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Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

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

  Has not the time yet come for those who believe that 

their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah 

and what has come down of the truth? 

[Surah Al Hadid 57:16]

Quotes of the Salaf Regarding Sincerity

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

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

1. It is reported about Bishr al-Hafi that he said: "That I seek the world with a wind instrument is more loved by me than that I seek it with the din."
2. It is reported from Ibrahim an-Nakha'i that he said: "When Shaytan comes to you whilst you are engaged in prayer and says: You are showing off, increase it in length."
3. One of the salaf said: "Direct me to an action by which I will never cease to be performing for Allah, the Exalted." It was said to him: "Always intend good because you will never cease to be performing even if you do not do any actions. The intention performs even in the absence of any actions. Whoever intended to pray at night and then slept, the reward for what he intended will be written for him."
4. One of them said: "I love that I have an intention for every single thing until my food, drink and sleep."
5. It was said to Sahl: "What is the hardest thing for the soul (to achieve)?" He said: "Sincerity, when there is no other desire in it."
6. It is reported from Ya'qub al-Makfuf that he said: "The sincere person is the one who hides his good deeds just like he hides his evil deeds."
7. One of them wrote to his brother: "Make your intention sincere in all of your actions and little action will suffice you."
8. It is reported from Ayyub as-Sakhtiyani that he said: "Purifying the intention is harder than all other actions for those who act."
9. It is reported from Yahya ibn Mu'adh that he said: "Ikhlasseparates (good) actions from faults like the separation of milk from dung and blood."
10. It is reported from As-Susi that he said: "What Allah desires from the actions of His creation is ikhlas and nothing else."
11. It is reported from Al-Junayd that he said: "To Allah belong servants who understand, and when they understand they act and when they act they make (their action) sincere. Their recalling ofikhlas at the time of doing righteousness is what accumulates the greatest (good for them)."
12. It is reported about Hawshab that he used to cry and say: "My name has reached the large mosque." {qluetip title=[1]}i.e. he disliked to be known out of humility and that people should mention him for fear of fame and repute.{/qluetip}
13. It is reported from As-Susi that he said: "Ikhlas is to lose the vision of ikhlas (in oneself)."
14. One of them said: "Whoever sees sincerity in his sincerity, his sincerity is itself in need of sincerity. The destruction of every sincere person lies in his sincerity, (he is destroyed) to the extent that he sees sincerity in himself. When he abandons seeing sincerity in himself he will be sincere and purified."
15. It is reported from Abu 'Uthman that he said: "Ikhlas is to forget the vision of creation by constantly looking at the Creator."
16. It is reported from Ibrahim ibn Adham that he said: "He is not truthful to Allah who loves fame."
17. It is reported from Ath-Thawri that he said: "They used to hate fame and reputation due to wearing nice garments so that eyes would stretch towards them."
18. Ibn Al-Jawzi reports from Al-Hasan that he said: "I was with Ibn Al-Mubarak one day and we came to a watering place. The people were drinking from it and Ibn Al-Mubarak came closer in order to get a drink. The people did not know him and shoved and pushed him. When he came out he said: 'Life is but this,' meaning we are not known nor are we respected."
19. It is reported from Na'im ibn Hammad that he said: "'Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak frequently used to sit in his house for long periods of time so it was said to him: 'Do you not feel lonely and isolated?' He said: 'How can I feel isolated while I am with the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam).' "
20. It is reported from Ibn Al-Mubarak that he said: I heard Ja'far ibn Hayyan say: "The foundations of these actions are the intentions. Indeed a man reaches with his intentions a position he does not reach with his actions."
21. One of the people of wisdom used to say: When a man is speaking in a gathering and his speech amazes him let be silent and when he keeps silent and his silence amazes him let him speak.
