Part 41

Later in time there will be nations whose best deeds will be reciting among themselves and listening to evil reciters.

If man wanted to be treated justly by his soul, he should visit those whom he would like to be visited by. The right is heavy but healthy, and evil is light but harmful.

Perhaps one desire causes long term sadness.

There is nothing on earth that badly needs to be imprisoned more than the tongue.

if adultery and usury appeared in a town or village, itis a sign of its coming destruction.

Whoever could put his treasure in heaven so that it would neither be eaten by worms nor stolen by thieves; he must do so, as the heart of man is his treasure.

Do not imitate anyone concerning religion; if he believes you, you believe and if he disbelieves you, you will disbelieve. If you must imitate, you should imitate dead people as the living are not protected irom seduction.

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None of you should be weak. They said, "What do you mean by weak?” He said, "He says, 'l am with the people; if they are on the right way | will be on the right way and if they go astray | will go astray. One should adjust himself to adhere to Islam even when people disbelieve."

A man said to him, "Teach me words that are complete and useful." He said, "Worship Allah and do not worship any partners with Him, adhere to the Qur'an whatever it says, and whoever calls you to the right accept it from him even if he is far from you and odious, and whoever calls you to what is wrong reject him even if he is a lover and close to you.”

The servant of Allah will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and he would be ordered to render back his trust, and he would say, "O My Lord! From where? The worldly life has gone." Then this trust would be shaped as it had been during this worldly life but it will be in the bottom of Hellfire, and he would fal! down after it, put it on his shoulder, and begin to come up until he thought that he is about to come out, but it would fall again and he would fall after it forever.”

Submit your heart in three situations: when listening to the Qur'an, during gatherings of remembering Allah, and during times of solitude. If you do not find your heart in these three situations, ask Allah to grant you with a heart, as you do not have one.

Al-Junaid said, "| visited a youth, who asked me about repentance and its reality. | answered him and _ said, 'To put your sin between your eyes (never to forget it) until death comes to you', and he said to me, 'No this is not the reality of repentance’, so | said to him, ‘What is the reality of repentance according to you?’ He said, 'To

forget your sin.' And he left me and went away.' So | asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) “O Abu AlQasim! What is it according to you?’ He said, ‘It is like what the youth said.' He said, 'How is that?' He said, ‘If | was in a state of alienation then Allah moved me from this to a state of devotion, then remembering alienation when one is devoted, is alienation.”

Chapter: Sincerity and Love that are Praised cannot Coexist

Sincerity and love that are praised cannot coexist in one heart just like water and fire cannot coexist. If you urge yourself to seek sincerity, you should kill greed first by using a knife made of despair, and you should neglect praise and thanks and be ascetic like asceticism in this worldly life. If you killed greed and abandoned praise and thanks, sincerity would be easy for you.

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praises of you will not beautify you, and do not dispraise the one whose dispraise will not disgrace you. Only praise the One whose beauty is in His praise and disgrace is in His dispraise. This cannot be done except through being patient and having firm belief. Whenever you lose patience and belief, you will be like the one who wanted to travel by sea without a boat. Allah, the Exalted says,

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which means, "So be patient (0 Muhammad). Verily, the Promise of Allah is true, and let not those who have no certainty of faith, discourage you from conveying Allah's Message (which you are obliged to convey)." (Ar-Riim, 30:60)

And He, the Almighty says,

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which means, "And We made from among them (Children of Israel), leaders, giving guidance under Our Command, when they were patient and used to believe with certainty in Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.)." (As-Sajdah, 32:24)

Chapter: Pleasure Depends upon Determination

The pleasure of each one of us depends upon his value, determination, and honor. The one who has the most honorable soul, the firmest determination, and is the most valuable among people is the one who finds his pleasure in knowing Allah, loving Him, longing to meet Him, and pleasing

Qawéa'id Al-Ahkam, vol.1, p.162, that some people said to the Prophet (peace be upon him), "O Muhammad! Give me, as my praise beautifies and my dispraise disgraces.' He said, 'The one who can do that is the Lord of all the worlds.""

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Him by doing what He likes; his pleasure is in seeking Allah and dedicating his determination to Him. Below that there are several ranks that only Allah knows their numbers, until the ranks end with he whose pleasure is in seeking the most mean and low matters from among all kinds of indecency: in speech, deeds, and works. If the pleasure of the first rank was offered to him, his soul would neither accept it nor pay any attention to it and maybe his soul would suffer from it, as whoever is in the first rank will neither accept the pleasure of that in the last rank nor pay attention to it.

Whoever experiences the most complete pleasure among people is the one who gathers the pleasures of the body, heart and soul. He is enjoying his lawful pleasures in a way that is neither decreasing his reward in the Hereafter nor depriving him from the pleasure of knowledge and being close to Allah. Such a person is from among those about whom Allah says,

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which means, "Say (O Muhammad): "Who has forbidden the adoration with clothes given by Allah, which He has produced for his slaves, and At-Taiyibat [all kinds of Halal (lawful) things] of food?" Say: "They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and) exclusively for them (believers) on the Day of Resurrection (the disbelievers will not share them)." (Al-A'raf, 7:32)

Whoever has the lowest share of pleasure is the one, who enjoys it in a way that deprives him of the pleasures of the Hereafter and is like those about whom Allah says on the Day of Resurrection,

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which means, "You received your good things in the life of the world, and you took your pleasure therein." (Al-Ahgaf, 46:20)

Both parties enjoyed their pleasures but in different ways. Some enjoyed them in a way that is permissible, so they gathered the pleasures of this worldly life and the Hereafter. Others enjoyed them according to their desires and either they were permissible or not, so they were deprived of the pleasures of this worldly life and missed the pleasures of the Hereafter. Neither the pleasures of this worldly life lasted nor the pleasures of the Hereafter. Whoever wants pleasure, its continuance, and a good life, should use the pleasure of this worldly life to take him to the pleasure of the Hereafter. That means to use it to dedicate his heart to Allah, His orders, and to worship Him; to use this pleasure as an aid and power to help him fulfill his aim not just some desires. If he was among those who were deprived of the pleasures of this worldly life, he should seek what he missed in the pleasures of the Hereafter and control himself during this life by abandoning in order to gain them all in the Hereafter. The pleasures of this worldly life are the best supporters and helpers for whoever truly seeks Allah and the Hereafter and dedicates his determination to what is in the Hereafter. Missing the pleasures of this life is the best helper for he who seeks Allah and the Hereafter, and whoever enjoys the benefits of life in a way that will not decrease his share of pleasures in the Hereafter, he will enjoy both pleasures but if he does not he will lose everything.

The Results of Abandoning Sins

Glorified be Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. if we consider the results of abandoning sins, we would cease to commit sins. Abandoning sins will result in raising one’s magnanimity, protecting honor, keeping glory, and preserving wealth, which Allah makes for our benefit during this worldly life and the Hereafter, having the love of creatures, judging between them,