Part 2

Commenting upon this verse, Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: ‘Allah, Transcendant is He, made guidance dependant upon jihad. The most perfect of people with regards guidance are those that perform jihad the most. The most obligatory jihad is the jihad against the ego (nafs), capriciousness (hawd), the Devil (shaytan), and the world (dunya). Whoever wages jihad for Allah’s sake against these four, Allah will guide to the paths of His good pleasure, which in turn lead to His Paradise. Whoever leaves jihad, forfeits guidance in proportion to what he leaves of it?!0

So a vital aspect of a servant's sulitk is engaging in an inner struggle in order to attain a deep conviction in the shari‘ah truths, remove sluggishness, make compliance with its rules easy and spontaneous, and to eradicate the ego’s opposition. Put simply, it is to carry out the shari‘ah commands, persevere in it, and to do so sincerely and with presence of

9, Jami‘ al-‘Ulam wa'l-Hikam (1/128-129).

heart. Furthermore: ‘Suliik is; as Ibn Taymiyyah explained: ‘of two types: [Firstly] the suliak of the Righteous (abrar), the companions of the right hand, which is fulfilling what is obligatory and forsaking what is forbidden, both inwardly and outwardly. Secondly, the sulak of the Ones Brought Near (mugarrabin), the fore-runners, which involves fulfilling the obligatory and the recommended, as best as possible, and leaving the forbidden and the disliked?!!

The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “Allah, Exalted is He, said: Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, | shall be at war with him. My servant does not draw closer to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him, and My servant continues to draw closer to Me with voluntary deeds so that Tove him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears; his seeing with which he sees; his hand with which he strikes; and his foot with which he walks? !2

Once again we are returned to the station of isdn, as Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy upon him, explained:

‘Whenever a person strives in drawing closer to Allah, Exalted is He, by {performing} the obligatory deeds, then the optional ones, Allah draws him closer to Himself and raises him from the degree of faith to that of ihsan. Here he begins to worship Allah, witnessing His presence and having vigilance, as if he sees Him. His heart fills with gnosis of Allah, and with love, reverence, fear, grandeur, awe, intimacy and yearning of Him - to the extent that the heart is so filled with gnosis of Him, that it sees Him with the eye of spiritual perception. !>

11. Majma‘ Fatawa (19/274). 12. Recorded by al-Bukhari (n0.6502).

13. Jami al-Ulim wa'l-Hikam (2/345-346).

Finally, as the servant embodies and internalises obedience to Allah, and as his spirit is elevated and his ego debased, he is filled with a deep concern for people’s welfare and for being in their service; aiding, guiding, counselling, and supplicating for them. It is here, in the absence of the ego, that the effusions of true altruism pour forth from the servant, exemplifying the Prophetic concern and conduct.

The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “He has relished the taste of faith who is pleased with Allah as Lord, with Islam as Religion, and with Muhammad as Messenger”!4

He sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam also said: “There are three things which, if they are present in anyone, will cause him to taste the sweetness of faith: that Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to him than all else; that he loves others only for the sake of Allah; and that he should hate to revert to disbelief after Allah has saved him from it, just as he would hate to be cast into a blazing fire?!5

The heart, when it is truly sincere in its servitude (‘ubiidiyyah) to Allah, is given to taste such sweetness, and experience such delight, that nothing besides this servitude is held more beloved to it. For the spiritually sound heart finds nothing sweeter, more blissful, or gratifying to it than the sweetness of faith (iman), which is born out of the labours of its gnosis, love and servitude to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. Imam Tbn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

‘If you do not find the deed producing a sweetness or expansion in your heart, then blame it. For the Lord, Exalted is He, is indeed appreciative’

14, Recorded by Muslim (no.34). 15, Recorded by al-Bukhairi (no.21) and Muslim (no.43).

Meaning that He will reward the doer of the deed in this world with experiencing sweetness, expansion and delight in his heart. Whenever one does not find this occurring, then the deed is defective.!6

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, elaborated upon this state of bliss and delight experienced by the sincere servant; he said: ‘There is no [true] bliss, nor any delight, joy, or completeness for him, except in knowing Allah, loving Him, being tranquil in the remembrance of Him, feeling delighted in drawing closer to Him and in yearning to meet Him; this being the paradise of the worldly life. Likewise, there is no delight or success for him in the Afterlife, except with his being enveloped in the Abode of Bliss in the Paradise of the next life. So there are for him two paradises, he will not enter the latter without first entering the former.

Theard Shaykh'l-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah sanctify his soul, saying: Indeed there is a paradise in this world, whoever does not enter it will not enter the Paradise of the Afterlife’

One of the gnostics said: “There are times that pass over the heart about which I say: If the people of Paradise are in the likes of this [state], then what a wonderful life they are in?