22. It is reported from Mutraf ibn 'Abdullah ash-Shakhir that he said: "That I spend the night sleeping and wake up remorseful is more loved to me than that I spend the night standing (in prayer) and wake up in admiration."
23. It is reported from An-Nu'man ibn Qays that he said: "I never saw Abidah (rahimahullah) performing any voluntary prayers in the mosque of Al-Hayy."
24. It is reported from 'Ali (radhiallahu 'anhu) that he said: "The one who shows off has three characteristics: He is lazy when by himself, he is lively and energetic when with others and he increases in his actions when he is praised and decreases in them when he is criticised."
25. It is reported from Al-Hasan (radhiallahu 'anhu) that he said: "The one who shows off desires to overcome what Allah has decreed for him. He is an evil person who desires to inform the people that he is righteous in order to hear what they would say. He has obtained a position of vileness and wickedness from his Lord. It is therefore essential for the hearts of the believers to recognise him."
26. It is reported from Sahl ibn 'Abdullah (rahimahullah) that he said: "There is nothing which is tougher upon the soul than (achieving)ikhlas. How many times have I tried to remove riya' from my heart except that it sprouted in a different colour (i.e. in a different form)."
27. It is reported from Ibn Mas'ud (radhiallahu 'anhu) that he said: "Do not learn knowledge for three (things): To amaze and confound the foolish, to argue with the learned and to make peoples faces turn towards you. (But) seek what is with Allah with your hearts and actions, since only that will remain and whatever is besides it will go."
28. It is reported from Abu Sulayman ad-Darini (rahimahullah) that he said: "Tuba (the tree in Paradise) for the one who took a single step desiring nothing but the face of Allah by it."
29. Some of the salaf said: "Whoever had a single instance in his lifetime which was purely and sincerely for the sake of Allah, the Exalted, will be saved, and this is due to the greatness of ikhlas."
30. It is reported from Abu Sulayman ad-Darini (rahimahullah) that he said: "When the servant is sincere, riya' and the many whisperings (of the shayatin) are cut off from him."
31. It has also been said: "Ikhlas is that the servants inward and outward actions are equal. Riya' is when the outward appearance is better than the inner self and truthfulness in one's sincerity is when the inner self is better cultivated and more flourishing than the outward appearance.".
32. Some of the salaf have said: "Ikhlas is that you do not seek a witness over your action besides Allah and nor one who gives reward besides Him."
33. It is reported from Makhul (rahimahullah) that he said: "Never does a servant maintain sincerity for forty days in succession except that the streams of wisdom from his heart appear on his tongue."
34. It is reported from Adiyy ibn Hatim that he said: "The people destined for the Fire will be ordered (to come) towards Paradise until they come close to it and smell its fragrance, see its palaces and what Allah has prepared in it for its people. Then an announcement will be made (to the angels) that they be turned away from it. There will be no portion for them in it. They will return in loss and ruin just like the ones before them (who were also commanded likewise). Then they will say: 'O our Lord. If you had entered us into the Fire before You showed us what You have shown us from Your reward and what You have prepared for you friends and allies it would have been easier upon us.' Then the Exalted will say: 'This is what I intended with you. When you used to be alone you would combat me (or show boldness to Me) with grave sins and when you used to meet people you would meet them with humility. You would show to the people other than that which you used to give Me from your hearts. You feared people but you did not fear Me. You honoured the people but you did not honour Me, you abandoned (actions) for the people but you did not abandon for Me. This day (therefore), will I make you taste a tormenting punishment along with your prevention from receiving that reward.' "
35. It has been said: "The damage (caused) to every servant lies in his being pleased with himself. Whoever looks at his soul and sees something in it which he deems to be good has caused its destruction. And whoever does not suspect his soul at every single moment is one who is deceived."
36. Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) said: "Ikhlas is the tawhid of one's wish/intent."

