Patience and loving Allâh : Ibn Qayyim

Patience and loving Allah

Patience is one of the most important qualities demanded of those who claim to love Allâh, as the degree of patience determines those who are sincere in their claim and those who are not. The degree of patience needed to endure hardship and difficulties in order to please the Beloved proves the sincerity of one’s love.

Many claim to love Allâh, but when Allâh tests them with hardship, they forget the true essence of love. No-one can adhere to the love of Allâh except those who are patient and persevering (as-sâbirûn). If it were not for the test of hardship and sincerity, there would be no proof of the sincerity
of a person’s love of Allâh.

Tirmidhi narrated that Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I said: “O Messenger of Allah (sallallahu layhi wasallam), which of the people are most severely tested?” He said: “The Prophets, then the next best and the next best. A man will be tested in accordance with his level of religious commitment. If his religious commitment is strong, he will be tested more severely, and if his religious commitment is weak, he will be tested in accordance with his religious commitment."

The one whose love of Allâh is greater, has a greater degree of patience.
Therefore, Allâh has attributed the quality of patience to His close friends (awliyâ) and most beloved. He said about His beloved slave Ayyûb (AS):
“…Truly We found him full of patience and constancy. How excellent in Our service! Ever did he turn (to Us)!” (Sâd 38:44)

Allâh instructed the most beloved to Him of everything He created to have patience in accepting His decree and told him that patience comes only by the help of Allâh.

He praised those who have patience and promised them the best of rewards: the rewards of others are defined and limited, but the reward of as-sâbirûn is without measure. 

Allah says,“…Those who patiently persevere will truly receive a reward without measure!” (az-Zumar 39:10).

Patience is vital at all levels of Islâm, îmân and ihsân, as well as being a major element in îmân (faith) and tawakkul (putting one’s trust in Allâh).

Allâh has made patience the means for attaining His love, His companionship, His help and support, and His good rewards. This is sufficient honour and blessings.

-Extracts from: 'Patience and Gratitude' By Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
An abridgement of his original work entitled, “Uddat as-Sâbireen wa Dhâkirat ash-Shâkireen”

HOW TO ACQUIRE THE ABILITY TO SACRIFICE FOR ALLAH?

HOW TO ACQUIRE THE ABILITY TO SACRIFICE FOR ALLAH? 

(Khurram Murad R.A)

http://tazkiyatips.blogspot.com/2013/10/inner-dimensions-of-sacrifice-qurbani.html?m=1

1. Love for Allah

Love lies at the root of every sacrifice. You can therefore realize what you need most to help you gain the inner strength necessary for offering sacrifices. It is your love for Allah. How much do you love him? Do you love Him more than everything else?

That is why the Qur'an says: 'The [true] believers love God more than all else' (al-Baqarah 2:165). That is why it confronts every Muslim with one simple but profound question: Whom do you love more? Allah, His Messenger and Jihad in His way, or fathers, sons, wives, brothers, wealth, houses, commerce, careers? (al-Tawbah 9: 24).

Only with such love for Allah will sacrifice turn into an inner urge, rather than remaining a motion of compliance with an external exhortation. Then you will derive the true delight and pleasure in fulfilling the demands of Iman. 

The Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, said: 'There are three things, only the one who has them will taste the sweetness of Iman: [first of them is] that Allah and His Messenger he loves more than any other thing beside them... ' (Bukhari, Muslim).

How to attain love for Allah which exceeds every other love? There are not, and cannot be, any precise formula for this purpose. But a few things will help. And each in turn will become a rich inner resource you will need to fulfill the demands of sacrificing.

2. Remembering Allah (Dhikrullah)

Remembering Him as often as you can is essential and fundamental. It will help you not only to attain love, but all other resources you need to develop your spirit and capacity of sacrifice: mindful of living in His presence, attaching real value to meeting Him and receiving His rewards, understanding the worth and place of this-worldly life, grateful and humble before Him, fearful of never having done enough, prepared and willing to obey His commands.

3. Living in His Presence (Ma'e at)

Live as if you are in His presence. Remember that 'He is with you wherever you may be' (al-Hadid 57:4). When you are called upon to make a sacrifice, or you prepare to make it of your own accord, remember that you are before His eyes. That is what He asks us to be mindful of: 'Surely you are before Our eyes' (al-Tur 52:48).

