Part 4

’ 7 OU SHOULD KNOY, my son, may Allah guide you to what is right, that man has been distinguished by intellect only so that he would act according to it. Bring it to

the fore, use it in contemplation and spend time alone with yourself. You will conclude that you are a created being who has responsibilities and obligations and that the two angels are counting your every word and glance. Every breath is a step 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 base desires is calamitous.

Where is the delight of yesterday? It has departed leaving only regret in its wake. Where is the soul’s desire? How many has it brought low, how many has it caused to slip and falter? People have only attained happiness by going against their lusts and desires. People have only become wretched by giving preference to the life of this world. Learn from the lives of kings and ascetics: where is the delight of the kings and where is the weariness of

Encouragement and Intimidation Prior to this Beneficial Exchortation

the ascetics? The only thing left is the abundant reward and beautiful mention for the pious, and the malicious words and calamitous punishment for the disobedient. It is as if those who starved never starved and those who ate to their fill never did so. Laziness in virtuous deeds is an evil companion indeed, and love of comfort causes regret greater than any enjoyment. So take heed and tire yourself for your self.

Know, that performing the obligatory and avoiding the forbidden is a must; whenever a person transgresses the limits let him beware of the Fire. Then know that aspiring to virtuous deeds is the highest goal of those who strive yet virtuous deeds vary in status and ranks; some people consider them to mean abstaining from worldly vanities and others think they stand for dedicating oneself for worship. The truth, however, is that complete virtue is nothing but joining knowledge with action. When these two are combined they raise a person to the level of truly knowing the Creator, Exalted and Most High, causing him to love, fear and yearn for Him. This is the true goal. People also vary in determination: not everybody who wants is wanted and not everybody who seeks finds what he is looking for. Still, everyone must strive to reach their goals because “evetyone is eased towards what he is cteated for.“

Allah is the source of all help.

“ The wording of this sentence is a sahih hadith of the Prophet (48) from ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (al-Bukhati: Kitab al-Jana’iz, 1362, Chapter: Preaching by the grave while one’s companions are sitting around oneself, 1362, Muslim: Kitab al-Qadr, Chapter: How man was created, 2647, 6).

Obligatory Deeds, Virtuous Voluntary Deeds and High Motivation

tion to is knowing Allah, Most High, through His signs. It

is obvious that anyone who sees how the sky has been raised and the earth laid out, and observes how perfectly different things - especially his own body - have been made, knows that every construction must have a maker and everything built must have a builder.

T= FIRST THING A PERSON SHOULD pay atten-

Then he should contemplate the proofs of the Messenger’s (4g) truthfulness. The greatest of which is the Qur’an, which Allah declared to be inimitable by man even if they would only attempt to compose one Surah like it. Once he is certain of the Creator’s existence and the truthfulness of the Messenger (3g), he has to submit to the Sacred Law because not submitting to the Sacred Law is indicative of corrupt belief.

After this he must know the obligatory things related to Wud‘ (ablution), Salah (prayer), Zakah (obligatory alms) - if he has wealth

Obligatory Deeds, Virtuous Voluntary Deeds and High Motivation

-, Hajj (pilgrimage) and other obligatory actions. Once he has learned the obligatory parts of these, he must implement them.

He must also know enough Arabic grammar and commonly used language to speak properly.

Jurisprudence is the basis of all sciences, but reminding of the afterlife is the sweetest and most beneficial on a more general scale, Praise be to Allah, for by His grace I have been able to compose some books in these fields that spare you the need of looking into the books of past scholars or any other books for that matter*' This being the case, there is no need for you to search for books or to focus your efforts in authoring them. The ambition or aspiration of a person only falters or fails if it is weak and feeble; when it is lofty, you will never be satisified with anything less.

