Part 1

A COLLECTION OF WISE SAYINGS

Rendered into English by: Bayan Translation Services

Translation of 24 gall

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Umm Al-Qura For Translation, Publishing and Distribution

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Bayan List of Contributors: Team Director: Muhammad Fadel Translators:Ashia Adel Said Traore Edited by : Selma Cook Bayan Translation Services www.bayangroup.com [email protected]

Deposition Number : 20835/2003

- 68 vee 71

vi * AL-FAWA'ID: A Collection of Wise Sayings

CHAPTER: A WONDROUS REALITY ...ccsscessesseseeestnaeeasscsscosensesecesererssses 72 A PRECIOUS GEM: SOURCES OF UNLAWFULNESS ..cesesccssscessssccseccoce+73

A PRECIOUS GEM: KNOWLEDGE IS FOLLOWED BY LOVE ..

A RULE: TWO RESTRAINTS THAT RESCUE vescsccsssccscsccsssscssseconeee

A PRECIOUS GEM: THE MESSENGER'S VICTORY .... CHAPTER: THE VANITY OF FALSE HOPES

CHAPTER: WHY WAS ADAM CONSIDERED THE LAST OF CREATURES? sooee 100

A PRECIOUS GEM: FORMS OF REJECTING THE QUR’AN AND UNCERTAINTY ABOUT IT..2...ccssccssscscsessesssssessecsessessessesseseveestonseresseeene 126

AL-FAWA'ID : A Collection of Wise Syaings * vii

A PRECIOUS GEM: ELEMENTS OF KNOWLEDGE

AN IMPORTANT RULE: THE APPARENT AND HIDDEN ASPECTS OF

A PRECIOUS GEM: TRUST IN ALLAH A GREAT AND IMPORTANT RULE: “O YOU WHO BELIEVE! ANSWER

A VALUABLE AND IMPORTANT RULE: THE PEOPLE OF GUIDANCE AND THE PEOPLE OF MISGUIDANCE .... eeesevennansoreeeens 175

CHAPTER: THE SWEETNESS OF TRUSTING IN ALLAH....

viii * AL-FAWA'ID: A Collection of Wise Sayings

CHAPTER: REMEMBERING ALLAH AND BEING GRATEFUL TO HIM.. 206 CHAPTER: GUIDANCE LEADS TO MORE GUIDANCE AND ABERRATION

CHAPTER: DEEDS ARE AN ESTABLISHMENT WHOSE FOUNDATION IS FAITH... .eceeeneeseeeneeseeceassensessseccrovsesesssssseeceresseseascesreeonnestoe ores 262

x * AL-FAWA'ID: A Collection of Wise Sayings

CHAPTER: THE MOST USEFUL AND THE MOST HARMFUL OF PEOPLE steseessensnessee 318

AL-FAWA'ID : A Collection of Wise Syaings * xi

SAYYID AL-ISTIGHFAR ....ssssssscsssssssssssscsssscscoseecotssssesossseosonssseneseanenes 352

xii * ALFAWA'ID: A Collection of Wise Sayings

Transliteration System 1. The Arabic Aiphabet

No. Letter By Example

18. & ‘At U ‘Aly, AF ‘lim, ‘Umar jae sabe ele

23. 24, 25. 26. 27. 28.

2. Vowels & Diacritical Marks

eo Onan Pron ns

AL all Aancall at gly all bul edly all da fill GNI da geacl! Cl! 3 j gual) Waly! ASLad) Cyl

xiv * AL-FAWA'ID: A Collection of Wise Sayings

All praise and thanks are due to Allah. We praise Him and seek His help, guidance and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the consequences of our evil conduct and the sins we have committed. Whosoever Allah guides, no one can mislead and whosoever He sends astray, no one can guide.

| bear witness that there is no god but Allah Alone, who has no partner and | bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. Allah sent him (peace be upon him) as a witness, a bearer of good news and a warner, and as one who invites to Allah by His leave, and as a lamp spreading light.

This book, Al-Fawdid: A Collection of Wise Sayings is one of the well-known compilations of Imam Shams Ad-Din Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah, who is well known by the name Ibn AlQayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him). This blessed book is not like others that simply contain sections, chapters and themes, but it consists of the elevated thoughts that Allah, Exalted be He, bestows upon some of His servants as He wills. So whenever any of these scattered pearls of wisdom occurred to the Imam, he would immediately record them. | am sure that he did not sit down and write this book in one or two weeks, but surely it was developed over a long period of time. Whenever something came to his mind, he would record it, and whenever he learnt a lesson or anything crucial in his life, he would illuminate the lines of his page with the ink of his pen.

| remember the first time | read this book, which was twenty years ago in 1980. It was beyond my ability at that time to fully

AL-FAWA'D : A Collection of Wise Syaings * xv

comprehend the meaning that lbn Al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him) was trying to impart in the book. However, in the course of time, Allah, the Almighty bestowed His favors upon me, and | began to understand the light and guidance that these words contain.

