Part 1

DAR AS-SUNNAH CLASSIC COLLECTION

SINCERE COUNSEL TO THE SEEKERS OF

Ibn al-jaw2i (4.597 AH)

al-Hafiz Abi’l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi [d. 597AH]

SINCERE COUNSEL to the STUDENTS of SACRED KNOWLEDGE

being a translation of his ‘Laft al-Kabid ila Nasiba alWalad’

Every breath we take is taking us closer to

death. The time we spend in this world is

short, the time we are held in our graves is long, and the punishment for following

our lowly desires is calamitous. IBN AL-JAWZI [D. 597AH]

Sincere Counsel to the Students of Sacred Knowledge

al-Hafiz Abia’l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi

An advice to his son

Abi’l-Qasim Badr al-Din ‘Ali

Explained, with critical notes by Ashraf ibn ‘Abd al-Maqsiid

Translation by Ayman ibn Khilid Edited by Abi Rumaysah

Transliteration tabl. Acknowledgment... Methodology of Verification and Examination.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR al-Imam and al-Hafiz Abt’l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi. His Name and Lineage... His Bitth and Upbringin; His Teachers. His Students. His Children. His Uniqueness as a preache!

BIOGRAPHY OF THE SON, Abi’l-Qasim Badr al-Din ‘Ali ibn al-Jawzi.

Name, Lineage and Birth. Studies and Students. Upbringing and Life with his Father ibn al-Jaw: His Death.

CHAPTER ONE Encouragement and Intimidation Prior to this Beneficial Exhortation...ssssccssssesccsssnessessees38

CHAPTER TWO Obligatory Deeds, Virtuous Voluntary Deeds and High Motivation ....sscscsscssecssseecssneesssesssssssessseeee40

CHAPTER THREE Fear Allah and He Shall Teach You..

Benefiting from Time and Opportunities...48 CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER EIGHT Sacred Knowledge Supersedes all Voluntary Actions

CHAPTER NINE Beware of Pitfalls and Obstacles...

Self Sufficiency... ccccssscssssesccssseeecssssesecsssneeseesssseeeessenes70 CHAPTER ELEVEN

Real Fear of Allah Results to All Good...72 CHAPTER TWELVE

The Lives of Our Pious Predecessors...ssesecsecsereees76 CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Memorization is Your Actual Capital...78

Fulfilling the Rights of Othe...86 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

initial: unexpressed medial and final:

Ci Us Eg Ah

Short: sa +i <u long: lea gta Gel diphthongs: j= aw

All praise is due to Allah with Whose grace all good deeds are realized and the Salah and Salam of Allah be upon His Messenget, his family, his companions and all his loyal followers.

It has been reported by Abii Hurayrah (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) that the Prophet (3g) said:

“He who does not thank the people does not thank Allah .” [Sunan Abi Dawid, 4793]

Hence, I would like to extend my thanks to the team members

of “Barakah House” for their outstanding endeavors and participation in translating and proofreading this book.

Translator Ayman ibn Khilid

All praise is due to Allah; we praise Him, we seek His aid, we seek forgiveness His forgiveness and we ask Him to guide us. We take refuge in Him from the evil of our ownselves and from our evil deeds. Whoever Allah guides, none can lead astray and whoever He misguides, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no true deity save Allah with no associate and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.

SS BAK Ake Pa pote SJE MN AS ea HSV EES

O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one

soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.

obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.

The most veracious discourse is the book of (Qur’4n) and the best of all guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (4g). The worst of affairs are the heresies (those new things which are introduced into the religion), every heresy is an innovation and every innovation is misguidance and all misguidance is in the Fire.

Allah says in His perfected revelation:

Kuh Scaiigien gaat, Be Sor on paar or 2 Se KL LHL Aaa Ae O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe.

The commander of the believers, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (radéyA//ahu ‘anhu). said: “Teach yourselves and your families all that is good.”

Teaching the good to ourselves and our families is one of the most important pillars that would form the foundation upon which early Islamic society was structured. The Muslim nation today cannot prosper without it as it will only be rectified by that which rectified its early part. After all, the pillars of these teachings were set up by the teacher of humanity, sent by Allah as a mercy for the worlds, the teacher of good to the people, Muhammad, the messenger of Allah (3g).

Just look how he watns his beloved daughter Fatima, the first to follow him after his death: “O Fatima, daughter of Muhammad! Save yourself from the Fire, for I cannot protect you from Allah at all.”

The following blessed admonishment that gathers all good in it shines forth brightly when he gives it to his cousin ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbis (radiyAllabu ‘anhuma) the day he was riding behind him: “O Boy - or little boy -, shall I not teach you some words that Allah will make beneficial for you?” I said, “Please do so!” He said, “Safeguard Allah and He will safeguard you. Safeguard Allah and you will find Him in front of you. Be conscious of Allah at times of ease and He shall look after you when times are hard.