Coupled with your conviction that whatever you are sacrificing belongs to the One who is seeing you, and His reward would be manifold and eternal, this should give you some measure of that inner urge and strength essential to you.

This consciousness of being in His presence, of His Eyes being upon us, of Him listening to us, of doing our duty as our Master is with us, praising us generously, rewarding us kindly, is a prime source for creating the spirit of sacrifice. This also creates trust in Him, because once you know that you are with Him, you can entrust all your affairs to Him.

4. Thinking of the day of Meeting with Allah

 If you understand the nature and reality of this-worldly life, if you know that you can receive your fair wages only upon meeting Allah, then you will develop two feelings. 

One, a desire to meet Him, however you may fear Him on account of your own misdeeds. 

Two, the preparedness to sacrifice everything that belongs to this-world for what you will earn in reward in the Hereafter.

One of the du'as the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, used to make says:

"Allah! Grant me the delight of looking at Your noble face and a longing to meet You." (Nasa'i, Ahmad, Hakim).

5. Gratefulness and Humility

Whatever the nature of sacrifice, and whether big or small tangible or intangible, offer it in gratitude and humility. It so often happens that one begins to get weary and tired of giving in the way of Allah. One, then, begins to say, 'We have already spent so much time; we have already given so much money; how much more shall we give?; we have already made so many sacrifices; what else is required of us?' This will happen only if you are making sacrifices not to please Allah alone; but then you are motivated by something else. Or, when you do not realize that you should indeed be grateful to Him for every opportunity you get to offer some sacrifice. Also offer every sacrifice in all humility.

Let us be very clear that whatever things you sacrifice, you do not give it to some person, nor to some organization. Nor do you give it to Allah, though He is Merciful and Generous enough to say that whatever you give is a loan to Him, which shall be repaid manifold. You give everything to yourselves. Does one ever get tired of giving more and more to himself?

Now this is not selfishness. It only means that we believe that our ultimate prosperity lies in submission to the will of Allah. Through sacrifice we seek our betterment in this life and we desire a successful, eternal life in the Hereafter. At the same time, every sacrifice we make, everything we give in the way of Allah, makes our community stronger.

Therefore be grateful to Allah for having given you the opportunity to sacrifice, for having called upon you to serve Him, for having blessed you with the ability to offer something in His way. 

Things might have been otherwise. We might have been left wandering astray: we might not have been given the opportunity to sacrifice wealth and thus reap eternal reward. You should therefore give every sacrifice in the spirit of gratitude. To Him you should look for acceptance.

And also humility. You should never have the feeling of having done enough. Once the disease creeps into your heart that you have done enough, then all is lost. You should always think that whatever sacrifice you may offer, it is still nothing compared to the obligations you have to discharge towards Allah.

Being fearful of never having given away enough is very fundamental to your sacrifice. The Qur'an says: 'They give what they give, but their hearts tremble' (al-Mu'minun 23:60).

6. Inner Urge and Ikhlaas

The primary motivating force that drives you to make sacrifices must lie inside your own self. The urge should come from within. 

The roots must lie deep in your heart and soul. Neither group approval, nor conformity, nor organizational discipline, nor any other external pressure, should provide the compulsion to come forward with your sacrifice. Each one of them is important and has an important role to play in shaping our conduct. But if sacrifices are offered for any reason other than Allah's pleasure, it would be extremely difficult to offer large sacrifices, or offer them continually, under all circumstances. The will and spirit to sacrifice must be internalized.

7. Willing Choice and Ridha

Choice to sacrifice should be made willingly. This means that you should, by your own choice, come forward to offer whatever you can to secure Allah's pleasure. Your will should harmonize with His will.

This does not mean that one should not feel any pain or discomfort while making a sacrifice. Once you give up your love or your desire or your value, to feel pain is only human. Indeed, if you feel no pain in giving up something, that giving up may not be worth being called a sacrifice. You are throwing away something which is of no value to you. Rather, the greater the pain, the greater the worth of the sacrifice. But pain ought to be followed by contentment; contentment for having given up something you considered valuable for Allah's pleasure which is really the most valuable, for having willingly borne pain for the sake of your love for Allah which supersedes every other love.

Two Basic Aids in acquiring these qualities- SALAT AND SABR:

We have been given two basic aids to help us develop all those inner resources which I have put before you. I can only mention them in passing, for each deserves to be treated in detail in its own right.