(s) The sayings have been taken from Ihya' Ulum ad-Din of Al-Ghazali,Mukhtasir Minhaj al-Qasidin of Ibn Qudamah and Kitab az-Zuhd of Ibn Al-Mubarak. 

Translator's note: The author said, "I have quoted these statements without knowing their authenticity and it is allowable for a Muslim to take from what has been narrated from theSalaf without verification if the particular statement is in agreement with the Book and the Sunnah."

Source: SunnahOnline

  Has not the time yet come for those who believe that 

their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah 

and what has come down of the truth? 

[Surah Al Hadid 57:16]

The Heaven of this World,

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

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

The Heaven of this World

I heard the Shaykh 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 (shahadah) 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]." [Ibn al-Qayyim accompanied Ibn Taymiyyah to prison (cf. Introduction).] 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. [A prayer recommended by the Prophet to Mu'adh. Nisa'i, Sahw, 1286; Abu Dawud, Salat, 1301]

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." [Al-Qur'an 57:13]

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. ["Nadratun al-na'im".Al-Qur'an 83:24]

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 tranquillity. 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 worldly 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. [Possibly referring to the saying by 'Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak: "Worldly 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, 8:167] 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 gladness 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 worldly 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. [There are some omissions in the arabic editions here. The sense of the last sentence is not at all together clear.]

(s) Al-Wabil as-Sayyib min al-Kalim at-Tayyib
(t) Micheal Abdur-Rahman Fitzgerald and Moulay Youssef Slitine

http://sunnahonline.com/library/purification-of-the-soul/218-heaven-of-this-world-the

  Has not the time yet come for those who believe that 

their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah 

and what has come down of the truth? 

[Surah Al Hadid 57:16]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

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

The Winter of My Heart

GUEST AUTHORS | NOVEMBER 26, 2012 5:00 AM

By Iman Badawi

The believer may also find hardness in the heart, but it is the hardness of ice, not rock.  The causes for this hardness are many and we must all be vigilant about their appearance. Among them are:

1. Preferring this dunya (life) over the Hereafter and becoming deluded by worldly pursuits.  The love and attachment one has to this dunya is directly proportionate to the hardness that will afflict his/her heart.

Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) says:

 O mankind, indeed the promise of Allah is truth, so let not the worldly life delude you and be not deceived about Allah by the Deceiver. (Qur’an 35:5)

2. Having corrupt companionship.  The human being is made up of a nafs (lower self) and a qalb (the seat of intellect and emotion).  Our relationships affect us on both levels of our existence.  Association with people who have overbearingnufoos (pl. of nafs) and corrupted hearts causes contagion.  Their internal evil attacks us without our realizing it.

Allah (swt) says:

 Close friends, that Day, will be enemies to each other, except for the righteous. (Qur’an 43:67)

3. Engaging in sin without repentance.

Allah (swt) says:

No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning. (Qur’an 83:14)

In the following lines of poety, Abdullah ibn al-Mubaarak sums up the effects of sins on the heart, saying:

رأيت الذنوب تميت القلوب      وقد يورث الذل إدمانها

وترك الذنوب حياة القلوب      وخير لنفسك عصيانها

“I noticed that sins cause death to the heart, and becoming addicted to them brings about humiliation; and that the abandonment of sin is life for the hearts, so it is best for your self to disobey it!”

4. Heedlessness of the reality of death and being unoccupied with matters of the Hereafter.

The Prophet ﷺ (may God’s peace and blessings be upon him) advised us to think of death often, saying:

أكثروا ذكر هادم اللذات: الموت

“Remember often the destroyer of passions and pleasure – death!”¹)

The salaf (pious predecessors of this Ummah) understood this well.  Ar-Rabee’ ibn Khuthaym radi allahu `anhu (may God have mercy on him) dug out a grave in his home that he would lie in several times a day to ensure the continuous remembrance of death and he used to say, “If my heart abandons the remembrance of death for even just an hour, it would become corrupted.”

