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Beneficial Words-Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah

Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah’s al Fawaaid (p111-112)

“The slave is not afflicted with a punishment greater in severity then the hardening of the heart and being distant from Allah. For the Fire was created to melt the hardened heart. The most distant heart from Allah is the heart which is hardened. If the heart becomes hardened, the eye becomes dry.
If four matters are exceeded in quantity, beyond what is necessary, the heart shall become hardened:
Food, sleep, speech and sexual intercourse. A body afflicted by disease does not derive nourishment from food or water, similarly a heart diseased by desire does not benefit from admonishment and exhortation.
Whosoever desires to purify his heart, then let him prefer Allah to his desires.
The heart which is clinging to its desires is veiled from Allah, commensurate to the degree that it is attached to them, the hearts are the vessels of Allah upon his earth, hence the most beloved of them to him, are the o­nes most compassionate, pure and resistant to deviation.
They (the transgressors) preoccupied their hearts [in the pursuance] of the Dunya, would that they preoccupied them with Allah and the hereafter, then surely they would have reflected upon the intended meaning of his poignant words and verses. Their hearts would have returned to their masters with wisdom, marvelously curious and [in possession] of the rarest of precious gems.
If the heart is nourished with remembrance, its thirst quenched with contemplation and cleansed from corruption, it shall witness remarkable and wondrous matters, inspiring wisdom.
Not every individual who is endowed with knowledge and wisdom, and assumes its character is from amongst its people. Rather the people of knowledge and wisdom are those who infused life into their hearts by slaying their desires. As for the o­ne who slays his heart and vitalized his desires, then knowledge and wisdom is naked upon his tongue.
The destruction of the heart occurs by security [in this Dunya] and negligence, its fortification occurs by fear and remembrance. If the heart renounces the pleasures of the Dunya, it settles upon the [pursuance of] pleasures of the Hereafter, and amongst those who call towards it.
Should the heart become content with the pleasures of the Dunya, those pleasures [of the hereafter] cease [to continue].
Yearning for Allah and his meeting is like the gentle breeze blowing upon the heart, extinguishing the blaze of the Dunya. Whosoever caused his heart to settle with his Lord shall be in a state, clam and tranquil, and whosoever sent it amongst the people shall be disturbed and excessively perturbed.
For the love of Allah shall not enter a heart, which contains the love of this world, except as a camel, which passes through the eye of a needle.
Hence, the most beloved servant before Allah is the o­ne whom He places in His servitude, whom He selects for His love, whom He causes to purify his worship for Him, dedicates his objectives for Him, his tongue for His remembrance, and his limbs for His service.
The heart becomes sick, as the body becomes sick, and its remedy is al-Tawbah and protection [from transgression].
It becomes rusty as a mirror becomes rusty, and its clarity is obtained by remembrance. It becomes naked as the body becomes naked, and its beautification is at-Taqwa. It becomes hungry and thirsty as the body becomes hungry and thirst, and its food and drink are knowledge, love, dependence, repentance and servitude.”

taken from :http://calgaryislam.com

HOW DOES ONE ATTAIN SINCERITY?-ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

Sincerity cannot coexist in a heart that contains the love of praise and commendation and the yearning to possess that which is owned by the people save in the manner that fire and water or a lizard and fish may coexist.
If your soul directs you to seek sincerity then first turn your attention towards your yearning and slaughter it with the knife of renunciation. Then turn your attention towards praise and commendation and forsake it with the asceticism of those who loved the world for the sake of the Hereafter. When your slaughtering of your yearning and the renunciation of praise and commendation becomes firm then attaining sincerity will become easy for you.
If it is asked: what may facilitate the act of slaughtering ones yearning and renouncing the love of praise and commendation?
I would reply: as for slaughtering your yearning then this is made easy by you having certain knowledge that there is nothing that one would desire except that its treasures are in the Hand of Allaah alone and none has power over it save Him. There is no one who may bestow these things to a servant except for Allaah.
As for renouncing the love of praise and commendation then this is made easy by your knowing that there is no one who can praise you such that it would benefit you, or censure and vilify you such that it would harm you save Allaah alone. This is what occurs in the hadeeth in which the Arab said to the Prophet (sullalahualayhi wa salaam), "my being praised is adornment and my being vilified is disgrace," to which the Prophet (sullalahualayhi wa salaam) said, "that is (for) Allaah."
[Reported by at-Tirmidhee [no. 3266] with a saheeh isnaad from Baraa`a bin Aazib (radiAllahuanhu).]
So renounce the praise of one whose praise cannot beautify you and the vilification of one whose censure cannot disgrace you! Instead desire the praise of the One whose commendation contains perfect beauty and the One whose censure contains total disgrace. This cannot be attained except after patience and certainty for when there is no patience and certainty then you are like one who wished to traverse an ocean without a vessel to carry him!
Allaah said,
"Be patient! Indeed the Promise of Allaah is true and let not those who are devoid of certainty discourage you from conveying (the message)." [al-Rum (30):60]
"We have made from amongst them leaders, guiding under Our Command when they were patient and believed in Our Signs with certainty." [al-Sajdah (32):24]



Al-Fawaa`id [218-219] of ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, may Allaah have mercy upon him.





