Part 4

They alert creation to their complete need for Allah; Continuously fearing a decrease in their faith.

Their hearts turning away from all distractions; Completely emptied of other than the Most-Merciful.

Their movements, concerns and their resolves; Are all for Allah, not creation, nor the Devil.

The best of friends is the seeker of these paths; Which leads to acquiring goodness and ihsan.

ALL PRAISE BE TO ALLAH, Lord of the worlds. May Allah extol and send blessings and peace upon Muhammad; and upon his Family, Companions and followers.

These are some brief, but beneficial comments to my poem regarding ‘The Journey to Allah and the Home of the Afterlife; explaining its meanings and clarifying its premises. The poem encapsulates the main stations (mandzil) for the wayfarers to Allah, which should lead them to the Gardens of Delight and to the closeness of the Munificent Lord. It should also safeguard them from the torment of the Hellfire and from the anguish of being veiled [from Allah]. I beseech Allah by His benevolence and bounty that He cause this work to be purely for His Face and for drawing closer to Him.

Realise that what is intended by worship (‘ibadah) is to serve Allah, have gnosis (ma‘rifah) of Him, love Him, continually turn to Him in repentance, and to traverse the paths that lead to the abode of eternal peace (dar al-salam).

Most people are overwhelmed by their sensual pleasures and are subjugated by their carnal desires and habits. They give no importance to this matter at all, nor attempt to make it their basis. On the contrary, they turn away from worship and instead pre-occupy themselves with their carnal desires. They abandon it and instead dedicate themselves to their [worldly] pursuits. They do not prevent themselves in order to make up for the time they have squandered. So in their ignorance and oppression they are confused; with their soul’s desires they are diverted from being devoted to Allah; concerning their Lord’s remembrance they are heedless; in their religious practice they are remiss; and in the drunken love of their habits they [blindly] wander:

Those who forgot Allah, so He caused them to forget their

ownselves; such are the corrupt ones. [al-Hashr 59:19]

None take heed of this dire neglect and this enormous calamity except for the few who possess intelligence and nobility. They realise that the greatest loss lies in being pre-occupied with that which produces nothing for its doer except perdition and misery. Therefore they prefer the perfect to the imperfect; they trade the ephemeral for the eternal; and

they bear the burden of legal responsibility (taklif) and worship until it becomes a source of delight for them and a part of their very nature, by which they become leaders. So listen attentively to their description, and seek the help of Allah in adorning yourselves with their traits:

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1 - Fortunate are those who avoid the destructive paths; Intending the stations of Allah’s good pleasure.

This is the foundation of their path and the principle course of their party, in that: they avoid the paths of [spiritual] loss and anguish and intend the paths of Allah's good pleasure. They avoid the paths of Satan and intend to be worshippers of the Most-Merciful. They avoid the paths of the blazing Fire and intend the paths of eternal bliss. They abandon evil and do good. They keep their hearts, tongues and limbs away from prohibited and repugnant actions, and instead busy themselves with obligatory and praiseworthy actions. They adorn themselves with beautiful character and purge themselves of all reprehensible traits.

THE STATION OF SINCERITY

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2 - Those who journey with the utmost sincerity;

Following the legislation by which faith is measured.

These two principles, sincerity (ikhlas) and conformity (mutaba‘ah), are a prerequisite for every act of worship, inward or outward, to be valid, Every act that is not done intending the Face of Allah is futile; and every act that does not conform to the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is rejected.

It is only when an action combines sincerity for the One being worshipped - which means intending to seek the Face of Allah when performing the action - and conformity with the Messenger - by doing

1. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said in Madarij al-Salikin (2/68):“Allah said: He Who created death and life, to test which of you are best in action. [al-Mulk 67:2] Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad said [about this verse]:"It is what is most sincere and most correct. They asked: 0 Abii ‘Ali, what is most sincere and most Correct? He replied: ‘An action, if it is sincere but not correct, will not be accepted. If itis correct but not sincere, it will [also] not be accepted; until it is both sincere and correct. Sincere means that it is exclusively for Allah, and correct means that it conforms to the Sunnah.”

those actions that have been prescribed and legislated - that an action becomes acceptable.2

2. Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said in Madarij al-Salikin (2/70): “It has been said: ‘Sincerity is to forget the creation seeing you because of continually looking towards the Creator. Whoever adorns himself before the people with what he does not possess, has fallen from Allah's grace’ From the words of Fudayl are: ‘Leaving an action for people’s sake is ostentation (riya’), whereas doing an action for people’s sake is shirk. Sincerity is where Allah saves you from both of these’ Al-Junayd said: ‘Sincerity is a secret (sir) between Allah and His servant which not even the angel knows so as to record it; nor does Satan know so as to corrupt it; nor is the desire (haw) aware of it so as to influence it? It was said to Sahl: What is the hardest thing upon the ego (nafs)? He replied: Sincerity, because the ego has no share of it?”