5. Heedlessness with regard to the remembrance of Allah (swt).

The heart is either filled with remembrance of Allah or the whispers of Satan.  Allah (swt) says:

And whoever is blinded from remembrance of the Most Merciful – We appoint for him a devil, and he is to him a companion. (Qur’an 43:36)

Any or all of these causes draw the heart into a state of hibernation. As the thick snow of winter piles upon it, the heart becomes frozen and numb. Deeper and deeper does it sink into sleep until, when it is time to leave this world:

 [It will be said], “You were certainly in heedlessness of this, and We have removed from you your cover, so your sight, this Day, is sharp.” (Qur’an 50:22)

The Qur’an reminds us of this reality NOW, before it is too late!  Reciting, reading, pondering over, and acting upon the Qur’an can revive the seed of the fitra (innate disposition towards the oneness of God) even if it is buried under a glacier.  At length, does the seed wait for the ice to thaw and for spring to come.  Then, one blessed day, the heart hears the following words:

Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient. (Qur’an 57:16)

Tears begin to flow because the ice that has encapsulated the heart for so long is finally thawing.  The heart is softening to the remembrance of Allah (swt) and even the skin is becoming sensitive to the change of seasons.²  The seed begins to grow.  Spring has come at last!

This is the essence of the beautiful supplication that the Prophet ﷺ taught us:

“O Allah, I am your slave and the son of your male slave and the son of your female slave. My forelock is in Your Hand (i.e. you have control over me). Your Judgment upon me is certainly in effect and Your Decree concerning me is just. I ask You by every Name that belongs to You; that which You have named Yourself with, or You have revealed in Your Book , or that which You have taught to any one of Your creation, or that which You have exclusively kept unto Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen that is with You; to make the Qur’an the spring of my heart, and the light of my chest, the banisher of my grief and anxiety.”³

For those who do not think that the Qur’an can actually bring about such a dramatic change in the heart, consider this.

It is reported that al-Qadi ‘Iyaad (ra), who lived during the 2^nd century AH, was a highway robber in the beginning of his life.  At one point he also became enamored with a woman and as he was climbing a wall to reach the object of his desire, he heard this verse being recited (57:16).  The impact of the verse was so strong upon him that he said with confidence, “Yes, O Lord! The time has come!”  Propelled by immense spiritual drive, he repented to Allah, left behind the life of disobedience and devoted himself to the Ka’bah to study the sacred sciences.  Thereafter, he was known for his asceticism (zuhd) and intense worship.⁴

Khashyah, awe of Allah (swt), is what continues to squeeze tears from the heart like sweet juice flows from a ripe fruit, long after winter has subsided.  Being moved to tears upon the remembrance of Allah (swt) is the characteristic of those who know Allah (al-‘aarifeen) and are devoutly submissive to Him.  It is a sign that the knowledge of the Truth has penetrated the heart and has become Certainty. ⁵

1. Ahmad, Ibn Maajah, Tirmidhee, Nasaa`ee, others, Saheeh (narration of Abu Hurayrah [↩]
2. See Quran 39:23 [↩]
3. Ahmad, Ibn Hibban, (hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood) Al-Albani graded it authentic in As-Silsilaah As-Saheehah No. 199. For more on the benefits of this prayer, see Ibn Al-Qayyim’s explanation in “al-Fawaa’id”, pp. 44 [↩]
4. Adh-Dhahabee, “Siyat A’laam an-Nubalaa`” [↩]
5. See Qur’an 17:107-109 [↩]

http://www.suhaibwebb.com/personaldvlpt/purification-heart/the-winter-of-my-heart/

  Has not the time yet come for those who believe that 

their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah 

and what has come down of the truth? 

[Surah Al Hadid 57:16]

Disobedience Devastates Blessings

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

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

The illustrious scholar Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (751 AH) authored an incredible work, al-Da’ wa al-Dawa' (The Disease and the Cure), in which he detailed with remarkable insight the hideous consequences of sinning and disobeying Allah ta’ala. In this article a tiny segment of his discussion is presented, where he turns to the topic of blessings and how one is deprived of them as a result of acts of disobedience. The following is what he wrote:

 

"It uproots the blessings of one’s life, sustenance, knowledge, deeds and obedience. In short, it eradicates the blessings of religion and world. You will not find the least blessing in the life, religion or world of one who disobeys Allah. It is none other than the disobedience of creation that effaces blessings from the Earth. {quotes}Allah says, ‘And if the people of the towns had believed and had taqwa [piety], certainly, We would have opened for them blessings from the Heaven and the Earth’.