The book is not concerned with juristic subjects nor does it deal with any of the instrumental sciences that anyone can understand and memorize, but rather, it consists of the landmarks of guidance, and light, and the firebrands of piety that !bn Al-Qayyim pondered in the fields of piety, asceticism and vivid exhortation toward the truth.

He focuses on the role and duty of the hearts, and makes them clear to us to the extent that we are moved and motivated to learn and practice them. He explains to us the diseases of the heart so that we may know how to avoid and overcome them. He ponders on the depths of the nature of the human self and moves inside its hidden sphere, from one part to the other, which might be difficult for many people to understand. This book has reached the peak of understanding regarding _ this particular point. Ibn Al-Qayyim is renowned in the field of ascetics and one of the most knowledgeable people of Allah.

So, dear reader, here is the book. Take it as one of your close friends, and when you find life’s difficulties facing you, read it and ponder the meaning that is applicable to you. Surely, you will find your way out, for you will be living in the world of insight, where there is permanent comfort, the yearning to be close to the Lord of the worlds and the strong desire to enter the Gardens of Delight.

We ask Allah, the Exalted, to bestow upon our hearts that which He bestows upon His righteous servants, and reward Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim and the Muslims with the best reward, and gather us with him at the place of His mercy along with the Prophets,,

xvi * AL-FAWA'ID: A Coilection of Wise Sayings

the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous. How excellent these companions are!

The translations of the Glorious Qur’an were quoted from The Nobie Qur’&an, by Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilaly and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan: King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur’an, Madinah, K.S.A.

Although the hadith were translated without their full chains of transmission, attribution has been made to their original recording in the different hadith compilations, which include Sahih Al-Bukhary, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawid, etc.

The translation process of this book took a great effort from ail members of the team.

We would like to express our thanks to everyone who took part or contributed to the reproduction of this translation, particularly the translators, the revisers and the editor. May Allah reward them all for their work and make it helpful for those who seek guidance to the True Path.

Finally, we pray that this translation will provide useful information and advice to all its readers, regardless of their background, and that they may all benefit from it. We also hope that all our efforts on this book will be counted among our good deeds with Allah, the Almighty. Amen.

In the Name of Allah

Imam and sheikh Abu ‘Abdullah is known as Ibn Qaiyim AlJawziyyah (may Allah be merciful to him). He revived the Sunnah and restrained innovation. He said what follows:

Important Rules: Conditions One must Meet in Order to Benefit from the Qur'an

if you want to benefit from the Qur'an, you must concentrate and devote your heart solely when reciting and listening to it. You must pay attention, and try to comprehend the fact that what you are reading is the word of Allah. As you read, you must know that Allah is addressing you in and through _ this Qur'an. Indeed, it is the words of Allah to you through the tongue of His Messenger. Allah says,

Ei teh pj AT AIL SOF 6) wad US GO) >

which means, "Verily, therein is indeed a reminder for him who has a heart or gives ear while he is heedful.” (Qaf, 50:37)

Obtaining the perfect effect depends upon the stimulus, the place of the receiver, the condition for the effect to occur, and the absence of any obstacle that may obstruct the effect. The above verse explains all that in the most precise, and clear words. When Allah says which means, "Verily, therein is indeed a reminder" it is a sign for what had passed from the beginning of the chapter until this verse. His saying, “for him who has a heart" refers to the place of the receiver and it means the living heart, which comprehends what Allah says. For example when Allah says,

which means, “This is only a Reminder and a plain Qur'an. That he or it (Muhammad or the Qur'an) may give warning to him who is living (a healthy minded believer)." (Yasin, 36:69-70)

“Who is living." means the one who has a living heart. And when Allah says which means, "Or gives ear" means the person listens to what is being said to him. And this is the condition in order to be truly affected by the words.

And His saying, "While he is heedful... means to be aware; that his heart is conscious and not distracted by any worldly matter.

Ibn Qutaibah' said, "He is listening to the Book of Allah while his heart is present and understands; not being inattentive or unaware. {f the heart is inattentive; lacking understanding concerning what is being said, as well as failing to see or meditate on it, then there is an obstruction. If however, the Qur'an produced an effect on the receiver, which is the living heart, and the condition of listening was fulfilled, and the heart is not engaged with something other than the meaning of the speech, the desired effect will occur, which is obtaining benefit from the Qur'an and remembrance."

Some people may say, "If the effect will take place by the combination of these matters, what is the purpose of the article ‘or’ in Or gives ear’ while it is the article ’and,’ which joins two matters and not ’or,’ which indicates only one. To this, it can be said, "This is a good question and the answer is as follows: