ar- Raqâ’iq - The Heart Softening Narrations

Ibn al-Qayyim - rahimahullaah- said:

"There are six stages to knowledge:

Firstly: Asking questions in a good manner.

Secondly: Remaining quiet and listening attentively.

Thirdly: Understanding well.

Fourthly: Memorising.

Fifthly: Teaching.

Sixthly: and it is its fruit: Acting upon the knowledge and keeping to its limits.

Miftaah Daarus-Sa 'aadah ( p.283).

Knowledge is the tool of action. So if a person spends his whole life gaining knowledge, when will he act?! § Regardless of what knowledge passes you, do not let acting upon what you already know pass you. § Whoever does not look into Allah's right upon him with regards to his knowledge, that knowledge is a proof against you and its result is evil.

“As for seeking to memorise the Qur‘aan, then this is to be given preference over many of the things that the people consider to be knowledge, but are - in reality - either totally useless, or having little benefit. It is also to be given precedence in learning especially by those who wish to acquire knowledge of the Deen, its principles and its particulars. Since what is prescribed for such a person at this time is that he should begin by memorising the Qur‘aan, as it is the foundation of the branches of the knowledge of the Deen. This is contrary to what is done by many of the people of innovation from the non-Arabs and other than them, in that one of them will pre-occupy himself with superfluous parts of knowledge; such as kalaam (rhetorical speech) and argumentation; or very rare matters of differences; and blind-following; which there is no need for; or very strange and rare ahaadeeth, which are not established, nor of benefit; and many discussions which do not establish proofs. And he abandons memorising the Qur‘aan which is more important than all of this.”

-Shaykh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Fataawaa al-Kubraa (2/54-55)

“I heard my grandfather say: I asked my father for permission to study under Qutaybah so he said: “First learn the Qur‘aan and then I will give you permission.” So I memorised the Qur‘aan by heart. So he said to me: “Remain until you have led the people in prayer with it (i.e for Taraaweeh Prayer).” So I did so, then after the 'Eed he gave me permission, so I left for Marw.”

-Muhammad Ibn al-Fadl, reported by adh-Dhahabi in Tadhkirat ul-Huffaadh (2/722)

“So the first thing he should begin with is memorisation of the mighty Qur‘aan, which is the most important branches of knowledge. And the Salaf did not use to teach Hadeeth or Fiqh, except to one who memorised the Qur‘aan. So when he has memorised it, then let him beware of pre-occupying himself from it with Hadeeth, Fiqh or other things, to the extent that it leads him to forget anything of the Qur‘aan, or makes that likely.”

-al-Imaam an-Nawawi, from the introduction to al-Majmoo’ Sharh ul-Muhadhhab (1/38)

He who allows the people to hear of his good deeds intentionally to win their praise, Allah will allow the people to know his real intention. And he who does good things in public to show off and win the praise of people, Allah will disclose his real intention and humiliate him [on the Day of Judgment]

[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

* "know that every individual who falls under the category of being responsible for his actions must guard his tongue from all types of speech, except for that speech which consists predominantly of some benefit. So in a situation where speaking and refraining from speech are both found to contain the same amount of benefit with them, then the sunnah is to refrain from it altogether. This is because the allowable speech paves the way towards that which is forbidden, as well as that which is disliked. Rather, in most cases, this WILL be the result, and applying safety at that point will not be able to help in the least."


* "From the types of backbiting we see today: the backbiting of the devoutly pious and knowledgeable individuals, for indeed they turn towards committing backbiting by doing it in a manner by which they cause others to understand [who they are talking about] just as something that is quite clear is understood. So, for example, when it is said to one of them 'how is so and so?', he responds, 'may Allah rectify us!,' or 'may Allah forgive us!,' or 'may Allah rectify him!,' or 'we ask Allah for his pardon!' or 'all praise to Allah who has not tested us with entering into darkness!!' or 'we seek refuge in Allah from evil!' or 'may Allah save us from having little modesty!' or 'O Allah! accept our repentance!' and what is similar to that, by which one will come to realize that person's defects. All of this is from the forbidden types of backbiting."