' Sahih report: al-Hakim (4/494), al-Khatib in a/-Fagih wa’lMutafaggib (1/47), al-Sam‘ani in Adab al-Umala’ wa'l-Istimla’, p. 2.

Al-Hakim commented on this report: “Sahih, fulfilling the conditions of alBukhari and Muslim though they did not relate it”, and this is the case.

? Sahih Muslim: Book of Amn, Chapter: His saying, “And warn your close relatives”, (204, 348), from Abii Hurayrah.

When you ask, ask Allah, and when you seek aid, turn to Allah. The pen has dried having written all that is to be. Should each and every created being try to harm you in a way that Allah has not written for you, they will not be able to do so. Know that patience in the face of disliked things contains great good, victory comes with patience, relief follows hardship and difficulty and ease go hand in hand.”””>

From this wonderful admonishment Ibn ‘Abbas (radiyAllabu ‘anhumd) benefited greatly, becoming the great Imam that he was: the scholar of his time, the interpreter of the Qur’an and the cultivator of our nation.

As for today, we are about to read the splendid admonishment of an Imam whose name is well known to all and who rightly deserves to be called the preacher of horizons and the pride of Iraq. Many indeed are the eyes that have shed tears after reading it, the hearts it has softened and great indeed is the benefit it contains. Through it the heedless wakes up, the ignorant comes to know and the sinner decides to repent. How excellent is his speech and oratory! He is the one who says: “Be merciful to a tear that is dropping for what it missed from you, and a heart burning due to your farness from it. My God, my God! My knowledge of Your grace makes me avid for You, my certainty of Your Ascendancy [i.e. violent punishment] makes me lose hope of You, and every time I lift the veil of yearning to Your presence, my shyness of You does not allow me. My God! To You and by You I humble myself, and towards You I direct.”

May Allah have mercy on Ibn al-Jawzi, be pleased with him and

* Sahih: See p. 25 for more details.

gather us all as members of the saved and victorious group.*

Glory be to You, O Allah, and You we praise. ] bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except You, seeking Your forgiveness and repenting to You.

Ashraf ‘Abd al-Maqsid Isma‘iliyya, Friday 26" Safar, 1409 A.H.

* May Allah guide me and you as we read the following words of al-Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi in Said a/-Khdtir, p. 236 and contemplate on how he was; ‘I sat down one day and looked around me, saw more than 10 000 people, emotions were high and some were shedding tears. J thought to myself: ‘How will you be if they achieve salvation and you don’t?” This made me cry out: ‘My Lord and deity! Should You sentence me to be punished tomorrow, do not let them know of this! I ask this not for me but in order for them not to doubt Your grace and say: ‘Does He punish someone who calls to Him?” ef. Ibn Rajab, Lata’if al: ‘Ma‘arif, p. 171 for moe information,

Methodology of Verification and Examination

In this edition of the book I have done the following:

Referencing the Qur’anic verses.

2. Referencing each hadith attributed to the Prophet (4g) and

mentioning its level of authenticity. If a hadith can be found in one or both of Bukhari and Muslim, I have sufficed with attributing the hadith to them as this automatically indicates that the hadith is authentic. This is also the methodology of al-Hiafiz al-‘Iraqi in his critical hadith analysis of Tpya’ ‘Ulim al-Din. These notes are brief in order to ensure that the reader doesn’t get distracted from the actual content of the book.

. Including biographies of the famous people mentioned in

the book and mentioned some of their life-conditions.

. Adding a heading for each section of the book as appropri-

. Commenting on some parts of the text as needed. These

comments revolve around asceticism, academic notes, and details of fine conduct.

. Adding the vocals for the hadiths, other reports and poetry

Methodology of Verification and E:xamination

mentioned in the book as well as some individual words that occur in it.’ The copy I have relied on was printed by al-Matba’a al-Salafiyya in Cairo. This book has been printed numerous times. al-Matba’a al-Sunna al-Muhammadiyya has done so with the verification work done by Sh. Hamid alFata, may Allah have mercy on him, and this print can be found in the Min Dafa’in al-Kuniz collection. We also have the al-Matba’a al-Salafiyya, Cairo print, which was worked on by Sh. Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib, may Allah have mercy on him, the Maktaba Hamidu, Alexandria print with the verification work done by Dr. Fu’ad ‘Abd al-Mun‘im Ahmad. There is also the print of al-Maktaba al-Islami with the verification of Dr. Mirwan al-Qabbini, among others.