[Taken from ‘An Explanation to Riyaadh as-Saaliheen’ Vol1, Trans. Abu Sulaymaan and modified.]

Truthfulness and Sincerity

1- The slave cannot actualize 'You are the One that we worship' except with two principles: one of them is following the Messenger and the second is having sincerity (Ikhlaas) for the One worshipped. [Ibn al-Qayyim – ‘Tahdeeb al-Madrij’ 68]
2- Sincerity for Allaah is that a person's intent is for Allaah and intends everything for Him, causing fountains of wisdom to spring up from his heart on to his tongue. [Ibn Taymeeyah – 'an-Naboowaat' 147]
3- Whenever the sincerity of the slave strengthens, his worship becomes more complete. [Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 10/198]
4- In relation to the amount of Tawheed a slave has for his Lord, and his sincerity for the religion for Allaah is the amount he is deserving of the generosity of Allaah upon him, from intercession and other things. [Ibn Taymeeyah – ‘As-Sarim al-Monkey’ 390]
5- A person does not show his actions to the creation, except due to his ignorance of the Greatness of the Creator. [Ibn Rajab – ‘Kalimat ul-Ikhlaas’ 31]
6- Ikhlaas cannot be achieved except after having Zuhud, and there is no Zuhud except after having Taqwa, and Taqwa is following the commands (of Allaah and His Messenger) and keeping away from prohibitions. [Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 1/94]
7- Strive today in implementing Tawheed, since there is nothing that will deliver you to Allaah except Tawheed. Also, be eager in fulfilling its rights, since there is nothing that can save you from the fire except Tawheed. [Ibn Rajab – ‘Kalimat ul-Ikhlaas’ 54]
8- Whoever is sincere in regards to the actions of the Deen, which he does for Allaah, then he is from the pious Awliyah of Allaah. [Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 1/8]
9- If you correct your hidden deeds subsequently Allaah will correct your outward deeds. [Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 3/277]
10- Having the correct understanding of the Deen is light which Allaah throws into the heart of the slave, which is increased by having the Taqwa of Allaah and having good intent. [Ibn al-Qayyim – ‘Ilaam al-Muaq'een' 1/69]
11- Ikhlaas is the way to salvation, Islaam is the ship to safety and Emaan is the seal of security. [Ibn al-Qayyim – 'Dar miftah as-Sa'ada' 1/74]
12- Certainly the strength of Yusuf's sincerity - alayhi sallam - was stronger than the beauty of Azeez's wife, stronger than her allure, and his want for her. [Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 10/602]
13 – The heart of the truthful person is filled with the light of truth and he has the light of Eemaan. [Ibn al-Qayyim – 'Madarij as-Salikeen' 2/282]
14- The sincere person is fortified by Allaah due to his worship of Him Alone, intending his Face Alone. He has humility for Him Alone, and hope in Him Alone, requesting from Him Alone, submissiveness for Him Alone and has a dire need of Him Alone. [Ibn al-Qayyim – 'Madarij as-Salikeen' 2/202]
15- There is nothing that drives away the afflictions of this world except Tawheed. That is why the supplication of the distressed person is with Tawheed. Such as, the supplication of Yunus. The distressed person does not supplicate by what Yunus supplicated with except that Allaah releases him from his hardship with Tawheed.
There is nothing more gruesome for the distressed person except shirk, and there is nothing that can rescue you from it except Tawheed, it is the refuge for the creation, its shelter, its fortress and its aid. [Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Fawaid' 96]
16-The reward is doubled in accordance with one perfecting his Islaam and with his perfecting the strength of Ikhlaas, in that action. [Ibn Rajab – ‘Jama' al-Aloom’ 2/316]
17- If a benefit could be achieved from an action performed without Ikhlaas, then Allaah would not have criticised the hypocrites. [Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Fawaid' 65]
18- Without doubt al-Ikhlaas negates the reason for entering into the Fire, therefore, who ever enters the fire, from those who said: ‘‘la illah ila Allaah’ (there is none worthy of worship except Allaah)’ then this is proof that he never implemented the sincerity of ‘‘la illah ila Allaah’’ which would have prohibited him from the fire. [Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 10/261]
19 – If the slave perfects his Tawheed and his sincerity for Allaah and he establishes / fulfills all its conditions with his heart, and his tongue and his limbs then forgiveness for his past sins becomes obligatory. [Ibn Rajab – ‘Jama' al-Aloom’ 2/417]
20 – Fitnah continues upon the heart, except if the Deen of the slave is completely for Allaah. [Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 10/545]
21- Without doubt, the sincere person has tasted the sweetness of his worship for Allaah, this is what stops him from performing worship for other than Allaah, since there is nothing more sweet or more blessed for the heart than the sweetness of Emaan in Allaah the Lord of the worlds. [Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 10/215]
22- The different grades of doing actions for Allaah are in relation to what is in the heart from Emaan, sincerity, love and that what follows them. [Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Waabil as-Sayib' 22]
23- Sincerity is not combined in the heart along with the love of being praised by the people, and being commended by them, and also having greed for what the people have, except like water being combined with fire. [Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Fawaid' 267]
24- Ikhlaas and Tawheed are a tree in the heart. Its branches are good actions. Its fruits are a good life in this world, and eternal comfort in the Hereafter, and just like in Paradise the fruits whose supply is not cut off, nor are they out of reach, likewise are the fruits of Tawheed and Ikhlaas in this world. [Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Fawaid' 292]
25- An action done without Ikhlaas and without following the Messenger is like a traveler whose sock becomes filled with sand, which weighs him down, and has no benefit. [Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Fawaid' 89]
26- Allaah loves from His slave that he beautifies his tongue with the truth, and his heart with Ikhlaas and love, turning repentantly and reliance upon Allaah. [Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Fawaid' 327]
27- Having sincerity for the Deen of Allaah is the foundation of justice, likewise committing Shirk with Allaah is a great injustice. [Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 1/87]
All Praise belongs to Allaah, may His peace and blessings be upon our final Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and all those who follow his guidance.
.
Collected by Abdul Wahhab bin Muhammad as-SalafiArabic Text taken from: www.sahab.net
Translated by: ‘Abbas Abu Yahya.

