Imām Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said:
Most people lack knowledge concerning the sins that destroy their deeds of goodness. Indeed, the Most High said:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَرْفَعُوا أَصْوَاتَكُمْ فَوْقَ صَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ وَلَا تَجْهَرُوا لَهُ بِالْقَوْلِ كَجَهْرِ بَعْضِكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ أَن تَحْبَطَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ
“O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds may be rendered fruitless while you perceive not. “
(Ḥujurāt, 49:2)
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Imām Muwaffaq al-Dīn Ibn Qudāmah al-Maqdisī (d. 620 AH) said:
The obligation of following the pious predecessors—may Allāh have mercy on all of them—has been confirmed in the Book of Allāh, the Sunnah, and by ijmāʿ (scholarly consensus). Furthermore, rationality itself lends credence to this. As the pious predecessors have either adopted that which is correct or they have not. If they are correct, then following them is obligatory. This is because adoption of the truth is obligatory and attaching oneself to a creed riddled with mistakes is impermissible. If they have adopted the truth, the…
Imām Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 728 AH) said:
From among the most surprising affairs is that you can know Him [Allāh], but not have love for Him. Or that you can hear the one who calls to His path but your response is delayed in hesitation.
Or that you fully acknowledge the value of a virtuous transaction with Him but then you preferentially make opposing transactions with other than Him.
Or that you know the magnanimity of His anger but then you allow yourself to be amenable to it.
Or that you taste the loneliness of His disobedience but then you do not seek comfort in carrying out acts of His obed…
