In the Name of Allâh,
the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
By Ibn Qayyim
al-Jawziyyah.
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 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 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?" [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.
Translator: Suheil
Laher
Courtesy Of:
Islaam.com
Source: Al-Jawab al-Kafi li-man sa'al `an al-Dawa' al-Shafi, kalamullah.com
In the Name of Allâh,
the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
By Ibn Qayyim
al-Jawziyyah.
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 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 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?" [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.
Translator: Suheil
Laher
Courtesy Of:
Islaam.com
Source: Al-Jawab al-Kafi li-man sa'al `an al-Dawa' al-Shafi, kalamullah.com
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