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said about conformity (2/348): “The master of the spiritual faction (sayyid al-fa’ifah) and their shaykh - Al-Junayd ibn Muhammad, may Allah's mercy be upon him - said:“The paths, all of them are closed to the creation, except for one who emulates the footsteps of the Messenger; may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him? He [also]said: ‘Whoever does not memorise the Qur’an nor record the hadith should not be followed in this matter, because our science is confined to the Book and the Sunnah.’ ... Ab0 Sulayman al-Darani, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: Indeed a word of wisdom occurs to my heart as it does to the nation [of the righteous}, but I do not accept it until it is supported by two just witnesses: the Book and the Surinah.’”

THE STATION OF FEAR AND HOPE

pee Sake Ise Gall ay gba SAL bel Gg 3 - Those who build the stations of their journey; Between being fearful and being hopeful.

Meaning that in their journey they attach themselves to reverential fear (khawf) and hope (raja’) in all their affairs, clinging to them. They do this by inspecting their own faults regarding [the fulfilment of] Allah's rights, which induces fear in them, and by reflecting upon Allah's bounties and kindness upon them, which instills hope in them.>

They reflect over Allah's Attributes of greatness, magnificence, wisdom and justice; which induces fear in them, and they reflect upon the Divine Attributes of mercy, munificence, generosity and kindness; having hope in what they necessitate. So when they do an act of goodness, they combine between having fear and hope; hoping for its acceptance,

. Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said (1/390): “The heart, in its journey to Allah, Majestic is He, is like that of a bird: love is its head, and fear and hope are its two wings. When the head and two wings are sound, the bird flies gracefully; if the head is severed, the bird dies; if the bird loses one of its wings, it then becomes a target for every hunter or predator.”

but fearing that it will be rejected. If they do an act of evil, they fear being punished, but hope in being forgiven by the Grace of Allah.

Between fear and hope they fluctuate; to them they constantly turn to seek shelter; and from them the affairs of their journey alternate. Indeed they are the ones who succeed with flying colours; they are the ones who are victorious.4

4. Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah sanctify his soul, said (2/27-28) whilst explaining the distinction between true hope and mere wishful thinking (tamanni):

“The difference between it and mere wishful thinking is that mere wishful thinking involves laziness wherein the person neither exerts himself, nor strives [to achieve what he wishes for]. Hope, however, entails striving, exertion and beautiful reliance The first is like the one who wishes that the earth would plant and sow its own seeds for him. The second is like the one who [actually] tills the soil, plants the seeds and then hopes that crops will grow. This is why the gnostics (‘arifan) are agreed that hope is not correct, except if accompanied by action, Shah alKirmani said: “The sign of sound hope is good obedience? And hope is of three types; two are praiseworthy and one type is blameworthy and mere delusion. The first two are the hope of a person who does an act of obedience for Allah, upon a light from Allah, hoping in its reward; and like someone who commits a sin, then repents from it, hoping for Allah's forgiveness, pardon, kindness, magnanimity, clemency and generosity. The third type] is ike a person who persists in sinning and transgressing the limits, yet hopes for Allah's mercy without doing any action [to warrant it]. This is delusion, mere wishful thinking and false hope”

THE STATION OF LOVE

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4 - Those whose hearts the Divine has filled; With devotion to Him and love for the Most-Merciful.

This station - which is the station of love (mahabbah) - is the bedrock of all stations; from it spring every righteous actions, all beneficial deeds and all the lofty stations.>

Love refers to the heart being attached to the beloved such that it needs this love and cannot do without it. This requires that the lover withold from all that the Beloved detests and hasten towards all that the Beloved is pleased with, doing so readily, willingly and eagerly. If he speaks, he speaks for Allah. If he remains silent, he does so for Allah. If he moves, it is for Allah. If he remains still, it is for Him. This love then gives rise toa yearning and a restlessness for Allah, such that the lover never feels settled [unless in His devotion].