure with sin has concealed all of this from his sight. In fact, his pleasure with sin is more harmful to him than perpetrating the sin itself. The believer can never have any pleasure from sin. He cannot have complete satisfaction with it. On the contrary, he would not even pursue it, except with grief in his heart. But the intoxication of the desires obscures one from feeling this remorse. When the heart becomes empty from such grief and one is happy with sin, then one should question his faith and weep for the death of his heart. If one were alive, he would be sad for the perpetration of any sin, big or small. The evil effects of sin, more times than not, go unnoticed in us and in our brothers and sisters in Islam. Diligences in constant self-evaluation is necessary in leading us away from sin and its destructive ends. One can do this by focusing on the following. 1. The fear of dying before making tawbah. 2. Remorse about the good that was missed because of the disobedience of Allah. 3. Working seriously on regaining what has been missed. If one becomes completely heedless then one becomes persistent, which means constant disobedience with the intention to perform the sin again and again. This by itself is another sin that could be far greater than the first. Part of the punishment for sin is that it leads to a greater sin, then another, and so on until it completely and certainly destroys the person if he does not repent. Persistence on sin is another sin. Not attempting to rectify the sin means persistence on it and satisfaction with it. This is the sign of ruin. Worse than all of that, is the commission of sin in public when we are sure that Allah watches and sees everything from above His Throne. If we believe that Allah watches us, yet we proceed to commit sins publicly, this is a great contradiction. But if we don't believe that He watches us, then we are completely out of the realm of Islam. There are two considerations for a sinner: lack of embarrassment from Allah knowing that Allah's sight watches over all, and lack of fear to go out of the deen. Therefore, one of the conditions of the acceptance of tawbah is that a person should firmly believe that Allah was watching and that He will always watch over him. He sees everything during the perpetration of sins. The reality of tawbah is to return to Allah is not sound or complete without the knowledge of the Lord's names and attributes and their manifestations within Himself and in the world. The repenting servant should know that he was running away from his Lord, captured in the grip of his enemy. He didn't fall into the claws of his enemy except as a result of his ignorance of his Lord and his daring to go against Him. He should know how and when he became ignorant, and how and when he was captured. He should believe that tawbah requires great determination and complete awareness to rescue himself from the enemy and be able to return and run back, to his Lord Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim. He should realise that returning to his Lord is actually turning away from the road of destruction, where his enemy had taken him. He should know the number of steps taken away from his Lord and the efforts and obstacles that he must strongly work on to get back to the Straight Path.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 23:11:57
[slm] JUSTICE AND FAIR TESTIMONY  By Imaam ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah  From the book Ar-Risaalat ut-Tabukiyyah  Establishing Justice  It is surprising to find someone claiming closeness to the Messenger  (S) and complete love for him while he strives to follow and establish  someone else's opinions. He bases his anger, love, and satisfaction on  such opinions; he referees them; and he compares the Messenger's  statements to them - if they agree with those opinions then he  accepts them, otherwise he applies all sorts of tricks and takes all  measures to reject them and to turn away from them.  Allah (T) said:       "Believers! Stand out firmly for fair dealings, as       witnesses to Allah, even though it be against       yourselves, or your parents, or your kin; be he rich or       poor, Allah can best protect both. So follow not the       lusts [of your hearts] lest you may avoid justice. If       you distort your testimony or refuse to provide it,       verily, Allah is ever Well-Acquainted with what you       do" [an-Nisaa' 4:135]  This ayah carries great meanings that should be emphasized because  of people's dire need for them.  Allah (T) commands the believers to establish equity and justice. It  should be rendered toward everyone, whether enemy or friend.  