:sl:
Ridha, the station of contentment
Translation from: Madarij us-Saalikeen, by Ibn ul-Qayyim
Among the spiritual station of
“iyyaka na’budu wa iyyaka natsta’een,” (It is You alone we worship). And it is You alone we ask for help (1:5) is that of Ridha, being pleased with Allah’s decrees, especially in the face of adversity and loss. In a word, this is contentment.
The scholars have no disagreement that Ridha is an emphatically beloved spiritual quality in a believer (mustahabb muakkad). But there is disagreement as to whether it is an obligatory characteristic to be possessed by every believer. Shaykh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah honor his soul, adopts the position that it is beloved but not obligatory. He writes: “No (explicit) command has been given in regards of Ridha (spiritual contentment), unlike patience-which is an obligation. Yet those who possess it have been praised (by God and His messenger)…” As for the report that ‘(God says) whosoever does not bear the trial I give with patience and is not pleased with My decree should find a Lord other than Me.’ (which scholars cite as evidence for Ridha’s obligation), this is of Israelite origin and is not authentically reported from the Prophet, sallalahu aleyhi wa sallam.”
Is Ridha earned by the Servant or bestowed by God?
I (Ibn ul-Qayyim) hold the opinion that Ridha cannot be considered an obligation-especially for those (scholars) who say that Ridha is bestowed by God as a gift, not earned, for how can something that is a gist of God be made compulsory upon the servant?
The (hadeeth) scholars of Khurasaan say that Ridha falls in the category of Maqamat (stations), and is the apex of Rawakkul (reliance upon God). That being the case, it is, then, possible to acquire it (just as reliance upon God is an earned virtue) for the fact that God has praised those who possess this quality of Ridha means that it can, in fact, be acquired.
The jurists of Iraq, on the other hand, hold that it falls in the category of ahwal (spiritual states) and hence, cannot be earned. Rather, it descends upon the heart just like all other spiritual states. The difference between stations (maqamat) and sates (ahwal) is the former are earned, while God bestows the latter as gifts.
There is a third group that tries to harmonize the two positions, al-Qushayri, the author of ar-Risalah, being one of them. He and others say that the beginning of Ridha is earned by the servant, and thus can properly be considered among the stations. But its apex is a state, and hence cannot be earned, but only gifted to the servant by God. And God knows best.
The Summit of Faith
The Prophet, sallalahu aleyhi wa sallam, said: “Whoever is pleased with Allah as his lord, Islam as his religion, and Muhammad as his messenger has tasted faith.” He said, said, as well, sallalahu aleyhi wa sallam: “One who hears the voice of the call to prayer (athaan) and thereupon says, ‘I am pleased with Allah as (my) Lord and Islam as (my) religion, and Muhammad as (my) Messenger,’ his sins are pardoned” (Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmithi).
These two Hadiths are pivotal in the religion of Islam, for they sum it up in its entity. They encompass being please with God’s lordship (Rububiyyah) and divinity (Uloohiyyah), as well as with His Messenger, that is (not only loving him, but) obeying him and submitting to his teachings. Whoever holds all of these qualities, such a one is the most truthful believer, indeed. But though it is easy on the tongue, it is in reality the most difficult of things-especially when one is faced with a trial and particularly when that trial opposes all that the nafs ardently desires and plans for.
Now, being pleased with God’s divinity included spiritual contentment with making all one’s love, fear, hope, repentance, and exclusive devotion-as well as the sole object of attraction for one’s intention and love-for God alone. All the service or sacrifice of a servant who is pleased with his beloved Master is a matter of pleasure. That is what worship and Ikhlaas (sincerity) are made of.
To be pleased with Allah’s Lordship means that one is content with His plan for His servant, and that one has made Allah alone the object of one’s reliance. In addition, one’s seeking of help, one’s source of support, and one’s trust are in none but God.
The first of these divine qualities with which one is to be pleased, Rubuiyyah, constitutes contentment with God’s (normative) commands, that is, (accepting with pleasure) all that God has declared that one is to do. The second, Uluhiyyah, means being pleased with God’s (existential) decree-namely, to be content with what God has destined one to experience.
To be pleased with Muhammad, sallahu aleyhi wa sallam, as one’s Messenger requires
(1) Obedience and categorical submission to him;
(2) Elevation of the Prophet in preference above one’s own self;
(3) Avoidance of seeking human guidance other than is his words;
(4) Renouncement of any human arbiter in the affairs of one’s life other than him,
(5) Rejection of anyone else passing judgment over the Prophet’s teachings
(6) abstention from contentment with anyone’s judgment but his-this means not in the matter of God’s Names and Attributes (i.e not accepting anyone’s opinion against the teachings of the Prophet in this regard), not as to the realities of faith and its various spiritual stations, and not in relation to the Prophet’s judgments, as they pertain to both external (fiqhi, or legal) affairs or internal (spiritual) ones.
As for being pleased with Islam as one’s religion, it means contentment with what the religion commands, forbids, adjudges, and informs, while disallowing one’s heart from holding even the slightest discomfort or doubt regarding this, but rather bringing it into submission with all of it
in toto-whether something of it is against one’s won desires or plans, or against the teachings of one’s Sheikh (religious guide), thus authority vis-à-vis Taqleed, or his group.
If ever you reach this station, you will find yourself alone among men, save for those who have estranged themselves from this world. So be forewarned! And never allow yourself to feel lonely, even if you are left alone in this cause-for that, by Allah, is true honor and might. Moreover, such is the price of the company of Allah and His Messenger, the very breath of His (ultimate) nearness. This is what it means to be pleased with Allah as your lord, with Muhammad, sallahu aleyhi wa lsallam, as your messenger, and with Islam as your religion.
Indeed, whenever a truthful servant finds a touch of estrangement and ostracism for the sake of God and tastes of His exclusive company (not because one is physically alone, but alone in one’s concern and struggles in Allah’s path), one yearns for none of it, asking Him: O Allah, increase me in isolation from men, and loneliness in the world, and nearness to You!
The more one tastes the sweetness of this estrangement and isolation, the mote one begins to see that nearness to (earth-bound) mean is the true loneliness, to be honored by them, the true humiliation. To agree with their (whimsical) opinions (about the right way of life) is the very essence of ignorance. And to follow their customs and conventions therein is truly strangeness.
More to come, inshallah...