Allah ta’ala also says, ‘If they had adopted the right way, We would have bestowed on them water in abundance, that We might try them thereby’ [In a hadith], 'Indeed a servant is deprived of sustenance as a result of a sin he embarks upon.' In another hadith, 'The Holy Spirit [i.e., Jibra’il] released into my soul, that a soul will not die until it replenishes it’s sustenance; so fear Allah and be moderate in your supplications; what is with Allah can only be attained through obedience to Him. Indeed, Allah has decreed refreshment and joy in contentment and certainty and He has decreed anxiety and grief in doubt and discontent.' The narration mentioned by Ahmad in the chapter on ascetism [zuhd] [in his book al-Musnad] has already been cited, ‘I am Allah. If I am pleased I bestow blessings and My blessings have no limit. If I am angry I curse and my curse extends to the seventh generation.’

The expanse of sustenance and deeds is not calculated by its multitude and nor is the length of one’s age determined by the number of months and years, but the expanse of sustenance is measured by the blessing within it. It has already preceded that the age of the slave is the span of his life and that there is no life for the one who turns away from Allah and preoccupies himself with other than Him; the lives of beasts are better than his life. The life of a person is determined by the life of his heart and soul and his heart will have no life unless it knows its Maker; loves Him; worships Him alone; turns to Him in repentance; finds tranquillity in His remembrance and endearment by being near to Him. Whoever forfeits this life has lost out on all good even if he compensates it with something of the world. In fact, the world in its entirety cannot compensate for such a life. Everything the slave loses out on has a substitute but if he loses out on Allah, nothing at all can ever substitute Him. How can something that is inherently in need compensate for the One who is inherently rich; that is inherently incapable compensate for the One who is inherently able?; the dead compensate for the Ever-living who will never die?; the creation compensate for the Creator, or one who intrinsically has no existence and possessions at all compensate for One whose richness, life, perfection, generosity and mercy are essential qualities of His essence? How can one who does not own even the weight of an atom compensate for the One who possesses the dominions of the Heavens and the Earth? 

The reason that disobedience of Allah eradicates the blessing of one’s sustenance and age lies in the charge of Satan with disobedience and its perpetrators. His authority is over them and he refers back to this office, its people and associates. The blessing of anything that connects and unites with Satan becomes obliterated; the mentioning of Allah’s [ta’ala] name was prescribed at times of eating, drinking, dressing, mounting and sexual relations because of the blessing associated to the name of Allah. The mention of His name expels Satan and cause blessings to materialise; nothing can challenge the name of Allah.

 

Anything that is not for Allah will have its blessing removed as it is the Lord alone who blesses and all blessings emanate from Him. Everything that is attributed to Him is blessed: His speech is blessed; His Messenger is blessed; His believing servant who benefits creation is blessed; His sacred house is blessed and His quiver on earth - which is Sham - is a land of blessing, Allah describes it as being blessed in six verses of His Book.

So none but He alone can bless and nothing besides what is attributed to Him is blessed, i.e., attributed to His servitude, love and pleasure since the whole universe is otherwise ascribed to His lordship and is His creation. Everything He distances from Himself be it an essence, statement or deed, does not contain any blessing or good. The closer something is to Allah determines it blessings, in direct proportion to its nearness to Him.

