Part 24

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which means, “But they were not such as to believe in that which they had rejected before.” (AI-A’raf, 7:101)

There is a clear warning not to leave the response with the heart, even if it is responded to with the body.

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There is another message in the verse, which is that He, the Almighty combined the Revelation to the command to perform it for them, which is the response, and between destiny and one’s faith in it. So it is like the following verses,

which means, “To whomsoever among you who wills to walk straight, And you will not, unless (it be) that Allah wills, the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists).” (At-Takwir,

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which means, “So whosoever will (let him read it), and receive admonition (from it)! And they will not receive admonition unless Allah wills.” (Al-Muddaththir, 74:55-56)

And surely itis Allah alone Who knows best.

A Precious Gem: Jihad is Ordained for You Allah, the Almighty says,

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which means, "Jihad (fighting in the Cause of Allah) is ordained for you (Muslims) though you dislike it, and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know. (AlBaqarah, 2:216)

And He, the Exalted and ever Majestic says,

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which means, "If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing and Allah brings through it a great deal of good." (An-

The first verse is talking about Jihad, which is the perfection of the power of anger and righteous indignation, and the second is about marriage, which is the perfection of the power of lust. The servant hates to face his enemy using his power of anger fearing for himself while this hateful matter is good for him in his life and the next and he likes to make peace and forget about jihad while this matter is bad for him in his life and the next.

Also, the servant sometimes dislikes a woman because of one of her qualities while keeping her as his wife might grant him much good that he is not aware of and sometimes he loves a woman for one of her qualities and keeping her will bring him much evil that he is not aware of. The human being as Allah describes him is unjust and foolish. He should not make his criteria of what is harmful or beneficial for himself according to what he loves or hates, but the criteria should be what Allah has chosen for him in the form of orders and prohibitions.

The best and most useful thing for him is to obey Allah in secret and in public, and the worst and most harmful thing for him is to disobey Allah either secretly or publicly. If he sincerely obeys and worships Allah, every matter that he hates will be good for him but if he abandons obedience and worship, every matter that he loves will be evil and bad for him. Whoever truly knows Allah, His names, and His attributes, will surely know that any distress or harm that has happened to him bears interest and benefits that his mind cannot comprehend and may even benefit the servant in something that he hates.

If the Just Servant Knows the Truth

Generally, things that benefit mankind are found in things that are disliked while harm is found in what man loves. We can see clear examples in the one who is an expert in cultivating,

and plants a garden and cares for the trees until they bear fruit and then he begins to cut the leaves and branches as he knows that this is for their good and if he leaves them in that state, their fruit would never be good again. He grafts the trees and clips them and cuts off the weak branches. He appears to be harming them but actually he is seeking their benefit and perfection. He never lets them drink as they want, but according to schedules because it is better for their leaves and it speeds up their growth. Then he cuts away a lot of their leaves although they are their decoration, because this decoration prevents the perfection of their growth. If these trees had a mind to think as animals do, they would think that all this is harmful and is spoiling them while actually itis for their benefit.

Loving parents do the same to their children because they understand the benefits. Sometimes the cure for the child is painful, but the parent will still do it and all this will be done for the sake of mercy and pity. Perhaps the parent will perceive some benefit for the child by not financing him, so he will not give to him, because he knows that these are the important causes of his decay. He also prevents him from many pleasures in order to protect him. The most just among judges, the most merciful among those who are merciful, and the most learned among those who have knowledge, who is more merciful to His servants than themselves, their fathers, and mothers, if He allows them to be inflicted with evil, that will be better for them than not inflicting them. If they had the chance to choose for themselves they would never be able to benefit by it. However, Allah, the Exalted manages their lives according to His knowledge, wisdom, and mercy, whether they like it or not. Only those who know and believe in His names and attributes do not accuse Him or doubt one of His judgments but only those who do not know His names and attributes argue with Him about His judgments and doubt His wisdom and fail to submit to His judgment. They even oppose it with their spoiled

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minds, false opinions and unjust policies. They neither knew their Lord nor obtain any benefit.

Whenever a servant has this knowledge, he will live in a Paradise on earth before he enters the Paradise of the Hereafter. He will be satisfied and pleased with his Lord and will be satisfied with the paradise in this worldly life. The servant will be pleased with whatever happens to him because he knows that it has been chosen by Allah and this is acceptance of Allah as his Lord, Islam as his religion, and Muhammad as his Messenger. The one who is not able to do this wil! never taste the sweetness of faith. This pleasure depends upon how much he comprehends the justice of Allah, His wisdom, mercy, and good choice. The more he knows, the more pleasure and satisfaction he will have. Allah judges His servants according to justice, benefit, wisdom, and mercy. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said in his famous invocation to Allah, "Whoever was afflicted with grief and distress and says, 'Allahumma inny ‘abduk, wa ibn ‘abdik, wa ibn amatik, nasiyaty biyadik, madin fiyya hukmuk, 'Adlun fiyya qada'uk, as'aluka bikul ism huwa lak, sammaita bihi nafsak, aw anzaltahu fy kitabik, aw ‘allamtahu ahadan min khalqik, aw ista‘tharta bihi fy ‘ilmil-ghaibi ‘indik, an taj'ala al-qur'ana rabi'a qalby, wa nara sadry, wa jala' huzny, wa dhahdba hammy (O Allah! | am Your Servant, the son of Your Servant, the son of Your Maid servant. You have control over me. Your Judgment is executed on me. Your Decree on me is just. | ask You with each Name of Yours by which You have called Yourself, revealed in Your Book, taught to any of Your servants, or kept as a secret in the knowledge of the unseen with You, to make the Qur'an the spring (delight) of my heart, the light of my chest, the eliminator of my sorrow, the remover of my worries and anxiety),' Allah, the Exalted and Ever-Majestic, will remove his grief and will change his sorrow into happiness." It was said, "O

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"Your Decree on me is just" means every judgment including what causes pain or is a punishment. And this judgment is good for the believer as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "By He who holds my soul in His hand, the decree of Allah on the believer is always good for him and this is not the case with anyone else except the believer."

Ibn Al-Qaiyim said, "| asked our sheikh, ‘Did that apply in the case of committing sins?' He said, ‘Yes, with a condition.’ By saying "with a condition", he meant that what will follow sins are acts that Allah loves like regretting, asking for forgiveness, being humble, crying, and etc."

A Precious Gem: Asceticism during this Worldly Life

Seeking the Hereafter will not be complete without asceticism in this worldly life, and asceticism during this worldly life will not be complete without two things:

One: recognizing the transitory, mortal, decaying, mean, and imperfect nature of this worldly life and thinking about the pain, which it causes. Whoever seeks this worldly life with all its pleasures, will suffer its pain and grief before gaining what he wished, for if he ever gains it he will suffer grief and sadness after its loosing it.

Two: knowing with certainty that the Hereafter is real and close at hand, and knowing that it is immortal, lasting, and that it contains pleasures and happiness, and that there is a huge difference between it and this worldly life. It is as Allah says,

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which means, "Although the Hereafter is better and more lasting." (Al-A'la, 87:17)

Itis perfect and its pleasures and blessings are eternal. These are just some of its characteristics. If man understands these two things he will prefer the next life and will neglect this worldly life. Everyone is naturally disposed to dislike leaving immediate benefits and present pleasures and waits for an expected benefit and longs for the absence of pleasure unless if he discovers the favor of the later one is more than the sooner One and has a strong wish for what is better and higher. But if he prefers this mortal and imperfect world it will be either because he did not realize what is better for him or because he did not want and long for what is better.