The Soul of the Son of Adam

Ibn Qayyim wrote in his highly esteemed book, Al Fawa’id:

“How perfect is Allah! In the soul of man is the pride of Iblis, the jealousy of Qabil, the insolence of the people of ‘Ad, the tyranny of Thamud, the temerity of Namrud, the arrogance of Pharoah, the wrongdoing of Qarun, the trickeries of the people of Sabt, the rebelliousness of Al-Walid, the ignorance of Abu Jahl, and the impudence of Haman.

The soul of man also has many characteristics of beasts. He has the avarice of a crow, the gluttony of a dog, the display of a peacock, the filth of the hog, the malice of the camel, the predatory nature of the lion, the venom of the snake, the frivolity of the ape, the greed of the ant, and the deception of the fox.”

The rigid training of the soul exercises these conditions; however, if one allows any of these traits to linger and prevail, one then becomes akin to the ones cursed by Allah and akin to the beasts possessing lowly characteristics. A person who allows these traits to dominate his soul is not that commodity in the contract described by Allah (The Exalted).

“Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers their lives.” (Qur’an 9:111)

Such a commodity (soul) must be refined by Faith and purified by repentance and attentiveness in worship. the commodity must also be protected from defects or from being destroyed so as to allow the buyer to accept it.

Source: Gems & Jewels by Abdul-Malik Mujahid
Taken from: http://thefitrah.wordpress.com/

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Perfume seller or blacksmith?

A wonderful reminder...

RasulAllah (salAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said: The example of a good companion and a bad one is the bearer of musk and the worker on the fires (i.e. blacksmith). A bearer of musk would give you some from him, or you might enjoy the fragrance of his musk. The worker on the fires, on the other hand, might spoil your clothes with sparks from his bellows, or you get a bad smell from him."
[sahih al-Bukhari, vol 3, #314 and Muslim]

Who are the top five people you hang out with? List them. Now look at their qualities and you'll notice that you are a product of the sum of them. Do they have the outstanding qualities that you seek? If not, then it's time to find some bearers of musk that you can truly smell great from.


...Alhamdulillah, I've got a couple o' musk bearers of my own. Ya'll know who you are <3 JazakAllahu khayrun for everything!

Taken from the iPod Application, "Daily Hadith".

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Beautiful Excerpt from 'Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship' - by Al Ghazali

When the time for prayer is at hand,
I make a proper ablution,
go to the spot where I attend to pray
and sit there until all my limbs and organs are in a collected state.

Then I stand up to perform my prayer,
placing the Ka'bah between my brows,
the bridge over Hell beneath my feet,
Paradise to my right
and Hell to my left,
and the Angel of Death behind me,
thinking all the while that this is my final prayer.
Then I stand between hope and fear.

I carefully pronounce "Allahu Akbar!"
Then I recite the Qur'an harmoniously,
bow in humility
and prostrate myself submissively.
I then sit back on my left haunch,
spreading out the left foot,
raising my right foot on the toes.
I follow this with sincerity.
Then I wonder
whether or not
my prayer
has been accepted.

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If you make intense supplication
and the timing of the answer is delayed,
do not despair of it.
His reply to you is guaranteed;
but in the way He chooses,
not the way you choose,
and at the moment He desires,
not the moment you desire.
- Ibn Ata'illah Iskandari
[Al-hikam al-'Ata'iyyah]

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“… is such a person not nourished night and day by his Beloved?”

There is an interesting section of 'Zad al-Ma'ad' (2/33) where Ibn al-Qayyim talks about sawm al-wisal, which is that the Prophet would sometimes fast an entire 24-hour day without breaking his fast. When asked by the Companions why he had forbidden them from doing so while he himself would practice it, he replied: "I am not like anyone of you. During the night, my Lord provides me with food and drink."

