Ibn al-Qayyim: 10 Useless Matters

 

Ibn al-Qayyim: 10 Useless Matters

The Hafiz of Damascus Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah says in his wonderful book on wisdom and exhortation Kitab al-Fawa’id there are ten useless matters that benefit no-one.

1. Knowledge that is not acted on.
2. The deed that has neither sincerity nor is it based on following the righteous examples of others.
3. Money that is hoarded, as the owner neither enjoys it during this life nor obtains any reward for it in the Hereafter.
4. The heart that is empty of love and longing for Allah, and of seeking closeness to Him.
5. A body that does not obey and serve Allah.
6. Loving Allah without following His orders or seeking His pleasure.
7. Time that is not spent in expiating sins or seizing opportunities to do good.
8. A mind that thinks about useless matters.
9. Serving those who do not bring you close to Allah, nor benefit you in your life.
10. Hoping and fearing whoever is under the authority of Allah and in His hand; while he cannot bring any benefit or harm to himself, nor death, nor life; nor can he resurrect himself.

However two matters are the severest and they both are the source of all things useless: wasting the heart and wasting time.
Wasting the heart is when one prefers this worldly life over the Hereafter, and wasting time is done by having incessant hope. Destruction occurs by following one’s desires and having incessant hope, while all goodness is found in following the right path and preparing oneself to meet Allah.
How strange it is that when a servant of Allah has a [worldly] problem, he seeks help of Allah, but he never asks Allah to cure his heart before it dies of ignorance, neglect, fulfilling one’s desires and being involved in innovations. Indeed, when the heart dies, he will never feel the significance or impact of his sins.
 

~You Have A Huge Wealth Of Blessings: You can be the happiest woman in the world: Dr. A'id al Qarni~

My sister, verily with every difficulty there is ease (Qur’an 94:6); after night comes the day. The clouds of worry will be blown away, the darkness of distress will be dispelled, and calamities will come to an end, by Allâh’s leave. Remember that you will be rewarded, and if you are a mother, your children will be a great support and help for Islâm, if you bring them up properly. They will make du’â’ for you when they prostrate and at the end of the night, just before dawn. It is a great blessing if you are a compassionate and kind mother. It is sufficient honour and pride for you to remember that the mother of Muhammad (Blessings and Peace be upon him) gave mankind a great leader, the noble Messenger.

You have the potential to be a dâ’iyah (caller to Islâm) calling other women to the path of Allâh with kind words, good exhortation and wisdom, arguing in a manner that is better, debating and guiding others by means of your good behaviour and setting an example. A woman may achieve, by means of her conduct and righteous deeds, things that cannot be achieved by Khutbahs (religious sermons), lectures and lessons. How often has a woman gone to live in a neighbourhood, and people started to talk about her religious commitment, modesty, hijâb (Islâmic dress) and good attitude, her kindness to her neighbours and her obedience to her husband, so she became a good example to others – that was spoken by all.

“Soon the flowers will bloom, grief will depart and happiness will prevail.”

~A woman who challenged Tyranny: You can be the happiest woman in the world: Dr. A'id al Qarni~

The past is gone and the hoped-for future is still unknown. All you have is the present.

Look at the texts of Islam, the Qur’an and Sunnah. Allah, the Exalted, the Almighty, praises righteous and believing women. He says:

وَضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اِمْرَأَةَ فِرْعَوْنَ إِذْ قَالَتْ رَبِّ ابْنِ لِي عِندَكَ بَيْتًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَنَجِّنِي مِن فِرْعَوْنَ وَعَمَلِهِ وَنَجِّنِي مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ

[And Allah has set forth an example for those who believe: the wife of Fir’awn (Pharaoh), when she said: “My Lord! Build for me a home with you in Paradise, and save me from Fir’awn (Pharaoh) and his work, and save me from the people who are Zalimun (Polytheists, wrongdoers and disbelievers in Allah).”] … (Qur’an 66:11)

Think about how Allah made this woman – Asiyah, may Allah be pleased with her – a living example for believing men and women, a clear symbol for everyone who wants to be guided and follow the ways of Allah in life. How wise this woman was, when she sought a home with the Lord and put that above her worldly interests. She freed herself from the control of the Kaafir (Disbeliever) tyrant Pharaoh and refused to live in his palace with his servants and courtiers, and with all its luxuries.

She sought a better home that was more lasting and more beautiful, with the Lord of the Worlds, amidst gardens and rivers, in a seat of truth (i.e. Paradise), near the Omnipotent King (Allah, the One, the All-Blessed, the Most High, the Owner of Majesty and Honour) (Qur’an 54:55).

