From the works of Imam ibn al-Qayyim

The proper time for doing the Adhkaar (Allaah’s remembrance):

Ibn al-Qayyim (rahima-hullaah) said:

❝Allaah says:

وسبح بحمد ربك بالعشي والإبكار

{…and glorify the praises of your Lord in the `Ashiy and in the Ibkaar} [Surah Ghaafir (40): 55]

Al-Ibkaar is the early part of the day and al-`Ashiy is the last part of the day.

And Allaah also says:

وسبح بحمد ربك قبل طلوع الشمس وقبل الغروب

{…and glorify the Praises of your Lord, before the rising of the sun and before (its) setting} [Surah Qaaf (50): 39]

This is the interpretation of what is mentioned in the Ahaadeeth: ❝Whoever says such-and-such in the morning… and (such-and-such) in the evening.❞

What is meant by this is before the rising of the sun, and before its setting. The time for that is after the Fajr prayer (i.e. between dawn and sunrise), and after `the Asr prayer (i.e. between `Asr and Maghrib).

And in Saheeh Muslim, from the Hadeeth of Abu Hurairah, that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

❝He who recites in the morning and in the evening the statement: ‘Subhaan-Allaahi wa bihamdihi (Allaah is free from imperfection and I begin with praising Him)’, one hundred times, he would not bring on the Day of Resurrection anything excellent than this except one who utters these words or utters more than these words.❞❞ [Saheeh Muslim (6509)]

[al-Waabil al-Sayyib (1/93) of Ibn al-Qayyim]

A 30 second health check up

Ibnul Qayyim said:
ومن علامات صحته (أي صحة القلب) أنه إذا فاته ورده وجد لفواته ألما أعظم من تألم الحريص بفوات ماله وفقده

“One of the signs of a sound heart is that it experiences tremendous pain if s/he misses their daily portion of Qur’an, a pain which surpasses that which the stingy experiences when losing wealth”

O Ibnul Qayyim .. If this is the pain of missing just *one* day's worth of reading

.. how then should the pain be when s/he allows two, three, ten days to pass without picking up the Qur'an?

Imam Ibnul Qayyim said:
'ما مضى من الدنيا احلام وما بقى منها أمانى والوقت ضائع بينهما'
"What has passed from our lives are now dreams, what remains is false hopes
.. and time is wasted in between"
(From his book: Al-Fawaa'id)

One of the most accessible ingredients for happiness:

Purifying the heart from malice and spite towards the Muslims.

Ibn al-Qayyim beautifully noted the effects of this ingredient when applied, saying:
وَأَيُّ لَذَّةٍ وَنَعِيمٍ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَطْيَبُ مِنْ بِرِّ الْقَلْبِ، وَسَلَامَةِ الصَّدْرِ، وَمَعْرِفَةِ الرَّبِّ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى وَمَحَبَّتِهِ، وَالْعَمَلِ عَلَى مُوَافَقَتِهِ؟ وَهَلِ الْعَيْشُ فِي الْحَقِيقَةِ إِلَّا عَيْشُ الْقَلْبِ السَّلِيمِ؟

“What pleasure in the world is more pleasing than the soundness of the heart and it being free from resentfulness, whilst knowing one’s Lord, loving Him and doing deeds that He approves of? Is there any true life other than the life of a sound heart?!"

Ibn Al-Qayyim رحمه الله said:
“When Allaah (swt) wills good for His slave, He causes him to forget his acts of obedience and erases them from his mind and from his lips (so that he does not speak about them).
But if he commits a sin, He makes him think about his sin all the time and forget his good deeds, so that he focuses constantly on his sin, when he stands up or sits down, when he comes and goes. This is the essence of mercy concerning him.”
— [Madaarij As-Saalikeen, 1/177]

Ibn al-Qayyim Rahimahullaah:
“Enough honor for you is that you are slave of Allāh
and enough pride for you is that Allāh is your Lord.”
-[الفوائد ١\٣٥]

ﻗﺎﻝ ﺍﺑﻦ ﺍﻟﺠﻮﺯﻱ :
" ﻣﻦ ﺳﺮﺡ ﻟﺴﺎﻧﻪ ﻓﻲ ﺃﻋﺮﺍﺽ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﻠﻤﻴﻦ ﻭﺍﺗﺒﻊ ﻋﻮﺭﺍﺗﻬﻢ .. ﺃﻣﺴﻚ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻟﺴﺎﻧﻪ ﻋﻦ ﺍﻟﺸﻬﺎﺩﺓ ﻋﻨﺪ ﺍﻟﻤﻮﺕ "
Ibn Qayyim Al-Jauzi said:
"Whoever uses his tongue to pursue the weakness of Muslims and to dishonour them, Allah will stop his tongue from uttering the shahaadat (testimony of faith) at the time of death."

Some of the FRUITS of treating people KINDLY
The great scholar Ibn ul-Qayyim ( ﺭﺣﻤﻪ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ) mentions:
"There's nothing more beneficial for the heart than treating people with kindness and wishing good for them. Because by treating them in that way, then;
# if it is a stranger you will gain his love and affection,
# if it is a friend and beloved one you will maintain his companionship and love, and
# as for a hated enemy then you will extinguish his firebrand with your kindness and suffice against his evil."
Source: Madarij-us-Salikin 2/511.

Ibn al-Qayyim writes:
"The one whom Allah has predestined to enter Paradise: the primary reasons which will cause his entrance shall spring from calamities, and his patience at enduring them.
And the one whom Allah has predestined to enter the Hellfire: the primary reasons which will cause his entrance shall spring from lusts and desires, and following them."

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah said:

The destruction of the heart occurs by security [in this Dunya] and negligence; its fortification occurs by fear and remembrance. If the heart renounces the pleasures of the Dunya, it settles upon the [pursuance of] pleasures of the Hereafter, and amongst those who call towards it. Should the heart become content with the pleasures of the Dunya, those pleasures [of the hereafter] cease [to continue].

Yearning for Allah and his meeting is like the gentle breeze blowing upon the heart, extinguishing the blaze of the Dunya. Whosoever caused his heart to settle with his Lord shall be in a state, calm and tranquil, and whosoever sent it amongst the people shall be disturbed and excessively perturbed. For the love of Allah shall not enter a heart, which contains the love of this world, except as a camel, which passes through the eye of a needle.

Hence, the most beloved servant before Allah is the one whom He places in His servitude, whom He selects for His love, whom He causes to purify his worship for
Him, dedicates his objectives for Him, his tongue for His remembrance, and his limbs for His service.

The heart becomes sick, as the body becomes sick, and its remedy is al-Tawbah and protection [from transgression]. It becomes rusty as a mirror becomes rusty, and its clarity is obtained by remembrance. It becomes naked as the body becomes naked, and its beautification is at-Taqwa. It becomes hungry and thirsty as the body becomes hungry and thirst, and its food and drink are knowledge, love, dependence, repentance and servitude.

From: Al-Fawaa’id [pg. 111-112]

"The eye is the mirror of the heart. If a person lowers his gaze, the heart will lower his desires and whims. But if a person looks, the desire in his heart will be provoked." Ibn Al Qayyim RahimahuLlah