Narrated by Maḥmūd ibn Labīd [may Allāh be pleased with him] that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said:
‘Indeed, if Allāh the Exalted in Might loves a people, He tests them. Whomsoever is patient, he [will have the reward] of the patience he has shown. Whomsoever shows despair, he will have nought but the despair he has shown.’
It is most appropriate that this patience is displayed [by the Muslim] at the very first strike [of calamity]. In al-Ṣaḥīḥayn [al-Bukhārī and Muslim] from the ḥadīth of Anas [may Allāh be pleased with him] that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said:
‘[True] patience is at t…
Allāh says:
وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْكُفَّارَ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ هِيَ حَسْبُهُمْ ۚ وَلَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّقِيمٌ
‘Allah has promised the hypocrite men and hypocrite women and the disbelievers the fire of Hell, wherein they will abide eternally. It is sufficient for them. And Allah has cursed them, and for them is an enduring punishment.’
[Al-Tawbah, 9:68]
Indeed, His saying ‘And for them is an enduring punishment’ denotes [a punishment] which is continuous, perpetually accompanying them in this worldly life and the hereafter…
The third degree of self-sufficiency is to feel self-sufficient through [your knowledge of] the Truth [Allāh], the Bestower of Bounty, the Most High. This is the highest degree of self-sufficiency.
Imām Ibn al-Qayyim al-JawziyyahThe first degree is to recognise wholeheartedly that Allāh the Exalted in Might remembered you before you remember Him. That He, the Most High, has made mention of you among His creation at your very start ,before you were brought into existence, before you began engaging in acts of obedience, or His remembrance. He has predestined your creation, provision, actions…
Let the truly intellectual one contemplate inwardly and outwardly, the fact that Allāh’s answer to the one who invokes Him is not related to the invoker’s nobility with Him.
Imām Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah Rather, He fulfils the need of the slave who invokes Him. However, in the fulfilment of that need, there may be the destruction of the slave and his overwhelming sadness. Thus, His granting of this slave’s request [i.e. that would lead to his downfall] may in actuality be a sign of his contemptibility [with Him], and a demotion of standing before His eyes. Contrastingly, His refusal…
A person’s name can have a prolific effect on his character. Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab (رحمه الله) relayed:
My father [i.e. Al-Musayyab] (رحمه الله) said that his father [i.e. Saʿīd’s grandfather] (رضي الله عنه) said: “I visited the Prophet (ﷺ). He said: ‘What is your name?’ I responded: ‘[My name is] Ḥazn [which means harsh/rough/tough/always serious].’ The Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘You are Sahl [which means gentle and easy going].’ I responded: ‘I will not change the name my father gave me.’” Ever since, we [i.e. Saʿīd and his father, Al-Musayyab] have always had an aggressive personality.1
Allāh’s …
The [true] Lord [Allāh] loves to be loved. From among the stipulations of this is that the servant [of Allāh] should love that which makes worship itself possible. For the slave [of Allāh] loves that which he needs and benefits him. In turn, this stipulates that he loves the worship of Allāh. Whomsoever worships Allāh and acts righteously towards mankind fulfils the rights of Allāh and the rights of His servants, as his dīn is sincerely for Him. However, whoever seeks [through his worship] compensation from the servants [of Allāh], whether it be in the form of praise or invocation or other …
