The Heaven of This World

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim



In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

The Heaven of This World
Ibn al-Qayyim

al-Waabil as-Sayyib

I heard the Sheikh of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah - may Allah sanctify his soul - say,

'Truly, there is a Heaven in this world,

[And] whoever does not enter it,

Will not enter the Heaven of the next world.'

And once he said to me,

'What can my enemies do to me?

I have in my breast both my Heaven and my Garden.

If I travel they are with me, and they never leave me.

Imprisonment for me is a religious retreat [khalwa].

To be slain for me is martyrdom [shahada]

And to be exiled from my land is a spiritual journey [siyaha].'

During his imprisonment in the fortress, he would say, 'I could not be more
grateful for this blessing were I to have this entire fortress in gold'; or, 'I could
never repay them for the good that has come to me in [this prison].'

158



And in prostration he would say, whilst in a state of imprisonment 'O Allah, help
me in my gratitude to You, remembrance of You and the most comely worship of
You' as much as Allah willed.

159



Once he said to me, 'The real prisoner is someone whose heart is imprisoned
from his Lord; the true captive is someone captured by his passions.' And when
he entered the fortress and was inside its walls, he gazed upon them and recited
the verse, 'And a wall between them is struck which has a gate. On the inside
there is a mercy, on the outside punishment.'

160



Allah knows, I have never seen anyone who had a better life than his. Despite the
difficulties and all that expunges comfort and luxury, nay, things completely
opposite to them; despite intimidation and oppression, Ibn Taymiyyah had a
purer life than anyone could. He was the most generous, the strongest of heart
and the most joyful of soul, with 'the radiance of bliss' on his face.

161



When we were seized with fear and our thoughts [about Allah's decree] turned negative,
and the earth grew narrow for us, we would go to him. No sooner did we look at
him and hear his words than all these [feelings] would leave us, to be replaced by
relief, strength, certainty and tranquility.



So glory be to the One who lets His servants witness His Heaven well before they
meet Him, who opens its doors to them in this world of deeds and who gives
them something of its refreshment, its breeze and its perfume - that they might
seek it and hasten towards it with all their strength. A gnostic once said, 'If kings
and the sons of kings knew what we had, they would try to take it from us by the
sword!' Another said:'How pitiful, the wordly people! They leave this life without
ever having tasted the sweetest thing in it.' When asked what that was, he
replied, 'The love of Allah, the knowledge of Allah and the remembrance of Allah,'
or words to that effect.

162



Another said: 'There are times when the heart dances
in joy.' And another said, 'There are times when I say, If the people of Heaven
have anything like this, how truly sweet their lives!' To love Allah, to know Him
intimately, to remember Him constantly, to find peace and rest in Him, to make
Him alone the [ultimate] object of love, fear, hope and trust; to base one's act on
His control of His servant's cares, aspirations and will - such is the world's
Heaven, and such is a blessing with which no other blessing can compare.



It is by this that the hearts of those who love Allah are gladdened and that the
gnostics find life. As their hearts are gladdened by Allah, so others are gladdened
by them. For whoever finds his source of gladdness in Allah, gladdens all hearts;
whoever does not, finds nothing in this world but restlessness. Anyone with life in
his heart will confirm this. But someone whose heart is dead will only estrange
you from Allah; and so seek intimacy [with Allah] without him, when you can, for
his mere presence will estrange you. If you are tested by him, show him only
your outer aspect, but leave him behind in your heart. Depart from him with your
soul and do not let him distract you from the one who is most important to you.



Know that the greatest of all losses is the involvement with someone who
weakens your relationship and standing with Allah, cutting you off from Him,
wasting your time, dispersing your heart, weakening your resolve and dividing
your aspirations. Therefore, if you are tested with this [kind of situation] - and it
is inevitable that you will be - then bear up for the sake of Allah, and
acknowledge Him as much as you are able. Draw near to Allah by whatever of it
pleases Him. Make your association [with wordly people] a profit not a loss. Be
like the man travelling along, whom another invites to stop: seek to take him
along with you. When he comes along, lead him but be not lead by him. And if he
refuses, and you have no hope that he will journey, then [at least] do not let him
detain you. Rather, hasten on, pay him no heed. Do not [even] turn in his
direction, for he is a highway robber regardless.



Protect your heart and be careful of how you spend your day and your night.



Let not the sun set on you before you reach camp, 'lest you be carried off'.



Nor let the dawn find you abandoned in the camp after the caravan has moved
on, and the time is nigh for you to reach them.


163



FOOTNOTES

158 Ibn al-Qayyim accompanied Ibn Taymiyyah to prison (cf. Introduction).

159 A prayer recommended by the Prophet to Mu'adh. Nasa'i, Sahw, 1286; Abu Dawud, Salat, 1301.

160 Qur'an LVII:13.

161 'Nadratun al-na'im'. Qur'an LXXXIII:24.

162 Possibly referring to the saying by 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak: ' Wordly people leave the world before
having feasted on the sweetest thing in it.' They asked him what that was and he answered, 'The knowledge
of Almighty

Allah.' Isfahani, Hilya, VIII:167.

163 There are some ommisions in the arabic editions here. The sense of the last sentence is not at all
together clear.

JazakAllahu khairan to the person who passed this on, may Allah bless you and reward you with the best. Ameen

The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa'sallam said:



"The Muslim is a unique Ummah among the whole of mankind:

Their Land is ONE, their War is ONE, their Peace is ONE,

Their Honour is ONE and their Trust is ONE."

[Ahmad]