O Believers! Seek help with Sabr and Salat (al-Baqarah 2:153).

What is Salat? 

Salat of course is a ritual worship. It consists of certain physical postures. It also consists of certain words which we utter from beginning to end. But the whole purpose of Salat is to remember and to be conscious of Allah. This is what the Qur'an very clearly states: 'Establish Prayer to remember Me' (Ta Ha 20:14).

What is sabr? 

It is very comprehensive in meaning. Literally sabr means to bind and restrain. In the Qur'an it encompasses qualities as wide as restraint and resolve, patience and the will to sacrifice, discipline and steadfastness. It binds you to your pledge to Allah, to your brothers, to your good in the Hereafter.

Hold on to Salat and sabr and you will gain the strength you need to offer sacrifices.

The only Regret in JANNAH:

The only Regret in JANNAH: 

Mu`adh ibn Jabal (RA) said that the Prophet (SAWS) said: 

"The People of Paradise will not regret except one thing alone: the hour that passed them by in which they made no Dhikr (remembrance) of Allah." 

Narrated by Bayhaqi in Shu`ab al-iman (1:392 #512-513) and by Tabarani. Haythami in Majma` al-zawa'id (10:74) said that its narrators are all trustworthy (thiqat), while Suyuti declared it hasan in his Jami` al-saghir (#7701).

-Extracted from a long article on Dhikr on sunnah.org

Exhortation Of The Predecessors (Salaf) To Taqwa

Exhortation Of The Predecessors To Taqwa

My dear Muslim brother! You should be informed that the predecessors - may Allah be pleased with them - always exhorted one another towards taqwa.

Abu Bakr (RA) used to say in his khutba: 'I advise you to observe taqwa and to praise Allah as He deserves to be praised. Mix hope with fear and combine importunity with asking (for help). Allah has praised Zakariyah and his family:

'They used to race towards goodness, invoke Us with hope and fear and they were devout to Us.' [Surah Anbiyah 90]

When Abu Bakr (RA) was about to die, he called Umar (RA) and advised him first and foremost to fear Allah. 

Umar (RA) wrote to his son:

'I advise you to fear Allah, for whoever fears Him has protected himself from His punishment. Whoever offers Him a loan, He will repay (reward) him and whoever thanks Him, He will give him more. Make taqwa your goal and the polish of your heart.

Ali (RA) deputized someone for an expedition and said:

'I advise you to fear Allah Whom you have to meet and besides Whom you have no destination. He controls the world and the Hereafter.'

Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (rh) wrote to a man:

'I advise you to observe fear of Allah Who accepts nothing except that (taqwa), Who shows mercy only to its adherents and Who rewards only on its account. There are many who preach it, but few who practice it. May Allah make us all among those who have taqwa.'

When Umar (rh) became khalifah he gave a sermon and said: 'I advise you to fear Allah and be good because He is with those who fear and do good.'

A man was about to leave for Haij and asked him (Umar) to advise him. He said: 'Fear Allah, for whoever fears Him will never feel lonely.'

Shu'ba says that whenever he used to prepare for a journey, he would ask Hakam if he (Hakam) required anything. He would say: 'I advise you with the words of the Prophet when he advised Muadh (RA) : 'Fear Allah wherever you are, follow up a mistake with kindness for it will erase it and approach people with good manners.'

A predecessor (from the salaf) wrote to one of his brother:

'I advise you to fear Allah because it is the best thing you can hide, the most beautiful thing you can reveal and the most valuable thing you can treasure. May Allah help us both to observe it and give us both its reward.'

Another person wrote to his brother:

'I advise you and myself to observe taqwa for it is the best provision for the world and the Hereafter. Make it a means towards every good deed and a deterrent against every evil. Allah has guaranteed those with taqwa deliverance from their anxieties and provisions from unexpected quarters.

When Ali (RA) returned from the Battle of Siffin, he passed by a graveyard outside Kufa and said:

'O you who live in houses that create loneliness and in deserted places! You who live in darkening graves! O people of dust and alienation! O people of isolation and loneliness! You are, for us, scouts and we, for you, followers.

The houses? Well, they have become inhabited again. The wives? They have remarried. The wealth? It has been distributed. This is the news we have for you. What news do you have for us?