* Abu Sa'eed al Khudree reported that the Prophet said, "When the son of Adam wakes from his sleep, all of his body parts seek refuge from his tongue, saying, ' Fear Allah in us, for indeed, we are a part of you. So if you are upright, then we will be upright. And if you are corrupt, then we will be corrupt." [Hasan; at-Tirmidhee in at-Tuhfah #2518; Ahmad 3/95-96, Ibn al Mubaarak in az-Zuhd #1012 and others.]


* It is also reported from Sa'eed bin Zayd that the Prophet said, "Verily, one of the worst forms of ribaa is being condescending with regard to a Muslim's honor without due right " [Saheeh; Ahmad 3/224, Abu Dawood #4876, and al-Haytham bin Kulaib in al-Musnad 2/30]


* Anas reported that Allah's Messenger said, "When I ascended, I came across a people that had nails made of brass with which they were scratching their faces and their chests. So I said, 'Who are these people, O Jibreel?' He said, ' They are the ones who eat the flesh of people and dishonor them.'" [Saheeh; Ahmad 3/224, ibn Abid-Dunyaa in as-Samat #165 + 572, Abu Dawood #4878 + 4879].


* It has reached us that Qass bin Sa'aadah and Aktham bin Sayfi once met and one of them said to the other, "How many faults were you able to find in the son of Adam?" The other responded, " They are too numerous to count, however, the faults that I was able to account for numbered eight thousand. I also discovered one thing which if put into practice, all of these faults would be kept hidden." He asked, "What is it?" He responded, "Guarding the tongue."


* Abul Qaasim al-Qushayri said in his famous Risaalah, "Remaining silent is salvation, and that is a fundamental principle. And staying quiet at the proper time is a characteristic of manhood, just as speaking when it is proper to speak is from the most honorable of matters ."

[From Imaam An-Nawawi's - al-Adhkaar]

ولما قسا قلبي وضاقت مذاهبي *** جعلت الرجا مني لعفوك سلما

تعاظمني ذنبي فلما قرنته *** بعفوك ربي كان عفوك أعظما

فما زلت ذا عفو عن الذنب لم تزل *** تجود وتعفو منة وتكرمــا

"When my heart became constricted and my paths became narrow
I took my hope in Your pardon and forgiveness as an opening and
an escape
My sins seemed very great to me but when I compared them to
Your forgiveness
I found Your forgiveness to be greater"

[Imam Ash-Shafiee]

Sufyan ath-Thawri said: "Man's love for the life of this world is shown in the way he greets people."

[Look at a chaste poor man ... nobody talks to him. People greet him so warily as if fearing that he may pass poverty to them. But see how the people welcome a rich man, even if he does not perform prayer. They stand up with smiling faces, and each one hopes to greet him first. Note the difference between a man who is so great as seen by Allah and another who does not even weigh a mosquito's wing - but this is life.]


Narrated Muhammad ibn Abi Imran, "I heard a man asking Hatim al-Asamm: 'On what have you based your dependence on Allah?' He said: 'On four points: I knew that my sustenance cannot be eaten by someone else and I am assured, I knew that my duty cannot be done by anyone else, so I kept myself busy with that. I knew that death will come suddenly to me, so I prepared myself for it. I knew that wherever I go I am under Allah's Eye, so I am always shy of Him.'"


`Abdullah ibn Mubarak said, "O man! Prepare yourself for the Hereafter, obey Allah to the extent of your need for Him and anger Him to the extent of your patience in Hell."


Abu Safwan ar-Ru`wini was asked: "What is that life dispraised by Allah in the Qur'an and that the sensible man should avoid?" He said: "Whatever you love in this life seeking worldly benefits is dispraised, and whatever you love seeking benefits in the Hereafter is praised."


Yahya ibn Mu`adh said, "O how poor is man, if he fears Hell in the same degree of his fearing poverty, then he will enter Paradise."


Ali ibn Al-Fudayl said: "I heard my father saying to Ibn Al-Mubarak: You order us to renounce the worldly pleasures and to be satisfied with the minimum, whereas you are buying goods, so what is that?" He said: "I do that to protect my face and my honour, and this helps me obey my Rabb." My father said: "How good is that if realised."


An ascetic said: "I know none who has heard of Paradise and Hell, then spends an hour of his life without praying, remembering Allah or doing a good deed." A man said: "I weep so much." He said to him: "To laugh and admit your sins is better than to weep and feel proud of your deeds." The man said: "I need your advice." He said: "Abandon the life of this world to its people as they have abandoned the Hereafter to its people."


