Part 8

It [worldly life] is founded on distress yet you want it, Free of harm and distress

One should imagine that what befell him is multiplied, for this is when what he suffers will be easier on him. It is a habit of smart porters to put something heavy on top of what they are carrying, and then after taking a few steps, to remove the heavy object as

that makes what they are carrying feel lighter.

One should also wait, in times of prosperity for an attack of tribulation, so that if any tribulation befalls him, he should think of what remains instead of what he has lost so that when part of that befalls him it becomes very easy on him. Such as when someone loses some money so he counts what remains, and then considers the remaining as a profit. Or if someone imagines that he loses his eyesight, so that when he has ophthalmia, it becomes easy on him to bear this illness, likewise with the rest of harmful matters.

The prudent imagines in himself,

his tribulations before they befall him.

If they suddenly befall him, they do not surprise him because he had already imagined them. And the ignorant trusts the days, and he forgets the demise of those who came before him.

So when trials of times surprise him, with some trials he becomes lost.

Though if he was strict in his affairs,

patience would have taught him boldness

A member of the righteous predecessors said, “I saw a woman, whose youthfulness surprised me, I said, ‘(There is no doubt] This face has never suffered from sorrow ot sadness.’ She said, ‘Do not say that! For I do not know anyone who has suffered from what I have suffered. I had a husband who bought a sacrificial animal and slaughtered it, and we had two sons. The eldest told the one younger than him, ‘Come and I will show you how our father slaughtered the ewe.’ So he slaughtered his brother. When

Abverting Ghamm (Grief) and Hamm (Worry)

we started to look for him, he ran away and my husband died while looking for him.’ I said, ‘So how are you handling your sorrow?” She said, ‘If I could find aid in sorrow I would have employed it.’

Section One: Treating Sorrow, Sadness and Grief

Sorrow, sadness and grief may befall one due the prevalence of blackness, which should be treated with what will remove this blackness; which are the things that bring about joy. Grief freezes the blood while happiness heats it until its intrinsic heat is raised, both of them (happiness and grief) can harm, and may lead to death, if they are not immediately kept within moderate levels.

Averting Excessive Fear and Cautiousness of Death

to the future. A resolute person is he who prepares for

what he fears before it befalls him, and avoids excessive fear of what must inevitably befall him, because (in this case) his fear does not benefit him. Indeed the fear of Allah was so intensified in the hearts of many righteous people that they asked Allah to decrease it. The reason behind asking Allah such is that fear is like a lash; if a camel is lashed continuously it will worry, but the lash should be used when it is lazy in order to motivate it.

| YEAR AND CAUTIOUSNESS OCCUR in matters related

It was narrated that Sufyan al-Thawri told a young man who was sitting with him, “Do you want to fear Allah truly and rightfully?” The young man said, “Yes.” Sufyan said, “You are a fool! If you fear Him truly you would not be able to fulfill the obligatory acts!””'

" Sufyan al-Thawri: ibn Said ibn Masri, Aba ‘Abdullah al-Thawri, one of the great Imams and worshippers of this nation. He was titled ‘The Leader of Believers in Hadith’ and was well versed in safsir. He was the teacher of Abi Hanifah and Malik amongst others and died in the year 161H.

Averting Excessive Fear and Cautiousness of Death

Section One: Excessive Fear

A person of sound mind should not fear illness excessively, because it must inevitably befall him some time during his life and fearing what is inevitable is merely an increase in harm. As for fearing death and thinking about it, it is something that is hard to do but what eases it, is knowing that death is inevitable so caution does not benefit the person in anyway rather it increases one’s cautiousness. Every time a person imagines the intensity of death, he experiences it emotionally, this is why he should not picture death in his mind, he will only die once, not multiple times, and avoiding thinking about it will ease it.

A person should also know that Allah is able to make it easier, if He Wills, and that what is after death is more disturbing than death itself, because death is a bridge that takes us to our eternal dwelling. However, one should frequently think about death to work towards it, not just for the sake of imagination.

If the thought of leaving this life saddens the heart, then the cure is to know that this world is not a dwelling of satisfaction, rather its pleasure and satisfaction is in departing it, therefore this is not something that one should compete to possess. Thus, a wise person is saddened by leaving this life only because of the righteous deeds he will miss performing, and that is why the righteous predecessors used to be saddened by death as well. When Mu‘adh ibn Jabal was on his death bed, he said, “O Allah! You know that I did not love this world and living long in it for the beauty of flowing rivers or for planting trees. Rather for fasting hot days, forbearing in acts of worship for hours and joining scholars in circles of Your remembrance.”