Ibn al-Qayyim mentions that there are two interpretations to what the Prophet meant when he said this. The first is that he is literally provided with food and drink, and the second is that he is being nourished spiritually by Allah. The stronger of the two interpretations is the second, because if the Prophet was being provided with actual food and drink, he would no longer be fasting at all, let alone continuously.

He then proceeded with a beautiful exposition of how it is that the servant can be nourished by Allah without eating or drinking anything. Although Ibn al-Qayyim wrote this in regards to the Prophet's continuous fasting, it is something that can actually apply to any fasting person, such as ourselves:

"...and those who have even the slightest bit of experience and longing know how little the body needs much physical nourishment when it is instead provided with the nourishment of the heart and soul, let alone when it comes to the one who is joyous, happy, and victorious because he has reached the One he has sought out, and whose eye is cooled by his Beloved, and feels blessed with His closeness, and is pleased with Him and the bounties and gifts of his Beloved.

And His protection showers him at all times, and his Beloved is constantly tending to his affairs, being as Generous as can be with complete Love towards him - is this not the greatest nourishment for the one who loves his Lord? So, how would it be when love of the Beloved - than Whom nothing is more exalted, and nothing is greater in might, and nothing is greater in beauty, and nothing is more complete, and nothing is greater in kindness - when love of Him fills the heart, and love of him takes over all regions of his heart and limbs, and love of Him is as firmly established as can be?

And this is his condition with the One he loves... So, is such a person not nourished night and day by his Beloved?"

May Allah make us amongst those nourished by the Love of Allah!

Taken from: http://muslimmatters.org/2007/09/21/ibn-al-qayyim-is-such-a-person-not-nourished-night-and-day-by-his-beloved/

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“Someone who turns away in prayer, either with his eyes or his heart, is like a man whom the king summons and seats before him: just when the king starts to call out his name and addresses him, the man turns from him right and left, and his heart turns away. And since his heart is not present, he understands nothing of what the king says to him. What should this man expect from the king in return? At the very least, should he not expect to leave the palace – rejected, cast out and beneath consideration?

This worshipper is in no wise equal to the one whose heart is present, turned in prayer towards God and so aware of the Grandeur of the One before whom he stands that his heart is filled with awe, his head inclines and he would be ashamed before his Lord to face anyone else, or turn away.

About these two prayers, as Hassan bin ‘Atiya said: ‘Two men may offer prayer shoulder to shoulder, and yet between their two prayers lies a gulf as [vast] as that separating Heaven from earth. This is because one of them has his heart turned towards God, while the other is forgetful and heedless.’

Extract: The Invocation of God; Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya; page 26.

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Back + New Template

Assalamu'alaykum wa Rahmatullah!

Insha'Allah this reaches you all in good health.

Wow! I haven't posted for a zillion years. I've been quite busy with school and life in general but alhamdulillah I am back and ready to post!

For those of you who have been following my blog, you've probably noticed that my blog background image had expired. I'm not going to lie, I had noticed but I was too lazy to sign in and change my blog template. When it was brought to my attention again yesterday, I figured it was about time I came back and fixed it. The current template is temporary (I don't really like it!) until I find another one that suits me and the blog :)

For today, I have an excerpt from Ibn al-Qayyim's Madarij al-Salikin. SubhanAllah, it's so true!

The divine decree related to the believer is always a bounty, even if it is in the form of withholding (something that is desired), and it is a blessing, even if it appears to be a trial, and an affliction that has befallen him is in reality a cure, even though it appears to be a disease!

Unfortunately, due to the ignorance of the worshipper, and his transgressions, he does not consider anything to be a gift or a blessing or a cure unless he can enjoy it immediately, and it is in accordance with his nature. If he were only given a little bit of understanding, then he would have counted being withheld from as a blessing, and the sickness as a mercy, and he would relish the trouble that befalls him more than he relishes his ease, and he would enjoy poverty more than he enjoys richness, and he would be more thankful when he is blessed with little than when he is blessed with a lot.

Imam ibn al Qayyim rahimahullah :

Madarij al-Salikin 2/215-216

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