Wasting Time

Wasting time is worse than death, because wasting time disconnects you from Allah and the Hereafter, while death disconnects you from this worldly life and its people.

(Al-Fawaa'id by Ibn Qayyim) 

Killing Time

Study Tips

Study Tips

Bees and Ants

"The bees are divided into groups, one of which stays with the [queen] and never leaves [her]. Another group makes wax, which is made from the dregs of honey and is sweet like figs. The bees take great care of this, more than they do with the honey. They clean it and purify it from any contamination such as urine and the like. Another group builds the houses, another group brings water, carrying it on their backs. A third group sweeps the hive and cleans it of any dead bodies (of bees). If they see a slow, lazy bee, they kill it so that it cannot corrupt the other workers and infect them with its idleness and laziness." ('Belief in Allah' by 'Umar S. al-Ashqar, pg183)

"The ant is one of the most careful creatures whose caution is proverbial. It is mentioned that when Sulayman (Solomon) saw how cautious the ant was and how careful it was to store food, he brought out an ant and asked it how much does an ant eats each year? It said, three grains of wheat. So he ordered that the ant should be placed in a bottle, and be given three grains of wheat , and the bottle should be sealed and left after a year.  When the year had passed, he commanded that the bottle should be opened, and he found one and a half grains of wheat left. He said, 'Did you not claim that you needed three grains of wheat per year?'

The ant said, 'Yes, but when I saw that you were very busy with the affairs of your own kind, I thought of how much my life was left, and I realized that it was longer than the time you had allocated for me, so I limited myself to eating half the food, and I left half in order to ensure my survival...' "  ('Belief in Allah' by 'Umar S. al-Ashqar, pg199-200)

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Reflections relevant to work

• Each group/department/person in the working environment has a delegated role/function to play to ensure continuity of operations - do not short change these roles/functions (i.e. under-staff, employees to take on multiple roles) to ensure quality of product.
• Always give 110% when producing a product - maintain high standards, constant evaluation and improvements.
• Cut off any dead weight immediately.
• Be prepared for emergencies/ 'thunderstorms' - be cautious of the budget, less expenditure - to ensure survival.

Sahih Bukhari, Vol 1, Hadith no. 15

Narrated by Anas radiyAllahuanhu: The Prophet sallaAllahu alayhi wassallam said -

"Whoever possesses the following 3 (qualities) will have the sweetness (delight) of faith:

1. The one whom Allah 'Azza wa jal and His Messenger (Muhammad sallaAllahu alayhi wassallam) become dearer than anything else.
2. Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's sake.
3. Who hates to revert to kufr (disbelief) as he hates to be thrown in the fire."

Surah An-Nahl, Verse 128

Surah An-Nahl, Verse 128:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوا وَّالَّذِينَ هُم مُّحْسِنُونَ
 Truly, Allah is with those who fear Him (keep their duty unto Him), and those who are Muhsinun (good-doers).

Narrated by Abu Hurairah radiyAllahu anhu:

Allah’s Messenger sallaAhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “The deeds of anyone of you will not save you [from the (Hell) Fire].” They said, “Even you will not be saved by your deeds), O Allah’s Messenger?” He said, “No, even I (will not be saved) unless and until Allah bestows His Mercy on me and protects me with His Gtace. Therefore, do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, amd worship Allah in the forenoon and in the afternoon and during a part of the night, and always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course whereby you will reach your target (Paradise).”

(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol 8, Hadith No. 470)

A friend will not literally share your struggles...

Advice from the great scholar Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah):

A friend will not (literally) share your struggles, and a loved one cannot physically take away your pain, and a close one will not stay up the night on your behalf. So look after yourself, protect yourself, nurture yourself and don’t give life’s events more than what they are really worth. Know for certain that when you break no one will heal you except you, and when you are defeated no one will give you victory except your determination. Your ability to stand up again and carry on is your responsibility. Do not look for your self worth in the eyes of people; look for your worth from within your conscience. If your conscience is at peace then you will ascend high and if you truly know yourself then what is said about you won’t harm you.

Do not carry the worries of this life because this is for Allah. And do not carry the worries of sustenance because it is from Allah. And do not carry the anxiety for the future because it is in the Hands of Allah.

Carry one thing: How to Please Allah. Because if you please Him, He Pleases you, fulfills you and enriches you.

Do not weep from a life that made your heart weep. Just say, “Oh Allah compensate me with good in this life and the hereafter.”

Sadness departs with a Sajdah. Happiness comes with a sincere Du’a. Allah Does Not forget the good you do. nor Does He Forget the good you did to others and the pain you relieved them from. Nor Will He Forget the eye which was about to cry but you made it laugh.

Live your life with this principle: Be good even if you don’t receive good, not because for other’s sake but because Allah Loves those who do good….

The Past is Gone Forever

“Episodes of the past are finished with, sadness cannot retrieve them, melancholy cannot make things right, and depression will never bring the past back to life. This is because the past is non-existent.”

- ‘Don’t be Sad’ by 'Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni

Remembrance of Allah

1. Narrated by Abu Musa (radiyAllahu anhu): The Prophet sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said “The example of the one who remembers (glorifies the Praises of) his Lord, in comparison to the one who does not remember (glorify the Praises of) his Lord, is that of a living creature compared to a dead one.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

2. Narrated by Abu Hurairah (radiyAllahu anhu): Allah’s Messenger sallaAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam said “Whoever says, Subhan Allahi wa bihamdihi, one hundred times a day, will be forgibven all his sins if they were as much as the foam of the sea.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari).

3. Narrated by Abu Hurairah (radiyAllahu anhu): Allah’s Messenger sallaAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam said “Whoever says: La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu wa Huwa 'ala kulli shai'in Qadir*, one hundred times will get the same reward as given for manumitting ten slaves; and one hundred good deeds will be written in his accounts, and one hundred sins will be deducted from his accounts, and it (his saying) will be shield for him from Satan on that day till night, and nobody will be able to do a better deed except the one who does more than he.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

Surah Hud, Verse 114

Narrated by Ibn Mas'ud radiyAllahu anhu:

A man kissed a woman and then came to Allah’s Messenger sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and told him of that. So this Divine Revelation was revealed to the Prophet sallaAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam - “And perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) at the two ends of the day, and in some hours of the night [i.e. the (five) compulsory Salat (prayers)]. Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (small sins). That is a reminder for the mindful.” (Qur'an 11:114). The man said, “Is this instruction for me only?” The Prophet sallaAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, “It is for all those of my followers who encounter similar situation.”

(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Hadith No. 209).

Today is all that you have

It is reported on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn 'Amr (radiyAllahu anhu) that Allah’s Messenger sallaAllahu 'alayhi wa salam said “… verily, he whose abode will be Paradise, his final deed will be the deeds of the people of Paradise, whatever he did (previously), and verily, he whose destined for the Hell-Fire, his final deed will be of the people of the Hell-Fire, whatever he did (previously).” (Narrated by Ahmad and At-Tirmizi)

Taken from "Don't be Sad" by 'Aadh Ibn Abdullah al-Qami

Great Women of Islam Who were given the good News of Paradise

“One day [‘Aishah bint Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her)] was fasting and a beggar came to her apartment and asked for some food. She told her maid to give the lady the piece of bread they had. The maid answered that there was nothing else with which she could break her fast. 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) answered curtly that she should help the hungry woman and the evening would take care of itself. By the evening, someone sent her a dish of cooked meat; she said to the maid that Allah 'Azza wa jal had provided her with something even better than what she had given away.”

Taken from “Great Women of Islam Who were given the good News of Paradise” by Mahmood Ahmad Ghadanfar.

Miscellaneous Points of Benefit from Ibn al-Qayyim

Miscellaneous Points of Benefit from Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله

1) Six Ettiquettes of Learning [2]

Ibn al-Qayyim[1] - rahimahuLlah- said: “There are six stages to knowledge: Firstly: Asking questions in a good manner. Secondly: Remaining quiet and listening attentively. Thirdly: Understanding well. Fourthly: Memorising. Fifthly: Teaching. Sixthly- and it is its fruit: Acting upon the knowledge and keeping to its limits.” [3]

2) Fruits of Humility

Ibn al-Qayyim - rahimahuLlah - said: [4] One of the Salaf (Pious Predecessors) said: “Indeed a servant commits a sin by which he enters Paradise; and another does a good deed by which he enters the Fire.” It was asked: How is that? So he replied: “The one who committed the sin, constantly thinks about it; which causes him to fear it, regret it, weep over it and feel ashamed in front of his Lord - the Most High - due to it. He stands before Allah, broken-hearted and with his head lowered in humility. So this sin is more beneficial to him than doing many acts of obedience, since it caused him to have humility and humbleness - which leads to the servant’s happiness and success - to the extent that this sin becomes the cause for him entering Paradise. As for the doer of good, then he does not consider this good a favour from his Lord Upon him. Rather, he becomes arrogant and amazed with himself, saying: I have achieved such and such, and such and such . So this further increases him in self adulation, pride and arrogance - such that this becomes the cause for his destruction.”