Section Two: Curing the Whispers

When death befalls someone, he should know that it is an hour of serious suffering because it is a moment of severe pain, when he is leaving all objects of love, his loved ones, add to all that the horror of the throes of death and fear of where his wealth will go. Then Shayfan comes and attempts to have the slave [of Allah] become discontent with his Lord, he tells him, ‘Look at you! What made you die? Is it painful? You are leaving your wife, your children and you will be laid under the ground!’ So he might cause him to become discontent with his Lord, hating Allah’s decree, making him say things that include any kind of objection, or he might make him unjust in his will, giving some of the inheritors preference over others, so on and so forth. In this case, we need to cure the whispers of Shayfan and cure the self.

Abia Dawid reported from Abii al-Yusr (radiyAllabu ‘anhu) that the Prophet (8) used to say,

gl ue Sle! gle of ub Sef o

“T seek refuge in You that Shayfén flounders me at death.”?

2 Reported by Aba Dawid 1552-1553, al-Nasa’ [8:283] through the chain of ‘Afla‘ Mawla (emancipated slave) of Abi Ayyab from Abii al-Yusr that the Prophet (4) used to pray, “O Allah! I seek refuge in you from dying under abolishment, not being deliberate, I seek refuge in you from drowning, from burning and from senility, I seek refuge in you that Shayfan flounders me at death, I seek refuge in you that I die while escaping from fighting for Your sake and 1 seek refuge in you from dying because of a sting.”

Al-Khattab said, “His secking refuge in the ‘floundering of Shaysan at death’, that is if Shaytan seizes him when he leaves this world, preventing him from repenting or hinders him from mending his affairs, leaving an injustice or he makes him despair from the mercy of Allah or makes him hate death or be

Aberting Excessive Fear and Cautiousness of Death

In that minute J#ay/an tells his assistants, “If you miss him now [i-e. you do not succeed to lead him astray before he dies], you will never catch him again [i.e. you will never be able to deviate him at any other time].” As for the cure for these trials we should first mention that whoever is mindful of Allah while in good health, Allah will protect him when he is ill, and whoever observes Allah in his thoughts, Allah will protect him when he moves his bodily parts.

Ibn ‘Abbas (radiyAllahu ‘anb) narrated from the Prophet (48) that he said, “Be mindful of Allah and He will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him before you. Know Him while in prosperity, He will know you in distress.””*

You have known the story of Prophet Yinus (Jonah) - when he had previous righteous deeds that enabled his release him from the trial he suffered. Allah, May He be exalted, said,

“Had he not been of them who glorify Allah, He would

sorry for this life, so he becomes discontented with Allah’s decree in dissolution, going to the hereafter, so one has a bad end and he meets his Lord while he is discontented with Him. It was narrated that the Shayfan is never tougher on a man as in death and he tells his assistants: ‘Take this person! if you miss him today you will never catch him again.’ We seck refuge in Allah from his evil, we ask him to bless our death and to have a good end.”

* Reported by al-Tirmidhi 2516, al-Tirmidhi said it is a good authentic hadith.

Also reported by Ahmad [1:307-308] and al-Bayhaqi in Shw‘ub al-imén and alAsma’ wa'l-Sifat p.16. See al-Durar al-Manthr (1:66] and Tafsir ibn-Kathir [7:91].

have indeed remained inside its belly (of the fish) till the Day of Resurrection.”

Due to the fact that Pharaoh had no righteous deeds, he did not find anything that he could attach to at the time of trial, and so it was said to him,

od TA tet eee ete oe “Now (you believed) while you refused to believe before and you were one of the evildoers and corrupters.”

‘Abdul Samad, the ascetic, said on his death bed, “O my Master! For this minute I have kept You [i.e. I preserved Your Mercy so You bestow it upon me at this moment]. Whoever was negligent when in good health will be neglected when sick.”

It was narrated that one of the companions saw an old man begging so he said, “This man was negligent regarding Allah’s orders when he was young, therefore Allah neglected him when he became old.”

The cure for this disease is to encourage the self, to tell it that it is simply a fraction of time that will pass and after it will come the complete rest as the Prophet (4%) said, “No anguish will befall your father after this day.”*