Then Ali (RA) turned towards his army and said:

'If they were permitted to speak, they would inform you that the best provision is taqwa.' [Nahjul Balagha]

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 Extract from 'The Provision of the Believers'. Originally published in Arabic as: Zadul Mumineen Al-Taqwa, published by Maktabul Sahaba, Egypt.

Compilation of statements on "taqwa" (fear of God), taken from classical Muslim scholars such as al-Ghazali, Ibn al-Qayyim, and Ibn Rajab.

Translated by Maulana Mohammed Amin Kholwadia, compiled by Abu Maryam Majdi Fathi Al-Sayed.

Source http://balagha. net/taqwa-provision-of-believers/exhortation-predecessors-taqwa

Patience quotes-Imam al-Ghazali

“Desires make slaves out of kings and patience makes kings out of slaves.”

“In the intricate paths of life, when difficulties and hardships confront a man, and the darkness and difficulty of suffering becomes long, it is patience only that acts as a light for a Muslim, that keeps him safe from wandering here and there, and saves him from the muddy marsh of disappointment, desperation and frustration.”

“If you see God withholding this world from you, and inflicting more and more hardships and suffering upon you, you must therefore know that you are noble in His sight, that you hold a lofty rank in His presence, and that He is making you tread the path of His saintly friends, for He sees you and He does not need that (withholding of this world…). You have surely heard His saying:‘So wait patiently for your Lord’s decree, for you are surely in Our sight.’(52:48)”

-Imam al-Ghazali

source:

http://assabireen.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/if-you-see-god-witholding-this-world-from-you/

Gratitude (Shukr) of different faculties : Ibn Qayyim

Gratitude of different faculties

Ibn Al-Qayyim said:

“Shukr is to display  the effects of the blessings of Allah upon the tongue by way of praise and acknowledgement; in the heart by way of witnessing and love; and upon the limbs by way of submission and obedience.”

[Madaarij As-Saalikeen, 2/244]

He explained it elsewhere by quoting a dialogue that took place between the famous Taba'ee Abu Hazim (RA) and a questioner as follows: 

A man said to Abû Hâzim: “What is the gratitude of the eyes?” He said, “If you see good things, you speak about them, and if you see bad things, you keep quiet about it.”

He asked, “What is the gratitude of the ears?” He said, “If you hear something good, you accept it, and if you hear something bad, you reject it.”

Then he asked, “What is the gratitude of the hands?” He said, “Do not take what which does not belong to you, and do not hold back from paying the dues of Allâh (zakât).”

Then he asked, “What is the gratitude of the head?” He said: “To have knowledge in it.”

Then he asked, “What is the gratitude of one’s private parts?” He quoted: “‘Who guard their private parts, except from those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess – for (in their case) they are free from blame, but those whose desires exceed those limits are transgressors’” (al-Mu’minûn 23:5-7).

As for those who only pay lip-service to gratitude, and do not give thanks with the rest of their faculties, are concerned, they are like a man who has a garment and all he does with it is touch it, but he does not put it on: it will never protect him from heat, cold, snow or rain.

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Notes:

-Salamah Ibn Dinar al-Madani (died c. 757 or 781), also known as Abu Hazim Al-A'raj, was an ascetic, Faqeeh and Muhaddith from the taba'een generation.

-Extracts from: 'Patience and Gratitude' By Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
An abridgement of his original work entitled, “Uddat as-Sâbireen wa Dhâkirat ash-Shâkireen”

Shukr (Thanking Allah) after doing Good deeds: Ibn Rajab

As regards one whose deeds are great and many, he must busy himself with showing gratitude for them, for the accord to show gratitude is one of the greatest blessings Allah bestows upon His servant. It is obligatory upon him to meet these deeds with gratitude and realise his deficiency in displaying due gratitude.

Wahb ibn al-Ward (RA), when asked about the reward of a particular deed, said, 'Ask not about its reward, but ask about the gratitude due upon one who was guided to it.'

Abu Sulayman (RA) would say, 'How can an intelligent person be amazed with his deeds? Deeds are one of Allah's blessings, as such it is upon him to show gratitude and to show humility. It is only the Qadariyyah who are amazed at their deeds!' i.e. those who do not believe that the actions of the servant are created by Allah, Mighty and Magnificent.

Extracted from - 'Al-Mahajjah fil Sayril-Dulja' (The Journey to Allah) of Imam Ibn Rajab (RA)