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مستور بالرحمة

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Twenty-Fourth: Contentment dispels from a person the afflictions of greed and desperate craving for worldly life which is the head of every sin, the root of every trial, and the foundation of every calamity. Thus, one's contentment with their Lord in all circumstances dispels these afflictions from them.

Ibn al-Qayyim, Madarij al-Salikin (Vol. 2, p. 531)

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Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“It is well known that you will not find anyone who rejects the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah in favor of his own opinion except that he harbors dislike for whatever contradicts his view. He wishes that such a verse had never been revealed or that such a hadith had never been narrated. If he were able to erase it from the Muṣḥaf, he would do so.

One of the Salaf said: ‘No one introduces an innovation except that the sweetness of hadith is removed from his heart.’

It was also reported about one of the leading Jahmiyyah—either Bishr al-Marīsī or someone else—that he said: ‘Nothing undermines our position more than the Qur’an. So affirm it outwardly, then reinterpret it through figurative interpretation (ta’wīl).’

It is also said that he remarked: ‘If they argue against you with hadith, confuse them by denying its authenticity. And if they argue with Qur’anic verses, confuse them through interpretation.’

This is why you find that such a person does not like the prophetic texts to be conveyed. Rather, he may even prefer that they be concealed and discourage their dissemination and transmission—contrary to what Allah and His Messenger commanded regarding conveying the message.

As the Prophet ﷺ said:

‘Let the one who is present convey it to the one who is absent.’

And he said:

‘Convey from me, even if it is only one verse.’

And he said:

‘May Allah brighten the face of a person who hears a hadith from us, then conveys it to one who did not hear it.’”

— Darʾ Taʿāruḍ al-ʿAql wa al-Naql (5/217)

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Ibn al-Qayyim said:

“The correct understanding is this: Paradise is not merely a name for trees, fruits, food, drink, the ḥūr al-ʿayn, rivers, and palaces. Most people misunderstand what Paradise truly is. Rather, Paradise is the name of the abode of absolute and perfect bliss.

Among the greatest delights of Paradise is the joy of gazing upon the Face of the Lord, hearing His speech, and the comfort and delight found in nearness to Him and in His good pleasure.

The pleasure of its food, drink, clothing, and beautiful forms bears no comparison whatsoever to this delight. Indeed, even the slightest portion of Allah’s good pleasure is greater than Paradise and all that it contains of these blessings, as Allah, the Exalted, says:

‘But the good pleasure of Allah is greater.’ (Qur’an 9:72)”

— Madārij al-Sālikīn (2/329)

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Shaykh al barrak حفظه الله on the ones who blame the Palestinians for what’s happening to them.

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He used to say:

“Son of Adam! The world has been described to you, and you have desired the affairs of the Hereafter. Death has been brought near to you, and you have been commanded to act. Allah has made His proof binding upon you. So prepare for your return, for your Lord will not be pleased with you except by your fulfilling what He has made obligatory upon you.

Son of Adam! If you see people in a state of goodness, then compete with them. And if you see them rushing toward destruction through the pursuit of worldly life, then leave them to what they have chosen for themselves. I have seen people who sold their Hereafter for the sake of their worldly life, so they laughed, became heedless, perished, and were punished with the death of their hearts.”

— The Etiquettes (Ādāb) of al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī by Ibn al-Jawzī, p. 72.

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Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Ṭurayfī said:

“Allah has created human beings with an innate disposition to guard themselves against illnesses and ailments that would impair their intellect, so that such harms do not negatively affect their worldly lives. Likewise, the revealed religion has established safeguards to protect the transmission of the faith from desires, innovations, and deviations, so that they do not corrupt one’s religion.

However, because the pleasures of this world are immediate while the delights of the Hereafter are deferred, people generally devote greater effort to protecting their worldly interests than to safeguarding their religion.