Shumait ibn `Ajlan used to say: "Two persons are tormented in the life of this world: a rich man who is given a great wealth that keeps him so busy with worldly pleasures, and a poor man who is deprived of such pleasures for which he is longing with a heartbreak."


Al-Hasan said: "How good is life in this world for a believer because he uses it to prepare his provisions for Paradise. And how evil it is for a disbeliever who uses it to prepare his provisions for Hell."


Yahya ibn Mu`adh said: "The life of this world is a house of deeds and the Hereafter is a house of horrors. Man remains between deeds and horrors until he settles either in Paradise or in Hell."


One of the salaf said: "Beware of the life of this world because its magic is more effective than that of Harut and Marut. The two latter's separate a man from his wife whereas the life of this world separates a man from his Rabb."


Abu Dardaa' said: "Everyone has an imperfection of knowledge and wisdom, if his wealth increases, he becomes so happy though day and night are working hard on destroying his life-span. So what is good of a wealth that increases and a life-span that decreases."


Al-Hasan al-Basri said: "I am astonished about those people who are ordered to prepare their provisions, then the start of the journey is announced, however they remain unmindful in their vain discussions and fruitless deeds."


A man came to Sufyan ath-Thawree seeking his advice, and he said to the man: "Work for the sake of this life within the extent of your stay in it, and for the Hereafter within the extent of your stay therein."


Al-Fudayl ibn `Ayyad said: "Man's fear of Allah is equal to his knowledge of Him and his renunciation of worldly pleasures is equal to his desire in the Hereafter."


Salman ibn Dinar said: "What you love to have with you in the Hereafter you should advance today, and what you hate to have with you, you should abandon today."


A poet said: "Don't seek anything other than contentment, because therein is the bliss and the comfort of your body. Then consider the case of a person who possesses the whole world, can he take with him in the grave more than cotton and a shroud?"

[Excerpted from "The Life of This World Is a Transient Shade" - Abdul Malik Al Qasim]

People who have memorised the Qur'aan should be known by the night when people are sleeping and he is awake, and by the morning when people are not fasting but he is, by his sadness when they are happy, by his crying when they are laughing, by his silence when they are slandering, and by his piety and humility when they are arrogant. He who has memorised the Qur'aan should be tearful, sad, wise, patient and calm. He should not be rude, inattentive, loud or cruel.

- Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullaah.

The Messenger Muhammad (saw) said:

"Some peoples will come on the Day of Judgement and their Imaan will be outstanding, it's light will shine from their chests and from their right hands. So it will be said to them, 'Glad tidings for you today, Assalaamu alaykum and goodness for you, enter into it (Jannah) forever!' So the angels and the Prophets will be jealous of the love of Allah for them."

So the Sahabah asked, ' Who are they O Messenger of Allah?' He (saw) replied, "They are not from us and they are not from you. You are my companions but they are my beloved. They will come after you and will find the book (the Qur'an) made redundant by the people, and a Sunnah which has been killed by them. So they will grab hold of the book and the Sunnah and revive them.

So they will read them and teach them (the Qur'an and the Sunnah) to the people and they will experience in that path a punishment more severe and more ugly than what you (O Sahabah) have experienced. Indeed, the Imaan of one of them is equivalent to the Imaan of forty of you. The Shaheed of one of them is equivalent to forty of your Shuhadaa'. Because you found a helper towards the truth (the Prophet [saw]) and they will find no helper towards the truth. So they will be surrounded by tyrant rulers in every place, and they will be in the surroundings of Bayt ul-Maqdis (al-Quds). The Nussrah (victorious material support) of Allah will come to them, and they will have the honour of it on their hands."

Then he (saw) said "O Allah give them the Nussrah and make them my close friends in Jannah."

[Musnad of Imam Ahmad - Chain No. 77, Hadith No. 17561]

إن في القلب شعث لا يلمه إلا الإقبال على الله ، وفيه وحشة لا يزيلها إلا الأنس بالله ، وفيه حزن لا يذهبه إلا السرور بمعرفته وصدق معاملته ، وفيه قلق لا يسكنه إلا الاجتماع إليه والفرار منه إليه ، وفيه نيران حسرات لا يطفئها إلا الرضا بأمره ونهيه وقضائه ، وفيه طلب شديد لا يقف دون أن يكون هو وحده مطلوب ، وفيه فاقة لا يسدها إلا محبته ودوام ذكره والإخلاص له ، ولو أعطي الدنيا وما فيها لم تسد تلك الفاقة أبداً .