It is even more important to establish justice in matters of ideas,  opinions, and beliefs, because they relate to Allah's commands and  teachings. Allowing whims and disobedience to influence one's  opinions and beliefs conflicts with Allah's commands and with His  Messenger's Message.  Establishing justice in ideas, opinions and beliefs is the mission of the  successors to the Messenger (S) in his Ummah (nation) - those who  are worthy of carrying the trust among his followers. No one deserves  such description of honesty except those who establish absolute  justice in this, as an advice for Allah, His Book, His Messenger, and His  worshipers. These are indeed the true inheritors [of the glorious  Message].  Thus a person is not worthy of this description if he takes his  company, ways, and opinions as measures and indicators of the truth  - loathing or befriending people because of them.  How far is such a person from establishing the justice that Allah  mandated on everyone, especially in these matters of belief where the  obligation is higher!  Fair Testimonies  The above ayah has,"... as witnesses to Allah ...". A witness is a  reporter. If he reports truthfully then he is acceptable and just; if he  reports falsehoods then he is a false witness.  In addition to establishing justice, Allah requires one to be a witness  for Him alone. Thus the testimony should be: with justice and for Allah  alone. In another ayah Allah (T) said:       "Believers! Stand out firmly for Allah as witnesses to       fair dealing" [al-Maaidah 5:8]  Together, these two ayaat require four things: establishing justice,  doing it for Allah, maintaining truthful testimonies, and doing this for  Allah as well.  The ayah in surah an-Nisaa' emphasizes fairness and maintaining the  testimonies for Allah, while that of surah al-Maaidah emphasizes  standing out firmly for Allah and maintaining fair testimonies. This  difference (between the two ayaat) has an important reason that  cannot be dealt with here.  THE TEST OF FAIRNESS  The above ayah (an-Nisaa' 135) then says, "... even if it be against  your own selves, your parents or your kin ...".  Allah (T) commands to establish justice and to maintain fair testimony  against everyone, including the most beloved ones. One is required to  be fair against himself, his parents who are his roots, and his relatives  who are usually closer and better supporters for him than other  people.  A person's love for himself, his parents, and his kin, tends to prevent  him from establishing the right and justice against them, especially  when the right is for someone whom he hates and loathes. Thus, it is  obvious that no one will establish this justice except he to whom Allah  (T) and His Messenger (S) are more beloved than anything else.  One can use this to test the strength of Imaan in his heart, and his  status of Imaan.  On the other end, one should be just toward his enemies and those  whom he dislikes. His hatred should not cause him to be unjust to  them, just as his love for himself and his kin should not prevent him  from establishing justice against them. This hatred should not make  him do wrong, just as that love should not stop him from doing right.  One of the salaf1 said:       "A just person is one whose anger does not cause him to       do wrong, and whose pleasure does not prevent him from       doing right."  Thus these two ayaat (of an-Nisaa' and al-Maaidah) together require  two things: establishing justice, and maintaining fair testimony with  friends and enemies.  WEALTH-BASED BIAS  The above aayah (an-Nisaa' 135) then says, "... be he rich or poor,  Allah is closer to both of them ...".  [The meaning of this is that,] "Allah is the Lord and Master of both  the rich and the poor; they are His 'abid (subjects), just as you are  his 'abd. So, do not be prejudiced toward a rich man because of his  wealth, nor toward a poor man because of his poverty; Allah (T) is  closer than you to both of them."  A possibly better interpretation of this is the following: "People may  be reluctant to establish justice and to testify against the rich or the  poor; as for the rich, they fear to cause him a loss in wealth; and as  for the poor, they tend to take the matter lightly with him because  of his poverty and that he possesses nothing. So they are told, 'Allah  is closer than you to both the rich and the poor; He is more  knowledgeable of, and more merciful toward both; thus do not stop  establishing truthful testimony against either of them.'"  Two Motivations for Hiding the Truth  The next portion of the above ayah (an-Nisa' 135) says, "... So do  not follow the lusts, lest you may be reluctant to establish  justice..."  Another possible (but not as strong) interpretation of this ayah says,  "... lest you may be unjust ..."  