Allah describes mankind’s inclination toward immediate gratification in several places. He says:

‘No! But you love the immediate (life).’ (Qur’an 75:20)

And He says:

‘Indeed, these people love the fleeting world.’ (Qur’an 76:27)

And He says:

‘Whoever desires the immediate (life of this world)—We hasten for him therein whatever We will…’ (Qur’an 17:18).”

— Al-Maghribiyyah fī Sharḥ al-ʿAqīdah al-Qayrawāniyyah, p. 20.

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Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

"Whisperings and doubts that assail self-evident knowledge cannot be removed through logical demonstration. Rather, whenever the servant ponders and examines them, their influx upon his heart only increases, and the whispering may overwhelm him until he becomes utterly incapable of repelling it from himself.

This [condition] is removed only by seeking refuge with Allah; for it is Allah alone Who protects the servant and grants him sanctuary from misguiding doubts and seductive desires. It is for this reason that He commanded the servant to seek guidance from his Lord in every prayer, saying: {Guide us to the Straight Path}."

Dar' al-Ta'arud (3/311)

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اللهم إني أسألك العفو والعافية في الدنيا والآخرة

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“Allah, Glorified is He, may know that within you there is a hidden evil or a latent corruption that no one else knows. Yet His prior knowledge alone does not make you deserving of punishment, nor does it necessitate affliction for you before what He knew becomes manifest to the angels—so that they may praise Him and acknowledge His justice when He distances you from His nearness and expels you from His Paradise because of it.

Thus, He brings forth from within you that hidden disease by confronting it with disobedience and by allowing you to contend against His cloak of majesty. He draws out your concealed disbelief and inward ailment, until His proof is established against you before His messengers and His angels by what has emerged from you as a consequence of His trial.

In all this, your condition merely came to reflect what it truly was. This is among the profound wisdoms of His decree. Had He punished and expelled a servant solely on the basis of what He alone knew about him, others would have had grounds to say: ‘If only You had tested me before punishing me; had You tested me, You would have found me obedient.’ Therefore, from the perfection of His wisdom and mercy, He does not punish His servant for his disobedience until He calls him, time after time, to return to Him—even when the servant persists in his obstinacy and rebellion. Then no room remains for argument, admonition has no further effect, and every excuse is removed. Thus the justice of the Creator alone becomes evident, along with His perfect holiness.”

— Ibn al-Qayyim, Shifā’ al-`Alīl (Section: Jawāb al-As’ilah al-Iblīsiyyah)

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“It is not astonishing that a servant humbles himself before Allah, worships Him, and never tires of serving Him, given his need and poverty before Him. Rather, what is truly astonishing is that the Master shows love to His servant through the many forms of His blessings and seeks his affection through the countless varieties of His kindness, despite His absolute independence from him.

It is sufficient honor for you that you are His servant, and sufficient glory for you that He is your Lord.”

— Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH), Al-Fawāʾid (ʿAṭāʾāt al-ʿIlm edition, 1/50).

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Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“Do not be deceived by being in a righteous place, for there is no place more excellent than Paradise, yet Adam experienced there what he experienced.

Do not be deceived by abundant worship, for Iblīs, after a long period of worship, met the fate that he met.

Do not be deceived by abundant knowledge, for Balʿam ibn Bāʿūrā met the fate that he met, despite knowing the Greatest Name of Allah.

And do not be deceived by meeting the righteous and seeing them, for there is no person more righteous than the Prophet ﷺ, yet his enemies and the hypocrites derived no benefit from meeting him.”

— Madārij al-Sālikīn (1/510)

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Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said:

Love of women is of three types:

The first is a love that is an act of drawing near to Allah and an act of obedience. It is the love a man has for his wife or his female slave. This love is beneficial, for it best fulfills the purposes for which Allah legislated marriage, and it is more effective in restraining the gaze and the heart from looking toward those who are not lawful to him. For this reason, such a person is praised by Allah and by people.

The second is a love that incurs Allah’s displeasure and distance from His mercy. It is among the most harmful things to a servant in both his religion and worldly life: the love of youthful males. None is afflicted with it except one who has fallen from the sight of Allah, been driven away from His door, and whose heart has been distanced from Him. It is among the greatest veils that cut a person off from Allah. As some of the Salaf said: “When a servant falls from the sight of Allah, He afflicts him with the love of youthful males.”

