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

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

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

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

Patiently bear every calamity, take heart,

Know that harm never endures forever.

Be patient, just as the nobles were patient:

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

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

O soul, patience only for a few days!

Their length? A few flitting dreams!

O soul, pass through this world quickly;

Turn away from it, true life lies ahead!

Another said,

It is only an hour, then it will depart

All of this will go, it will disappear.

Footnotes

1. As mentioned in a ḥadīth recorded by Muslim #2807 on the authority of Anas.

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

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

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

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

Footnotes

1. Abū Nu’aym, vol. 2, pg. 340

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

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

Because they are regarded to be strange, it is possible that some of them be accused of insanity just as Owais was accused. Abū Muslim al-Khawlānī would frequently perform dhikr; his tongue would always move in the remembrance of Allāh and so a man asked one of his companions, “Is your friend mad?” Abū Muslim replied, “My brother, no, rather this is the cure for madness!” al-Ḥasan said, while describing them, “When the ignoramus looks at them, he thinks them ill, yet far are they from illness! He would say they have lost their minds, indeed they have lost their minds to a great matter, far loftier than their accusations, by Allāh they are busied with it from your worldly lot!” It is in this regard that the poet said,

By love’s sanctity! I find none to replace You,

O Master! I have no objective save You.

Talking about You makes them say, ‘He has a malady!’

I say, ‘May that malady never leave me!’

Footnotes

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

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

How bright is the night of the pious, which is spent by them in worship; they remain standing, leaning on the pillar of their fear of Allāh, as they approached the road of longing to their Lord, as the night covers them under its roof. When they sigh [out of their love for Allāh] they are more adoring than a lover, and when they mourn [from fearing Allāh and their love towards Him] they are more eloquent than al-Khansā. [2]

They found the right path, and hence walked on it;

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا 

“Indeed, those who have said, ‘Our Lord is Allāh’ and then remained on a right course (al-Fuṣṣilat 41:30)

But how far behind are you from even catching the traces of dust left by their caravan trail! Their hope does not stretch far at all, and their houses are more austere than a grave, their sleep is rare and their conditions are softer than a breeze. For them, spending the night in prayer is more joyful than sleeping at night after waking up. Whenever they recite a surah from the Qur’ān they reflect on it passionately as Ya’qūb (‘alayhi as-salām) when he caught a waft of Yusuf’s (‘alayhi as-salām) aroma.

Be present during the last part of the night, and join the worshippers long enough to witness the lavishing of the King’s gifts upon them, because even if you were not amongst their party, you might at least receive a portion of what they received [i.e. you will be as those whom Allāh said about them],

وَإِذَا حَضَرَ الْقِسْمَةَ أُولُو الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينُ فَارْزُقُوهُمْ مِنْهُ 

“And when [other] relatives and orphans and the needy are present at the [time of] division, then provide for them [something] out of the estate.” (al-Nisā 4:8)

When you exhale, giving out breaths of regret, they rise and form clouds, to patter upon you drops of forgiveness. And if you shed a tear on the cheek of repentance, you will give life to your barren heart.

Footnotes

1. The tribe of Prophey Shu’ayb (‘alayhi as-salām).

2. She is Tamadur bint ‘Amr Ibn al-Ḥārith al-Salamīyyah; the famous eloquent female poet whose eloquence was incomparable. She embraced Islām when she was very old and was in constant sadness because of the loss of her father and two brothers who were killed in battles before Islām.

• Transcribed from: Seeds of Admonishment and Reform; being a translation of his ‘Kitāb al-Laṭā’if fil Wā’iz’ | Ibn al-Jawzī

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

Also, pay attention to the compassion in the hadeeth of Mu’adh ibn Jabal. The Messenger of Allāh salAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam took him by the hand one day and said to him, “Oh Mu’adh, verily I love you.” Mu’adh replied saying: “By my father and mother, oh Messenger of Allāh, and I love you.” He salAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam said,  “I advise you, oh Mu’adh, to not neglect to say at the end of every prayer”

Allāhumma a’inee ‘ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husna ‘ibadatika

“Oh Allāh, assist me in remembering You, thanking You, and worshipping You in a good manner.” [1]

Therefore, he began with affability and kindness in order for him to accept the benefit and to open the innermost part of his heart and to prepare him to accept it. Therefore, this is a must when calling to Allah and when teaching the people good.

Footnotes

1.  Collected by Ahmad (22119), Abu Dawud (1522), An-Nisāī (9937), and declared authentic by Albanī (7969)

• Transcribed from: 50 Points of Benefit Extracted from the Story of Luqman the Wise| Shaykh ‘Abdur Razzaq Al Badr

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

Footnotes

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

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

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

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

As Allāh has said,

Tell Me, if We do let them enjoy for a number of years, then afterwards comes to them that (punishment) which they had been promised; all that with which they used to enjoy shall not avail them. (Ash-Shu’araa’ 26: 205-207)

He said:

And on the Day He shall gather (resurrect) them together, (it will be as if) they had not stayed (in the life of this world and graves, etc.) but an hour of a day. They will recognize each other. (Yunus 10:45)

He also said,

And on the Day that the Hour will be established, the Mujrimoon (criminals, disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, etc.) will swear that they stayed not but an hour… (Rum 30:55)

Allāh is the one who is beseeched to aid us with eemān and to protect us from trials and temptations, the apparent and hidden.

• Transcribed from: Causes Behind the Increase and Decrease of Eemaan | Shaykh ‘Abdur-Razzaaq

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

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

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

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

Malik ibn Dinār said, “There is no righteous  deed except that there is an obstacle that comes before it, if a person endures it patiently he will reach comfort, and if he fears it he will abstain from it.”

Sufyān al-Thawri said, “People left riding fast horses, and we have stayed on indolent camels.”

The cure for laziness lies in motivating and urging the endeavor by fearing that one may miss the goal, or be blamed, or fall into regret [lest one does not make an effort]. For the regret of a negligent person when he sees the reward of a hard worker is the greatest punishment. Also a person of sound mind should reflect on the negative consequence of indolence, for many a time has leisure led to regret.

Whoever sees that his neighbor has traveled, returning with profits, his regret will be many times greater than the satisfaction of leisure, similarly if one person becomes brilliant in knowledge and another does not due to laziness. The intended purpose of these examples is to explain that the pain of missing something exceeds the satisfaction of laziness.

Wise people are unanimous that wisdom is not reached by relaxation and idleness. Therefore, whoever knows the fruits of laziness will avoid it, and whoever is aware of the fruits of hard work will endure the hardships of the path. Moreover, an intellectual knows that he was not created in vain, rather he, in this world, is like a hired laborer or a merchant.

The span of lifetime in this world, which is practically the life one is given to perform good deeds, and the span of time one is to spend in the grave is like a single moment compared to the eternal dwelling in paradise or in the hellfire.

From amongst the best cures for indolence is reading and reflecting on the biographies of those who strove. Therefore, I wonder at he who would prefer idleness in the sowing season and leaves yielding for the harvesting season.

Footnotes

1. Reported by Bukhāri 8:98, Muslim p.2079, 2080 and 2088 (Abdul-Baqi)
2. Reported by Muslim, al-Qadar 34
3. Reported by Abu Nu’aym in al-Hilyah 1:130, through the chain of Yahya ibn Wathāb from Ibn Mas’ood, may Allāh be pleased with him

•  Transcribed from: Disciplining the Soul; Tibb al-Ruhāni | Ibn al-Jawzi