The direct opposite of being blessed is being cursed. The land, the person or action that Allah has cursed will be the most remote from any good or blessing. Anything that is associated and linked to it or is a route to it will contain no blessing whatsoever. Allah cursed His enemy, Iblis, and made him the furthest creation from Himself; everything that emanates from his side will hold the curse of Allah in proportion to its proximity and attachment to him. It is from this perspective that disobedience has the severest effect on effacing the blessings of one’s age, sustenance, knowledge and actions. Any period of time in which Allah is disobeyed, any wealth, body, status, knowledge and action Allah is disobeyed with, will count against the doer and not for him. The only life, wealth, strength, status, knowledge and action he really possesses is that with which Allah is obeyed.

Likewise, one may own a tremendous amount of gold and silver but his actual wealth does not extend to a thousand dirham’s or so. The case is the same for knowledge and status. It is related in At-Tirmidhi from the Prophet, 'The world is cursed; everything in it is cursed except the remembrance of Allah and whatever ensues from it or a scholar and a student.' In another narration, 'The world is cursed; everything in it is cursed except that which is for Allah.' This is what contains blessing specifically and Allah is the One Who is sought for help and upon Him we rely."

 

 Ibn al-Qayyim and scholars of his calibre possessed the grace and favour of Allah to clearly see the effects of sins as they really are; we should ask Allah to condition ourselves to attain this clarity of sight and insight to see things for what they truly are. When we do not achieve the results we work for or miss out on the blessings we hope for, our first point of call should be to examine our own shortcomings and sins and to make amends.

 

___________________________________________________________
Notes:

1. Surah Al-A'raf 7:96
2. Surah Al-Jinn 72:16-17


http://www.islam21c.com/spirituality/225-disobedience-devastates-blessings

  Has not the time yet come for those who believe that 

their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah 

and what has come down of the truth? 

[Surah Al Hadid 57:16]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Zuhd: An Anti-dote to Consumerism Culture

December 28, 2010

by ProductiveMuslimView Comments

Posted on Tuesday, December 28, 2010 in Tips

One of the biggest enemies of productivity in our world today is the comfortable consumerism culture that we’re living in.

Everything is within reach and we’re constantly looking for the latest, quickest, or smallest! Each of us (except whom Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) had mercy upon) is literally ‘killing’ themselves running after acquiring more and more of today’s world and what’s sad about this is that we, as Muslims, should know better.

History seems to repeat itself, for the Muslim Ummah did indulge in such consumerism more than 1,000 years ago, during the Golden Age of the Islamic civilisation. The success of the expanding empire brought new riches unknown to the early Muslims which started corrupting the Muslims and making them forget their true purpose. True to the words of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), this consumerism destroyed us. In a hadeeth, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said: ”By Allah, it is not the poverty about which I fear in regard to you but I am afraid in your case that (the worldly) riches may be given to you as were given to those who had gone before you and you begin to vie with one another for them as they vied for them. And these may destroy you as these destroyed them.” (Sahih Muslim, Book #042, Hadith #7065).

Fighting Consumerism

So what’s the problem with consumerism? And what’s the cure? This is what we’ll try to tackle in this article insha’Allah.

At first glance, nothing seems to be wrong with consumerism, in fact the objective seems noble and peaceful: it’s about living a comfortable and happy life and enjoying this world to the fullest. Nothing sinister, right? Well, not really. If you start thinking of our lives in terms of dunya AND Akhira, you start to realise that this consumerism culture is actually a distraction us from our true purpose in life, of worshipping Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) and being His true vicegerent on Earth.

Let me give you an example: Imagine a student who’s supposed to start his University degree this year, he’s so concerned about ‘comfort’ that he asks for a special couch in the lecture hall, 3D HDTV screen to watch his favourite show whilst the lecture is going on, and of course popcorn and a packet of chips, and he doesn’t want to take exams nor do any assignments. Who thinks this student would survive university life? Or would even get a degree?! Sounds bizarre, right? But that’s exactly what we’re doing, instead of us working for our Akhira, we’re so concerned about the comforts of this life and how we can make our lives just that bit extra comfortable and easier, that we’re trading our finite world with the infinite Akhira! There’s nothing wrong in being comfortable; but when this becomes our sole objective, that’s when it becomes a problem!