It was this love that brought upon the people of Lūṭ what it brought upon them. They only committed what they committed because of this infatuation. Allah, the Exalted, said:

“By your life, indeed they were, in their intoxication, wandering blindly.” (Qur’an 15:72)

The remedy for this destructive disease is to seek help from the One who turns the hearts, sincerely turn to Him, occupy oneself with His remembrance, replace this attachment with love for Him and nearness to Him, and reflect upon the pain this love ultimately brings and the delight it causes one to forfeit. For it leads to the loss of the greatest Beloved and the attainment of the greatest calamity. If one’s soul still persists in preferring it, then let him pronounce the takbīr over it as he would over a funeral, and let him know that tribulation has truly encompassed him.

— Ibn al-Qayyim, Al-Dāʾ wa al-Dawāʾ, 1/565.

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The greatest obligation upon a person is to know the One who brought him into existence, the purpose for which he was created, and the right that his Creator—Allah—has over him.

Allah, the Exalted, says:

“So know that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and seek forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women. And Allah knows your movements and your resting place.” (Qur’an 47:19)

This is because it is the call of all the messengers. Allah, the Exalted, says:

“And We did not send any messenger before you except that We revealed to him: ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Me, so worship Me.’” (Qur’an 21:25)

And He, the Exalted, says:

“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except that they worship Me.” (Qur’an 51:56)

— Shaykh Abdul Aziz al-Tarifi, Al-Maghribiyyah fī Sharḥ al-ʿAqīdah al-Qayrawāniyyah

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Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

I am the one in need of the Lord of the heavens;
I am the poor and destitute in every state.

I am the one who wrongs my own soul, and it is my own soul that wrongs me;
And whatever good comes to us comes only from Him.

I have no power to bring benefit to myself,
Nor to ward off harm from it.

I have no guardian besides Him to manage my affairs,
Nor any intercessor before the Lord of all creation,

Except by the permission of the Most Merciful, our Creator,
Lord of the heavens, as has come in the revealed verses.

I possess nothing independently of Him—ever;
Nor am I His partner even in the smallest particle.

Nor am I a supporter who could aid Him,
As rulers have assistants in their kingdoms.

Poverty and utter need are an essential quality of mine, forever,
Just as absolute richness and self-sufficiency are eternally His essential attribute.

This is the condition of all creation without exception:
Every one of them is His servant, destined to come before Him.

Whoever seeks what he needs from other than his Creator
Is an ignorant, unjust, rebellious idolater.

All praise belongs to Allah, enough to fill the entire universe—
All that exists within it, and all that will come after.

Then may blessings be upon the Chosen One from Muḍar,
The best of creation, among those who have passed and those yet to come.

— Al-ʿUqūd al-Durriyyah

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Ibn al-Qayyim said:

“Here is a subtle point, that is, regarding the chapter on repentance, which only one who truly understands this matter will grasp:

Every person who repents must, at the beginning of his repentance, experience an inward constriction and pressure in his heart, some anxiety, distress, grief, or sorrow. Even if it is nothing more than the pain of parting from something beloved, his heart is compressed and squeezed because of it, and his chest becomes tight.

For this reason, many people turn back from repentance and retreat upon their heels because of this trial.

But the one whom God grants success knows that the joy, happiness, and delight that follow repentance are proportional to the degree of this inward constriction. Thus, the stronger and more intense this constriction is, the more complete and perfect will be the joy and delight that follow.

And there are many reasons for this…”

Ibn al-Qayyim, Ṭarīq al-Hijratayn (2/530)

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He (the author) said: “If he is mute, he gestures toward the sky.”

Ibn al-Mundhir said:

“Everyone among the scholars from whom we have preserved knowledge is unanimously agreed on the permissibility of the slaughter of a mute person. This is the view of al-Layth, al-Shāfiʿī, Isḥāq, and Abū Thawr, and it is also the opinion of al-Shaʿbī, Qatādah, and al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ.”

