Part 3

In it is the River of Kafur (Camphor), and the River of Tasnim (Water Coming From Above), and the river of Salsabil (Easy to Swallow), and the River of ar-Rahiq al-Maktum (Sealed Nectar). Beyond that are rivers whose number is not known."5 Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Humayd ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Awf from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever hands over two of any type of property in the way of Allah is called to the Garden, with the words, 'O slave of Allah! This is good!' Whoever is among the people of prayer is called from the Gate of Prayer. Whoever is among the people of jihad is called from the Gate of Jihad. Whoever is among the people of sadaqa is called from the Gate of Sadaqa. Whoever is among the people of fasting is called from the Gate of the Well-Watered (Bab ar-Rayyan)." Abu Bakr as-Siddiq said, "O Messenger of Allah! Is it absolutely necessary that one be called from one of these gates? Can someone be called from all of these gates?" He replied, "Yes, and I hope you are among them."6 May you be one of those who may pass through whichever gate you choose! Ahmad Thomson London 1424/2003 5 Daqa'iqu'l-akhbar fi Dhikri'l-Jannati wa'n-Narby Imam 'Abd ar-Rahim ibn Ahmad al-Qadi, pp. 125-6 6 Al-Muwatta' Imam Malik, 21.19.49 AUTHOR'S PREFACE All praise is for Allah. We praise Him and seek His assistance. We ask for His forgiveness and take refuge in Him from the evil within ourselves and from the evil of our deeds. He whom Allah guides will never be diverted, and whomever He sends astray will never find his way. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, Alone — He has no partner — and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger, may Your blessings and peace be on him and on his Family and on his Companions. One of the most important tasks for which the Prophet of this nation, Muhammad, was sent was the purification of the soul. Allah says, speaking of this mission, ( It is He who raised up among the unlettered people a Messenger from them, to recite His Signs to them and purify them and teach them the Book and the Wisdom, even though before that they were clearly misguided. ) (62: 2) So whoever truly hopes for Allah and the Last Day should have a special interest in the purification of his own soul, for Allah has linked the success of His servant with the purity of his soul — after making eleven consecutive oaths. There is not to be found in the Quran another oath such as this. Allah says: ( By the sun and its morning brightness, and the moon when it follows it, and the day when it displays it, and the night when it conceals it and the sky and what erected it and the earth and what extended it, and the self and what proportioned it and inspired it with depravity or taqwa, he who purifies it has succeeded, he who covers it up has failed. ) (91: 1-10) The word tazkia means to purify or to cleanse; the word zakah comes from the same root, since zakah purifies wealth by the recognition of Allah's right over a portion of it. It has now become difficult for us to benefit directly from the books of raqa'iq (books on subjects which affect the emotions) written by the first generations of Muslim scholars. Most of these are large books comprising many volumes and are difficult for most Muslims to have access to; in addition to this they frequently contain weak and fabricated reports. Thus we have set out to compile a collection of the most reliable reports, which have come to us from some of the scholars whose expertise lay in the field of dawah: Imam Shamsudin Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, and Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. It is our sincere desire that this book will be a useful resource and ultimately prove to be of benefit on the Day when neither money nor children will be of benefit — for none will benefit, except for those who come with a pure heart. All Praise is for Allah and all Power is His. He is our Lord and to Him is the end of all journeys. ( Among the muminun there are men who have been true to the contract they made with Allah. Some of them have fulfilled their pact by death and some are still waiting to do so, not having changed in any way at all. ) (33.23) ONE ENJOINING GOOD AND FORBIDDING EVIL Enjoining good and forbidding evil, amr bi'l-ma'ruf wa'n-nahiy an al-munkar, is the pivot and most important principle in Islam and it is the main reason why Allah sent His Prophets and Messengers to His creatures. If this principle is not implemented and put into practice, then prophethood is ineffective, the deen fades away, misguidance, corruption and ignorance prevail, civilizations decline, and nations are destroyed.