Points of Benefit from the Book Al-Fawaa'id of Imaam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah

1. How can anyone who has common sense trade Paradise and what is in it for the pleasure of one hour?

2. When you fear the creation, you feel repelled by it and run away from it, but when you fear the Creator, you feel close to Him and run towards Him.

3. If knowledge without action were of benefit, why did Allaah condemn the scholars of the People of the Book? And if action without sincerity were of benefit, why did He condemn the hypocrites?

4. Repel the thought, for if you don’t, it becomes an idea. So repel the idea, for if you don’t it will become a desire. So fight against that (desire), for if you don’t, it will become a determination and a passion. And if you don’t repel that, it will become an action. And if you don’t replace it with its opposite, it will become a constant habit. So at that point, it will be difficult for you to change it.

5. When a decreed matter occurs to Allaah’s ‘abd (slave), which he dislikes, then he should have six perspectives about it First: The Perspective of Tawheed: And that Allaah is the One who decreed it and willed it and created it. And whatever Allaah wills comes to pass, and whatever He doesn’t will doesn’t come to pass. Second: The Perspective of Fairness: And that He ruled this event to occur in the past and that there is fairness in His Divine ordainment. Third: The Perspective of Mercy: And that Allaah's mercy with regard to this thing which He decreed supercedes His anger and vengeance Fourth: The Perspective of Wisdom: And that it was Allaah’s infinite Wisdom that brought that about. He did not decree it in vain nor did He divinely execute it for no purpose. Fifth: The Perspective of Praise: And that to Allaah belongs the complete and entire praise for that thing that was decreed, from all perspectives of it. Sixth: The Perspective of Worship to Allaah (‘Ubudiyyah): And that he is a pure worshipper of Allaah from every standpoint. His Master’s Rulings and Decrees occur to him by virtue of his being Allaah’s possession and slave. So Allaah administers him under His decreed rulings just as He administers him under His religious rulings. So it (i.e. the decreed event) becomes a place for these rulings to occur to him.

6. Little success (from Allaah), bad views, unawareness of the truth, corruption of the heart, laziness in making dhikr, wasting time, distaste for the creation, estrangement between the servant and his Lord, the prevention of the supplication from being answered, hardening of the heart, the termination of blessing from ones provision and lifespan, the prevention of knowledge, being covered in debasement, humiliation at the hands of the enemy, constricting of the chest, prolonged grief and sorrow, a wretched life of poverty, and a gloomy state of being are all produced from sins and neglecting to remember Allaah just as crops are produced from water and burning from fire. And the opposites of these things are produced from obedience to Allaah. 7. If your mind would free itself from the governorship of your desires, the state would return back to it.

8. You have entered into the abode of desires, so you have put your life at stake.

9. It was once to said to one devout worshipper of Allaah: "Until when will you continue to exhaust your soul?" So he responded: "It is its relaxation that I seek."

10. The women of this world were made beautiful to those who can see in order to test which of them prefers them over the women of the Hereafter. So whoever knows the extent of differences, he will choose what deserves to be chosen.

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Collected by Husain Al-'Awaayisha in a booklet Faid-ur-Rahmaan fee Al-Fawaa’id-il-Hisaan (No. 1, pg. 30-32)

AUTHOR: Imaam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah

SOURCE: Faid-ur-Rahmaan fee Al-Fawaa’id-il-Hisaan (No. 1, pg. 30-32)

PRODUCED BY: Al-Ibaanah.com