Another issue with consumerism culture is that it literally entraps and enslaves people so they think of nothing else but how to ‘get more and have more’. People get into debt to buy bigger houses, get into more debt to buy a better car, few years down the line, once they’ve paid their debts, they go through the whole cycle again and get into more debt. 

We always want the latest, biggest, smallest, newest, and as the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: ”Nothing fills (satisfies) the son of Adam except Dust”. (Sahih Bukhari, Book #76, Hadith #445) i.e. A person will never be satisfied till he meets death. The cash-less credit card society is teaching us to buy now and worry about paying later. It is directly feeding us into a 25-50 year slavery to financial institutions and banks; on most accounts, this was one of the reasons behind the recent severe global financial crisis.

A third grave consequence of the consumerism lifestyle – and this one has truly affected the Muslims – is that we’ve become lazy, expecting “others” to produce whilst we consume. We do not grow what we eat, we do not make what we wear, we do not produce what we ride, everything is imported from planes to biscuits! And everything is at our convenience. But there’s a problem here: we become dependants on “others” for our survival, and hence have a weak economic status in the international sphere. How do you think China, India and Brazil started to get noticed by the ‘Developed World’? They became producing/exporting countries and unless we as Muslims really get our act together and export more than we import, I’m afraid the consequences would be severe for the Ummah.

An Anti-dote: Zuhd

So how do we get out of this? Al-hamdulillah, we’ve a very powerful Islamic concept that would work as an anti-dote to consumerism culture. This is known as ‘Zuhd’ (known in English as Asceticism). Unfortunately, this concept has been grossly misunderstood and misinterpreted by many Muslims to mean complete refusal of dunya, hiding in a corner, and living a miserable, harsh and sad life.

Far from this, Zuhd according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and the understanding of the Companions (May Allah be pleased with them) has a very simple but powerful meaning: it means to hold dunya in your hand, but not letting it into your heart. What this means is that you should work for dunya, but never let that take over your life that you forget the Akhira. You should build this dunya but when you’re asked to sacrifice some of it for Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) and His Messenger (Peace be upon him), you can easily do it, because the dunya is in your hands and not your heart.

If we look at the life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and His companions, we’d find many examples of such understanding of ‘Zuhd’. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) once said: ”The worldly comforts are not for me. I am like a traveller, who takes a rest under a tree in the shade and then goes on his way.” (Tirmidhi). 

The companions of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) even feared the worldly pleasures. One example being that a meal was brought to ‘Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Auf once when he was fasting. He said: ”Mustab bin ‘Umar was martyred and he was better than I and was shrouded in his Burd and when his head was covered with it, his legs became bare, and when his legs were covered his head got uncovered. Hamza was martyred and was better than I. Now the worldly wealth has been bestowed upon us (or said a similar thing). No doubt, I fear that the rewards of my deeds might have been given earlier in this world.” Then he started weeping and left his food. (Sahih Bukhari, Book #23, Hadith #365).

I want to emphasize at this point, that I’m not against people improving their livelihood in this world and enjoying the blessings of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala). Some of the Companions (May Allab be pleased with them) of the Prophet (Peace be uponhim) had thriving businesses, ate good food, and built nice homes, but once the call to sacrifice for Islam came, they threw all that away and ran for the Akhira.

Work and Sacrifice were the building blocks of the Islamic civilisation, not the palaces, art, and consumerism lifestyle. Those who came after the first 3 generations of Islam forgot these 2 ingredients and the Muslim civilisation declined.

After all that, don’t worry – there’s still hope!

We can still pick up the tools that were left by our ancestors, the tools of hard work and sacrifice, and rebuild our Ummah bi’ithnillah. Equipped with these, we can push dunya from our hearts and into our hands. Individually and collectively we can rebuild a new beginning for the Muslim Ummah – one that fights consumerism, encourages production, and gives back to the world more than it consumes.