Evidence tells you that high aspiration and determination is in man’s innate nature. It is only during certain times that these are weak, and they only need to be encouraged to be strong again. When you find yourself incapable, ask The Benefactor, and when you feel indolent, turn to the Giver of opportunity. You will only

*\ Al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi said in (Tathkirat al-Huffaz, 1344): “I do not know of a scholar who has written what this man has.”

achieve good by obeying Him, and no good will bypass you except due to your disobedience. Have you not seen that obedient ones always reach their goals! And have you not seen that disobedient never succeed or achieve their goals! Have you not heard the poet say”:

By Allah, never have I come to visit you Except that the earth compacted before me. T have never resolved to leave your door Except that J tripped over my garment’s tail.

Fear Allah and He Shall Teach You

BSERVE, MY SON, the way you deal with the limits

of Allah and see how you can keep yourself within their

bounds. Indeed, he who takes care of these limits is taken care of, and he who doesn’t, is left to himself. I shall now mention some of my expetiences to you so that you may observe my striving and ask the Granter of success to bless me. Truly, most of the blessings I have been given have not been earned by me but rather they are conferred as a result of the planning of The Gentle One alone.

I remember myself as a child: A highly motivated six-year old sitting in class with older boys.** The intellect I had been given

* Al-Hafiz ibn al-Jawzi about his high motivation in different places of Said a/- Khatirand we shall mention some of it here (238): “Never has a man been tried with anything greater than his high ambitions. This is because a person who has high ambitions will choose the highest goals and it may be that he doesn’t have enough time to achieve them or his instruments are too weak so he remains in constant suffering, | have been given this ambition in some regards and suffer because of it. | am not saying that I wish it would have not been given to me, for the sweeter the life the less the intellect; and an intelligent man does not purchase additional pleasure for deficient intellect.” He also said (239):

superseded that of old men. I do not recall myself playing on the road with other kids or ever laughing out loud“.

When I was seven or so, I attended the gatherings in the Masjid. I would not sit in a citcle of mere wordplay, but searched for a hadith scholar who would narrate about the Prophet’s (38) life. I would memorize everything he said, then go back home and write it down. I was blessed for being granted my teacher Abii al-Fadl ibn Nasir, may Allah bestow His Mercy upon him,** who would take me to different scholars and let me hear the Musnad [of Imam

“Llooked at my high ambition and was amazed by it: I want to gain knowledge of things I’m sure I can never gain knowledge of because I would love to learn every single science in great detail. Truth is, however, that learning just a portion of that takes more than a lifetime.” He also tells how he still had these ambitions as a grownup (250, 251): “I was given an extremely high ambition. I grew up and never achieved what I hoped for. I began asking Allah for a long life, strong body and the achievement of my goals. The customs and habits of people renounced what I was doing and said: “No custom exists in what you seek.” I replied, saying: “I only ask from One who is able to go beyond customs.”

“ For verification of this, refer to: Ibn Kathir, a/-Bidayah wa'l-Nihayah, 13/29.

“ The Imam, Muhaddith and Hafiz, Mufid al-‘Iraq, Abu al-Fad! Muhammad ibn Nasir ibn Mahammad ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Amm al-Salami from Baghdad (467551). Al-Hafiz ibn al-Jawzi benefitted in the field of hadith by accompanying this Imam as indicated by Dhahabi (Siyar al-A ‘lim al-Nubuld’, 21/367) and confirmed by al-Hafiz ibn al-Jawzi himself (a/-Muntagam, 10/163). Al-Dhahabi also related this from him (a+Mixan, 20/267), saying: “He said: ‘Our shaikh was reliable, a man of good memory and precision. He was from Abl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah and had not faults worth mentioning. He was responsible of hearing me. I heard the Musnad of Ahmad and the major books in his reading and it was he whom I took the science of hadith from. He would remember Allah a lot and was quick to shed tears.’ For his biography, refer (o: Siyar al-A‘Vam alNubula’, 20/265, Tathirat al-Huffaz, 3/1289, Managib Abmad, 530, 531, Mirat al-Zamin, 8/138, Thail Tabagat al-Hanabila, 1/225-229, al-Bidéyah wa'l.Nihayab,

Fear Allah and He Shall Teach You

Ahmad] and other major works. All this time I had no idea of why I was made to do these things. My teacher recorded all I had heard, and when I reached puberty he handed me this record. I accompanied him till his death, and through him I learned the science of hadith and transmission.