3) Purifying the Heart

Ibn al-Qayyim - rahimahuLlah- said: “There is no doubt that the heart becomes covered with rust, just as metal dishes - silver, and their like - become rusty. So the rust of the heart is polished with dhikr (remembrance of Allah), for dhikr polishes the heart until it becomes like a shiny mirror. However, when dhikr is abandoned, the rust returns; and when it commences then the heart again begins to be cleansed. Thus the heart becoming rusty is due to two matters: sins and ahafah (neglecting remembrance of Allah ). Likewise, it is cleansed and polished by two things : istighfaar (seeking Allah’s forgiveness) and dhikr.” [5]

4) Jihad Against the Self

Jihad (striving) against the soul has four stages:

Firstly: To strive in learning guidance and the religion of truth, without which there will be no success. Indeed, there can be no true happiness, nor any delight in this world and in the Hereafter, except through it.

Secondly: Striving to act upon what has been learnt, since knowledge without action will not benefit, rather it will cause harm.

Thirdly: Striving to invite others towards it and to teach those who do not know, otherwise he may be considered from those who hide what Allah has revealed of guidance and clear explanation. Such knowledge will neither benefit, nor save a person from the punishment of Allah.

Fourthly: Striving to be patient and persevering against those who oppose this da'wah (call) to Allah and those who seek to cause harm - patiently bearing all these hardships for the sake of Allah.
When these four stages are completed then such a person is considered to be amongst the Rabbaniyyun. The Salaf agreed that a Scholar does not deserve the title of Rabbani until he recognises and knows the truth, acts upon it, and teaches it to others. So whosoever has knowledge, acts upon it, and teaches this knowledge to others, is considered from the Rabbaniyyun.“[6]

5) Trials of the Heart

Ibn al-Qayyim said, whilst commenting upon the following hadeeth: "Trials and tribulations will be presented to hearts, as a reed mat is interwoven stick by stick. Any heart which absorbs these trials will have a black mark put in it. However, any heart that rejects them will have a white mark put in it. The result is that hearts will be of two kinds: one white like a white stone, which will not be harmed by trials as long as the heavens and earth endure; and the other dark and rusty, like an over-turned vessel; not able to recognise the good, nor reject evil, but rather being absorbed with its desires.”[7]

“The fitan (trials) which are presented to the hearts - and which are the cause of its weakness - are: [i] the trials relating to shahwah (false desire) and (ii) the trials relating to shubhah (doubt)… so the first causes intentions and desires to be corrupted, whilst the second causes knowledge and beliefs to be corrupted”. [8] Speaking about such trials, he - rahimahuLlah - said: “Hearts - when exposed to such fitan (trials) - are of two types:

[The first type]: a heart, which, when exposed to such trials, absorbs it like a sponge that soaks-up water, leaving in it a black stain. Such a heart continues to soak-up the various trials that are presented to it, until it becomes dark and corrupted - which is what is meant by "an over-turned vessel. "So when this occurs, two dangerous and deadly diseases take hold of it and plunge it into destruction:

Firstly: confusing good with evil, so it neither recognises the good, nor rejects the evil. This disease may take hold of it to such an extent that it believes good to be evil; and evil to be good, Sunnah to be bid'ah (innovation); and innovations to be the Sunnah. and the truth to be falsehood: and falsehood the truth.

Secondly: judging by its whims and desires, over and against what Allah’s Messenger sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam came with being enslaved by its whims and desires and being led by them also.

[The second type]: a white heart in which the light of Iman is bright and its radiance is illuminating. So when trials are presented to such a heart, it rejects and turns away from them. This further increases its light and illumination and its strength.”[9]

6) Four Principles of Worship

“(The Ayah): "You alone do we worship.” [Surah Al-Fatihah 1:5] is built upon four principles:- Ascertaining what Allah and His Messenger love and are pleased with, from (i) the sayings of the heart and [ii] of the tongue; and (iii) the actions of the heart and [iv] of the limbs.

So al-'ubudiyyah (servitude and slavery to Allah) is a comprehensive term for all these four Stages. The one who actualises them has indeed actualised: “You alone do we worship.”

The saying of the heart: It is i'tiqad (belief) in what Allah - the Most Perfect - informed about His Self; concerning His Names, His Attributes, His Actions, His Angels, and all that He sent upon the tongue of His Messenger sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam.

The saying of the tongue: It is to inform and convey (what Allah has revealed), to call to it, defend it, to explain the false innovations which oppose it, to establish its remembrance and to convey what it orders.

The action of the heart: Such as love for Him, reliance upon Him, repenting to Him, having fear and hope in Him, making the Deen purely and sincerely for Him, having patience in what He orders and prohibits, having patience with what He decrees and being pleased with it, having allegiance and enmity for His sake, humbling oneself in front of Him and having humility in front of Him, becoming tranquil with Him and other than this from the actions of the heart which are actually connected to the action of the limbs … and actions of the limbs without the action of the heart is of little benefit if any benefit at all.