Some Practical Tips

I leave you with 3 tips to help you take action today:

1. Adopt a Minimalistic lifestyle: Build your life around what you ‘need’, rather than what you ‘want’. Be like the traveller as the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said in the hadeeth and live simply. Donate or throw away what you don’t need, and only keep those items that are essential to your day to day life. Believe me, you’ll feel so much ‘lighter’ as a consequence. (If you want more details about how to life a minimalist life, I highly recommend mnmlist website:
2. Invest more, consume less: Try your best to always invest more of your resources (time, money, strength) and consume less. Invest your time in learning, helping others, volunteering, and worshipping. Invest your money in charity, new or existing businesses, helping Muslim charities and non-profit organisations. Invest your strength in working for Allah (Subhanhu Wa Ta’ala), helping the poor and needy and supporting those around you in whatever physical means possible.
3. Spread the simplicity message: Encourage your family and friends to live a simple life rather than a material based one. It was said that simplicity is a part of faith and therefore try to spread the message about how we can fight our consumerism culture and what actions we can take from the Qur’an and Sunnah today to achive this. With sincere intentions and hard work, it can be done!

I hope this article has inspired you to take a look into your life differently, and inspired you look at dunya as a door to Akhira and not a door to limited comfortable life.

Source: http://www.productivemuslim.com/zuhd-an-anti-dote-to-consumerism-culture/

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said,

 "Hasten to do good deeds before you are overtaken by one of the seven afflictions.'' 
Then (giving a warning) he said, "Are you waiting for such poverty which will make you unmindful of devotion; or prosperity which will make you corrupt, or disease as will disable you, or such senility as will make you mentally unstable, or sudden death, or Ad-Dajjal who is the worst expected absent, or the Hour, and the Hour will be most grievous and most bitter".  

[At-Tirmidhi]

Fasting: Ibn Qayyim

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

…Let us return to the commentary on the hadith of Harith, where he Prophet speaks of what will rescue a servant from the Foe:

“And [God] enjoins upon you the fast. Verily, the similitude of that is a man carrying a sack-full of musk in a crowd of people, all of them marvelling at its fragrance—for the breath of someone fasting is more fragrant to God, Most High, than the scent of musk.” [Tirmidhi,Amthal, 2790; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 16542.]

The Prophet uses the image of someone carrying a sack-full of musk concealed from view, hidden under his garments, after the habit of those who carry musk. Fasting is, likewise, hidden from the eyes of men and unperceived by their senses.

The fasting person's limbs fast from sins; his tongue fasts from lies, base language and false witness; his stomach fasts from food and drink; and his pudenda fast from union. If he speaks, he says nothing to violate his fast; and if he acts, he does nothing to spoil his fast. All his speech is salutary and wholesome, as are his deeds—like the fragrance one smells while sitting next to the bearer of musk. Anyone who sits with a fasting person benefits from his presence and is safe from false witness, lies, base language and wrongdoing. This is the fast prescribed by the Sacred Law, not simply abstinence from eating and drinking.

Hence, a sound hadih states:

“When someone does not refrain from speaking falsely and the action that springs from it and from ignorance, God does not need him to refrain from food and drink.” [Bukhari, Adab, 5597; Ibn Maja, Siyam, 1679; also in Bukhari, Sawm, 1770, without the word ‘ignorance’]

And in [another] hadith:

“Some who fast obtain nothing from it but hunger and thirst.” [Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 8501, with the ending ‘And some may stand for prayer at night and receive nothing from it but sleeplessness.’ Also in Bahyaqi, Shu`ab al-Iman, 3542, with ‘standing at night’ mentioned first.]

True fasting is when the limbs fast from sin and the stomach fasts from food and drink. As food and drink can break the fast or spoil it, so sins can cut off its reward and spoil its fruits, as if one had not fasted at all.

Taken from Islaam.net

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]