"Truly in the heart there is a void that can not be removed except with the company of Allah. And in it there is a sadness that can not be removed except with the happiness of knowing Allah and being true to Him. And in it there is an emptiness that can not be filled except with love from him and by turning to Him and always remembering Him and if a person were given all of the world and what is in it, it would not fill this emptiness."

-Ibn Al-Qayyim

"Allah [swt] has created men and women from each other. He placed in between them a wall which segregated the two genders. Behind this wall is 'mercy" whereas the front portion of this wall is torment. In between the wall there is a door. So whoever wishes happiness, comfort, benevolence, and mercy from the opposite side of this wall, then he/she has to go through the door, and the door is marriage. And whoever tries to go to the other side through another way by knocking out the wall or breaking it, or by stealing some of pleasures of the opposite side, then he/she will have pain,worry, illness, and disagrace as his/her companions in this worldly life, and will have Hell fire awaiting him in the Hereafter."

[ Tawq al Hamamah of Ibn Hazm al Andalusi]

Jâbir radiallâhu ’anhu related that the Prophet sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam said:

“Indeed the most beloved to me and seated nearest to me on the Day of Resurrection are those with the best manners and character. And indeed the most hateful to me and sitting furthest away from me on the Day of Resurrection are the Tharthârûn (those who speak too much), the Mutashaddiqûn (those who are overbearing in their speech) and the Mutafayhiqûn.” We said: “We know who the Tharthârûn and Mutashaddiqûn are. But who are the Mutafayhiqûn? He said: “The arrogant ones.”

Sahîh: Related by at-Tirmidhî (no.2104) and al-Khatîb in at-Târîkh (4/63). It was authenticated in as-Sahîhah (no.791).

None in this age will amass wealth except those having five traits of character. High hopes; abnormal greediness; excessive miserliness, lack of fearing Allaah; and forgetfulness of the coming world.

- Sufyaan ath-Thawree

"The heart will rest and feel relief if it is settled with Allaah and it will worry and be anxious if it is settled with people."

- Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullaah).

"The remembrance of death deprived us from enjoying our families and wealth."

- Yunus Ibn ‘Ubayd

--------------------------------


"O son of Aadam! Fear Allaah, and let two things not happen to you at the same time: the hardships and agony of death, plus sorrow and regret. Beware of agonies and regrets, for death will come to you suddenly and no one can describe to you what you will face and see. Beware, so as not to die while in a state of disobedience, otherwise you will meet Allaah with no excuse."

- Al Hasan

"Loving Allaah resembles a brook in a desert with no millstone, and that is why there are few water-drawers. The lover usually wants to be isolated with his lover in privacy in order to find delight, the same as the whale resorts to water, and a child seeks his mother."

-Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullaah.

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

Allah's Apostle said, "Do not hate one another, nor be jealous of one another; and do not desert one another, but O Allah's worshipers! Be Brothers! And it is unlawful for a Muslim to desert his brother Muslim (and not to talk to him) for more than three nights."
[Bukhari]

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the worst of false tales; and do not look for the others' faults and do not spy, and do not be jealous of one another, and do not desert (cut your relation with) one another, and do not hate one another; and O Allah's worshipers! Be Brothers (as Allah has ordered you!)."
[Bukhari]

al-Awzâ'î wrote to one of his brothers,

"As to what follows: You have been encompassed from every side. Know that you are moving forward with each day and night. So beware of Allâh and of the standing between His hands. And your final promise will be with Him. Was-Salâm."

Some of the wise people said,

"Whoever made the days and nights his riding animal, then they will take him (to his destination) even if he doesn't move."

Abû Hâzim said,

"The merchandise of the hereafter is in little demand. It is about to be spent with no one obtaining it except a few, not many."

So when a person is prevented from deeds, nothing remains for him except regret and sorrow. He will wish to return to the previous situation in which he was be able to perform deeds, yet wishing at that time will not benefit him in anything.


[Extracted from Ibn Rajab's 'Be in this life as if you were a stranger or a traveller on a path']