The action of the limbs: Such as Prayer and Jihad, attending the Jumu'ah and being with the Jama'ah, aiding those who are unable and displaying goodness and kindness to the creation, and other than this.“ [10]
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Footnotes:

1. He is Abu 'Abdullah, Shamsud Deen Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr better known as Ibn al-Qayyim (or ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah). He was born in the year 691H in the city of Damascus. From an early age he set about acquiring knowledge and studied under many prominent teachers, the most notable of whom was Shaykhul-lslam Ibn Taymiyyah. His students include the likes of Ibn Katheer, adh-Dhahabi, Ibn Rajab, Ibn 'Abdul-Hadi and others. He authored over ninety books and booklets - all of them being characterised by their touching address to the soul and the heart, as well, as their accuracy, precision and depth of research. Ibn al-Qayyim died on the night of Thursday 13th Rajab at the time of the 'Isha adhan in the year 751H. Testaments about his comprehensive knowledge, firm adherence to the way of the Salaf; excellent manners, worship and zuhd have been given by Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar in ad-Dururul-Kaaminah (3/400), Al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab in Dhayl Tabaqaatul-Hanaabilah(2/447), ash-Shawkaani in al-Badrut-Taali’(2/143-146) and also Al-Hafidh Ibn Katheer who said about him in al-Bidaayah wan-Nihaayah (14/246): "He attained great proficiency in many branches of knowledge, particularly knowledge of Tafseer, Hadeeth and Usool. When Shaykh Taqiyyud-Deen Ibn Taymiyyah returned from Egypt in the year 712H, he stayed with the Shaykh until he died, learning a great deal of knowledge from him; along with the knowledge which he had already occupied himself in obtaining. So he became a singular Scholar in many branches of knowledge. He also continued to seek knowledge greatly day and night and was constant in humbly calling upon his Lord. He recited well and had fine manners. He had a great deal of love and did not harbour any envy for anyone, nor harm anyone, nor seek to find fault with anyone, nor bear any malice towards anyone. I was one of those who most often kept company with him and I was one of the most beloved of people to him. I do not know anyone in the world, in this time, who is a greater worshipper than him. His Salah (Prayer) used to be very lengthy, with prolonged ruku’ (bowing) and sujud (prostration). His companions would often reproach him for this, yet he never retorted back, nor did he abandon this practice - may Allah shower His Mercy upon him.”

2. The following are some points of benefit - extracted from the various works of the Shaykh pertaining to purification of the souls and curing the diseases of the hearts.

3. Miftaah Daarus-Sa 'aadah ( p.283).

4. Al-Waabilus-Sayyib minal-Kalimit-Tayyib ( p. 15).

5. Al-Waabilus-Sayyib (p.80).

6. Zaad ul-Ma'aad fi Hadee Khayril-'Ibaad (pp.9- 11) .

7. Related by Muslim (no.144), from Hudhaifah radhiAllahu 'anhu.

8. Ighaathatul-Luhfaan ( p.40).

9. Ighaathatul-Luhfaan (pp. 39-40).

10. Madaanjus-Saalikeen(1/100-101).

Love Before Marriage

Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullaah) said:

"And the cure for this deadly illness (i.e. love before marriage) is for the person that is afflicted to realize that this love is only due to his/her own delusions and ignorance.

So upon such a person is to first and foremost strengthen their Tawheed and reliance upon Allah, and secondly to increase in worship and busy themselves with it, so much so that they do not have any spare time letting their minds wander and think about their beloved.

And they should call upon Allah to protect them and save them from this evil, just as the Prophet Yusuf called upon Allah and he was saved. And they should do as he did, be as he was, in terms of ikhlaas (sincerity) and remembering Allah in abundance. This is because if the heart is filled with ikhlaas for the sake of Allah, there will be no space left for any unlawful love to be present, rather this only happens to a heart that is empty and has no ikhlaas whatsoever.

And let such people remind themselves that whatever Allah has decreed for them is only in their own best interests, and when Allah commands something, it is never to cause harm or misery to His slaves.

And let them aslo remind themselves that their unlawful love does not benefit them, neither in this world or the hereafter! As for this world then they will be so preoccupied with their love that it will cripple them and cause them to lone in a fantasy world. And as for the hereafter then it will cause them to be preoccupied with the love of the creation instead of love for the Creator!

These people need to be reminded, that the one who is emerged in something will never see its ill effects, neither will the person who has never expereinced such things. The only people who will be able to relate to them are those who have experienced the same thing but have been saved. Such people can look back and realize how evil it is."

(ad-Daa' wa ad-Dawaa p.300)