This ayah (an-Nisa' 135) continues,"... if you distort your  testimony, or refuse to provide it, verily, Allah is ever Well-  Acquainted with what you do"  Allah (T) mentions here the two incentives for hiding the truth,  warning against committing either of them. These are: distorting the  testimony and refusing to provide it.  When the truth becomes clear and evident, a person who likes to hide  it does so in one of two ways: he either turns away from it and  abstains from mentioning it, acting by this as a mute devil, or he  changes and distorts it.  The distortion of truth is either in words or in meaning. Distorting the  words is done by adding, dropping, or replacing them with other  words. It can also be done by uttering other words in such a way as  to make the listener think that he heard something different from  what was actually meant. This is similar to what the Jews did in  greeting the Messenger (S) or on some other occasions2.  Distorting the meaning is done by interpreting the words differently  from what the speaker intended, introducing that which he did not  mean, dropping some of what he meant, and so on.  Summary  Thus Allah (T) warns against all kinds of distortion in the testimony. A  witness is required to provide a precise testimony, without hiding or  distorting it.  Just contemplate then on the great amount of wisdom and knowledge  contained in this ayah.  In summary, Imaan is not complete, or not even present in a person,  unless he submits the Texts [of the Qur'an and Sunnah] with  acceptance and pleasure, proclaims them, and invites people to them.  He should never respond to them with rejection or distortion.  Footnotes  1. Salaf: The early pious Muslims of the Sahabah (companions) and  their true followers.  2. When greeting the Messenger (S), some Jews used to fake  "As-Salaamu 'Alaykum" (Peace be on you) by saying "As-Saammu  Alaykum" (Death be to you) instead [Al Bukhari and Muslim]. Also,  review al-Mujaadalah 58:8.

Re: Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah
bhaloo
01/16/03 at 23:13:28
[slm] I'll post some more later, if people are interested? ??? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Station of Toma'aneenah Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah al-Jumu'ah Magazine ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Toma'aneenah is tranquillity. Allah says, "Those who believe and whose hearts find toma'aneenah in the remembrance of Allah. Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find toma'aneenah." [13:28] "O you the one with toma'aneenah! Come back to your Lord, well-pleased and well-pleasing unto Him! Enter you, then among My honored slaves, and enter My Paradise." [89:27-30] Toma'aneenah is the satisfaction of the heart with circumstances without any sense of anxiety or restlessness. It was mentioned in one narration that: "Truthfulness is a cause of toma'aneenah and lying is a cause of suspicion and doubt." This suggests that one who hears the truth will have toma'aneenah and satisfaction within his heart as a result, whereas lying causes disturbance and doubt within the heart. This meaning is also seen in the hadeeth which states: "Righteousness is what the heart has toma'aneenah with." This shows that the heart feels satisfied with truth and has no anxiety or sense of unease because of it. There are two opinions regarding the meaning of remembrance of Allah in the (aforementioned) verse. The first opinion holds that the remembrance is of the servant to his Lord. This remembrance causes toma'aneenah to settle within the heart. Should the heart become anxious or disturbed, then the servant will have no means for attaining toma'aneenah except through the remembrance of Allah. The second opinion holds that the meaning of this remembrance is the Qur'an, and this is the more sound. It is His Remembrance that He revealed to His Messenger. The hearts of the believers will have toma'aneenah as a result of it. For the heart will not have trust or toma'aneenah except by faith and certainty. There are no means of attaining faith and certainty except through the Qur'an. The toma'aneenah of the heart is due to its firm faith. The heart's anxiety and disturbance are a result of its doubts and uncertainty. The Qur'an is the means to attain certainty and firmness in faith, and to remove doubts. That is why the hearts of the believers cannot have tranquillity except through the Qur'an. It is impossible for anyone who doesn't study the Qur'an, or deeply understand it, to have a benefit from it and its guidance. The benefit from the Qur'an, will not be sound unless one's heart perceives the reflections of His Lord's Names and Attributes, in His Laws within himself and in everything around him within this universe. The same two opinions are also applied to the meaning for the remembrance