One of the lovers [of Allah] said:‘The poor people of this world have left it without having tasted the sweetest thing in it? They asked: What is the sweetest thing in it? He replied: ‘Love of Allah, intimacy with Him, yearning to meet Him, drawing closer to Him, and turning away from everything other than Him} or words similar to it. Indeed, anyone with

life in their heart affirms this and experiences its taste?!”

16. Quoted by Ibn al-Qayyim, Madarij al-Salikin (2/51).

17. Madarij al-Salikin (1/344).

The Beautific Vision Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said:

For those who act with excellence is the greatest good, and even more. [Yanus 10:26]

This greatest good’ is a reference to Paradise, whilst this ‘even more’ is a reference to gazing at the Face of Allah.!8 For the servant, having lived his life in the pursuit of Allah’s good pleasure and having striven to worship Him in this world as though seeing Him, is then rewarded by Allah in the Afterlife with Paradise and its delights, the greatest of which is the beautific vision of Allah. The Prophet of Mercy, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, informed us:

“When the people of Paradise enter Paradise and those of Hell enter Hell, a herald shall call out, saying: 0 people of Paradise! Your Lord has undertaken a promise to you which He wishes to fulfill upon you. They will inquire: ‘What might that promise be? Has he not made heavy our scales, whitened our faces, brought us into Paradise and delivered us from Hell?’ Then the veil shall be lifted and they shall gaze upon Him. By Allah! They will not have been given anything more beloved to them than looking at Him.!9

0 Lord! I seek Your forgiveness for speaking about matters for which I am not from its people. 0 Allah! We seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your anger; in Your forgiveness from Your chastisement; and in You from You. 0 Allah! Grace us with a fervent desire to meet You and with the delight of gazing at Your Face.

18, Consult: al-Tabari, Jami‘ al-Bayan ‘an Ta’ wil al-Qur an (6/549); al-Sam‘ani, Tafsir al-Qur an (2/378-379); al-Baghawi, Ma‘dlim al-Tanzil (4/130).

19. Recorded by Muslim (no.181).

HERE, THREE ASPECTS OF THE BOOK shall be discussed: its author, its theme, and its translation.

The author is ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Nasir ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Hamad alSa‘di, from the tribe of Bani Tamim. He was born on the 12th of Muharram, 1307H/1889CE, in the city of ‘Unayzah, situated in the province of al-Qasim; central Saudi Arabia. He was orphaned at a young age; his mother passing away when he was only four, and his father when he was seven. His older brother, Hamad, was then entrusted with his care and upbringing.

By the age of twelve Shaykh al-Sa‘di had completed the memorisation of the Qur’an, after which his pursuit for knowledge of the Sacred Law began in earnest.He studied the traditional disciplines at the hands of anumber of senior scholars of the land; from them:

1 - Shaykh Ibrahim al-Jasir. Born in 1241H, he first studied locally, then went to Syria to further his studies. Shaykh Ibrahim was well-known for his good manners, scrupulousness and generosity. He was also blessed with a lengthy life, passing away at the age of ninety-seven.

20. This biographical sketch is based upon: al-Ramyan, al-Juhitd al-Da‘awiyyah wall ‘Imiyyah lil-Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sa‘dt (pp.15-60).

Under him Shaykh al-Sa‘di studied Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), jurisprudence (figh) and the science of Prophetic traditions (hadith).

2 - Shaykh Salih ibn ‘Uthman al-Qadi. Born in ‘Unayzah in 1282H, he travelled to Egypt to study at the famous al-Azhar university, where he was granted authorization (‘ijazah) in a number of subjects. Under him Shaykh al-Sa‘di studied theology (tawhid), tafsir, figh, fundamentals of jurisprudence (usal al-figh) and grammar.

3 - Shaykh ‘Ali ibn Nasir Aba Wadi. He first studied in ‘Unayzah and Riyadh, and then travelled to India to study under the hadith scholars, obtaining numerous authorizations in this field. Under him Shaykh alSa‘di learnt hadith and tafsir.

4 - Shaykh ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘A’id al-Harbi. He was born in 1249H in the city of Unayzah. He travelled to the Hijaz province and also to Egypt in his quest for knowledge. From him Shaykh al-Sa‘di learnt figh, usil al- ‘figh and the disciplines connected with the Arabic language.

Shaykh al-Sa‘di, may Allah have mercy upon him, was known for his worship, character, and abstinence from worldliness. Shaykh Salih ibn “Abd al-‘Aziz al-‘Uthaymin remarked: ‘The deceased - may Allah have mercy upon him - was exceptional with regards to his excellent conduct and his humility to both young and old. He was a person of worship, abstinence and scrupulousness, as well as a jurist (fagih), traditionalist (muhaddith), exhorter (wa iz), orator (Khatib), linguist and author; he combined within him knowledge of a variety of disciplines.”