Once this is established, then the mute person gestures toward the sky, because his gesture takes the place of the speech of one who can speak. His pointing toward the sky indicates his intention to mention the Name of the One who is above the heavens.

Similar to this is what al-Shaʿbī said. This is also indicated by the hadith of Abū Hurayrah:

“A man came to the Prophet ﷺ with a non-Arab slave girl and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I am required to free a believing slave. May I free this one?’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked her, ‘Where is Allah?’ She pointed toward the sky. He then asked, ‘Who am I?’ She pointed with her finger toward the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and then toward the sky, meaning, ‘You are the Messenger of Allah.’ Thereupon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Free her, for she is a believer.’”

This was narrated by Imam Aḥmad and al-Qāḍī al-Bartī in their Musnads.

Thus, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ judged her to be a believer based on her pointing toward the sky, by which she intended that Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is there. It is therefore even more appropriate that such a gesture should suffice as an indication that the mute person has pronounced the tasmiyah (the invocation of Allah’s Name before slaughter). Indeed, if he were to make any gesture that clearly indicated the tasmiyah, and this was understood, that would be sufficient.

—Ibn qudamah used this fatwa in al mughni to prove 'uluw dhaati for allah

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Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Ṭurayfī فك الله اسره:

A person may be praised in one country for something that would be criticized in another, even if both exist at the same point in time. One society may be characterized by widespread immodesty, while another is generally modest. In such a case, you may praise an immodestly dressed woman if she begins covering her head, even if she still leaves her face uncovered, whereas you may criticize a modestly dressed woman if she starts uncovering her face, even though she continues to cover her head.

This is because the first is moving closer to what is right, so she deserves praise even though she has not yet attained complete goodness. The second is moving away from what is good, so she deserves criticism even though she has not yet reached complete wrongdoing.

There is a difference between encouraging one who is advancing toward the truth and warning one who is turning away from it.

For example, a person who drinks both alcohol and smokes cigarettes—if he gives up alcohol while continuing to smoke, he is praised for that. On the other hand, someone who had abstained from both alcohol and smoking—if he begins smoking while still avoiding alcohol, he is criticized. Although both individuals may now be in the same outward condition (neither drinks alcohol, both smoke), their situations are not the same.

The first is moving toward what is good, and therefore deserves praise. The second is moving away from what is good, and therefore deserves criticism. The one advancing toward goodness is not the same as the one retreating from it, even if they temporarily arrive at the same outward point.

It is a deficiency to judge only by the outward appearance without considering, for each person: “Where did they come from, and where are they going?”

Source: Al-Ḥijāb fī al-Sharʿ wa al-Fiṭrah

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Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said:

“There is not a single verse in the Book of Allah in which anyone is praised because of his lineage, nor is there a single verse in which anyone is condemned because of his lineage. Rather, praise is only for īmān and taqwā, while condemnation is for kufr, fusūq, and ʿiṣyān.”

Source: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā

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Ibn al-Qayyim said:

“A profound benefit:

A person only finds difficulty in abandoning familiar habits and customs when he gives them up for a reason other than Allah. But the one who abandons them sincerely and wholeheartedly for Allah’s sake will not find hardship in leaving them except at the very beginning. That initial difficulty is only a test: is he truthful in leaving them, or is he lying? If he remains patient through that brief hardship, it will be transformed into delight.

Ibn Sīrīn said: ‘I heard Shurayḥ swear by Allah: No servant ever leaves something for the sake of Allah and then truly finds himself deprived because of it.’

The saying, ‘Whoever leaves something for Allah, Allah will replace it with something better,’ is true. The forms of that replacement are many, and the greatest of them are intimacy with Allah, love for Him, tranquility of the heart through Him, strength, vigor, joy, and contentment with one’s Lord, the Exalted.”

Source: Al-Fawāʾid by Ibn al-Qayyim, p. 156.