of Allah, as stated in the following verse, "And whosoever turns away from the remembrance of Ar-Rahmaan (Allah), We appoint for him a shaytaan(devil) to be an intimate companion to him." [43:36] Again, the sound opinion here is that Allah's Remembrance is that which He sent to His Messenger, i.e., His Book. Whoever turns away from this, Allah will appoint a shaytaan for him, who will misguide and deter him from the straight path although the person may think that he is righteously guided. The two opinions are also prevalent with the verse: "But whosoever turns away from My Remembrance, verily for him is a life of hardship and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection." [20:124] The sound opinion is that Allah's Remembrance is His Book that He sent to His Messenger. This is why the one that turns away from it will say, "O my Lord! Why have you raised me up blind while I had sight before?" [20:125] And Allah will respond by saying, "Like this, Our Aayat came unto you but you disregarded them, and so this Day you will be neglected." [20:126] Allah deposits toma'aneenah in the hearts and souls of the believers. He will then grant the joy, delight and good news of admission into Paradise to those with toma'aneenah. As a result, for these people there is great happiness and a beautiful place for the final return. The verse "O you with toma'aneenah! Come back to your Lord . . ," indicates that the soul will not return to Allah unless it is characterized by toma'aneenah. Then it will return to Him, be from among His honored slaves and be allowed to enter His Paradise. Toma'aneenah's final product is tranquillity. At that final stage the heart will have tranquillity with a sense of sound security. There is a difference between a sense of sound security and a deceitful sense of security. It is possible that the heart may have a feeling of satisfaction caused by a deceitful sense of security, but this satisfaction and peace do not endure. Besides the sound security because of the tranquillity produced by toma'aneenah, there is an atmosphere of joy and attachment. Toma'aneenah is something more than tranquillity. It includes knowledge, faith and the attainment of what is known. The example of this is the toma'aneenah the hearts find with the Qur'an. When hearts believe in it and attain knowledge of its guidance, it is sufficient for them. Their total loyalty is to the Qur'an. They rule their lives with it and go to it when they have a dispute. Toma'aneenah is extremely beneficial for those overwhelmed by obligations and responsibilities, especially for those who call others to Allah and struggle against Allah's enemies. These people face and bear much more than others. They are faced by many circumstances that may weaken their patience. So if Allah wishes to relieve them of the heaviness of their obligations, He will have tranquillity descend upon them and toma'aneenah with His Commands and Decrees. If the servant has toma'aneenah with Allah's Commands, then he knows that Allah's religion is the truth and that Allah will certainly support him and be sufficient for him and his family. If the servant has toma'aneenah with Allah's Decrees then he knows that nothing will reach him except for what Allah has written for him. This servant knows that whatever Allah wishes will be and whatever Allah doesn't wish will not be. Therefore there is no reason for worries or concerns, unless there is weak faith. Nothing will happen unless it is written and if it is written, nothing can stop it. Therefore, there should be no fear or concern for those with faith. If an adversity occurs and the believer can do something, then he should do so. However, if he cannot, then he should not be annoyed or dismayed. Toma'aneenah is also beneficial for those who are subjected to trials and hardship. There is no doubt when a person is suffering and has strong faith in the reward for his patience, then his heart will be content. He will have tranquillity and toma'aneenah. The adversity may become stronger against him and he may not see the reward. Seeing the reward may become so powerful that there may be a sense of joy felt from the adversity and be considered a gift. This is not surprising. Many wise persons upon seeing the results of distasteful medication may begin to like the taste of the medicine. Observing its benefit makes one not pay attention to the taste. Allaahummaa innee as'alukal-hudaa wat-tuqaa wal-`afaafa wal-ghinaa "O Allaah! I ask You for guidance, piety, safety and well-being, and contentment and sufficiency." Say: "Truly, my prayer And my service of sacrifice, My life and my death, Are all for Allah, The Cherisher of the Worlds..." (Quran, Surah Al-An'am:162)
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