She was a great woman whose ambition and sincerity led her to speak the word of truth and faith against her tyrant husband. She was tortured for the sake of Allah but she ultimately earned a home with the Lord of the Worlds, and Allah the Exalted, made her an example for every believing man and woman until the Hour comes, and He praised her in His book, recording her name and commending her deeds, and condemning her husband who deviated from the right path on earth,

“Be optimistic, even if you are in the eye of the storm.”

~INTENTION~

Asalam Aleikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatuh!

Its been a while since I proper blogged as in writing my own thoughts kind of blog so I thought I would share something that I have been thinking about. It is going to be a very watered down version but its still something lol. 

It is related by Umar Ibn al-Khattab (رضى الله تعالى عنه ) that he heard the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) say:The actions are but judged according to intentions; and to every man is due what he intended. Thus, whosoever migrates for the sake of Allah (SWT) and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) (and there is no other motive of his migration except compliance with the commands of Allah (SWT) and his Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) and winning of their good pleasure), his migration is accounted for the sake of Allah and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) (and doubtlessly, he is to true Muhajir- Emigrant- and shall receive the recompense prescribed for Hijrat-Migration-towards Allah and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم )); and whosoever migrates for the sake of this world or to wed a woman (his migration will not be for Allah and the Prophet [صلى الله عليه وسلم ]), and will be accounted only for the purpose for which it is intended. (Bukhari and Muslim)

This hadith shows that all you do is judged by intention. A deed for the sake of gaining the pleasure of Allah will be deemed good and carry merit in the sight of Allah however that which is done with bad intention and wickedness though outwardly seeming good will earn you the wrath of Allah.  

For many of us, when we start getting closer to our deen we tend to forget the small details and want to make big leaps that we may sometimes not be able to stick to.We may sometimes become so engrossed in what will people say and we lose sight of the ultimate aim. We forget that only Allah seeing us is what matters and while we may portray something else on the outside, He sees what is in our hearts. May Allah guide us and clean our hearts and may He help us to renew our intentions constantly because it is difficult.

Allah's mercy is such that idf you intended a good deed but cant do it, you get a reward for it, if you intend a bad deed and dont do it, you also get a reward for that. If you intend a good deed and do it, you get rewarded as much as Allah wills and when you intend a bad deed and do it, you only get one sin. Subhan'Allah!!! 

Allah judges the worth and value of a deed by the motive with which it is performed so dont let your deeds go to waste. Always do whatever you do for the sake of Allah. With this you can earn rewards through any act. Before you do anything, stop and think why and for whom you are doing it.

~Think! You can be the happiest woman in the world: Dr. A'id al Qarni~

 

THOUGHTS TO PONDER

Remember that your Lord forgives those who ask him for forgiveness and he accepts the repentance of those who sincerely repent, and he accepts those who sincerely come back to him.

Show mercy to the weak and you will be happy; give to the needy and you will be well; do not bear grudges and you will be healthy.
 

Be optimistic for Allah is with you and the angels are praying for forgiveness for you, and paradise awaits you.
 

Wipe away your tears, think well of your Lord, and chase away your worries by remembering the blessings Allah has bestowed upon you.
 

Do not think that this world is ever perfect for anyone. There is no-one on the face of the earth who gets all that she/he wants or is free form all kinds of distress.
 

Be like a tall tree with high aims; if a stone is thrown at it, it simply lets its fruits drop.
 

Have you ever heard that grief brings back what has been lost, or that worry corrects mistakes? So why grieve and worry then?
 

Do not except trials and calamities; rather expect peace, safety and good health, if Allah wills.
 

Extinguish the flames of hatred from your heart by forgiving everyone who has ever hurt you.

Ghusl, Wudu’, siwak and being organised are effective medicines for all kinds of stress and worry.

~ -No- You can be the happiest woman in the world: Dr. A'id al Qarni~

 

Asalam Aleikum Warahmatullah! Another clip from the amazing book You can be the happiest woman in the world by Dr. A'id al Qarni. Its long having to write this intro for every extract so unless I say otherwise, they will all be from the book In Sha Allah. Pray this helps someone somewhere.

NO!

No to wating time in trivial pursuits, and love of revenge and futile arguments.

No to giving priority to money and accumulation of wealth over one's health, happiness, sleep, and peace of mind.

No to seeking out other people's faults and backbiting about them, whilst forgetting one's own faults.

No to indulging in physical pleasure and giving in to every whim and desire.

No to wasting time with shallow people and spending hours in idle pursuits.

No to neglecting physical hygeine and cleanliness in the house, and being disorganized at home.

No to haram drinks, cigarettes, narghile ("hookah pipes"), and all foul things.

No to thinking of past calamities and dwelling on past mistakes.

No to forgetting the Hereafter and neglecting to strive for it, and to being careless of what will happen in the Hereafter.

No to wasting money one harm things, being extravagant with regard to permissable things, and falling short in acts of worship