Music , a trap from shaytaan

" From among the artful machinations and entrapments of Allah's enemy [Shaytaan], with which he has snared those possessing little good sense , knowledge and deen [faith], and by which he has stalked the hearts of the false and ignorant people , there is the listening to whistling , wailing , handclapping and song to the accompaniment of forbidden [musical] instruments Such things blocks the Quran from people's hearts and make them devoted to sin and disobedience. For song (to musical accompaniment) is the Quran of ash -Shaytaan. it is a dense veil and barrier, preventing nearness to Ar- Rahmaan! (Allah) By way of such song , satan deceives vain souls , making it appear pleasing to them throught his cunning appeal to their vanities. He insidiously  whispers false , specious arguments suggesting the "goodness" in song. These arguments are accepted  , and as a result , the Quran becomes an object of neglect and abandonment."

SOURCE: Ibn Qayyim (Rahimahu Allah) in  Ighaathat al-Lahfaan (1/256)

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Good deeds and Bad deeds

Ibn 'Abbas (Radia Allahu anhu) said:

"Indeed good actions are a light in the heart, a strengthening for the body, a glow on the face, a cause for extensive provisions  and love in the hearts of the creation.

Indeed bad actions are a darkness in the heart, a blackness on the face, a weakness for the body , a cause for decrease in provisions and hatred in the hearts of the creation" 

SOURCE: Al Jawab al Kafi of Ibn Qayyim  (Rahimahu Allah)

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The first three to be thrown into Hell on the Day of Resurrection.

Explanation from Ibn Qayyim (Rahimahu Allah ) of the hadeeth of the first three to be thrown into Hell in the Day of Resurrection :

"From Abu Hurayrah, who said:  I heard the Messenger of Allah say: Verily, the first to be juzged in the  Day of resurrection will be a man who had died as a Martyr. He will be brought forward. Allah will remind him of the favours He had bestowed upon him and the man will acknowledge them. Then He will ask him: `What did you do to express gratitude for it?’ The man will reply: I fought for Your Cause till I was martyred. Allah will say: You have lied. You fought so that people might call you courageous; and they have done so.’ Command will then be issued about him and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into Hell. Next a man who had acquired and imparted knowledge and read the Quran will be brought forward. Allah will remind him of the favours He had bestowed upon him and the man  and the man will acknowledge them. The He will ask him: What did you do to express gratitude for it? The man will reply: `I acquired knowledge and taught it, and read the Qur’an for Your sake.’  Allah will say to him: `You have lied. You acquired knowledge so that people might call you a learned (man), and you read the Qur’an so that they might call you a reciter, and they have done so. Command will then be issued about him , and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into Hell. Next a man who Allah  had made afluent and to whom Allah had given plenty of wealth , will be brought forward. Allah will remind him of the favours He had bestowed upon him and the man will acknowledge them. He will ask him What did you do to express gratitude for it?’ The man will reply: I did not neglect any of  the ways You liked wealth to be spend liberally for Your sake. Allah will say to him : You have lied. You did it so that people might call you generous, and they have done so.’ Command will then be issued about him and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into Hell.”

                                              (Saheh Muslim, 13/45/1905)

Then he says:  I heard Shaykh al Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah say : Just as the best of the people are the Prophets, then the worst of the people is the one who imitates them, giving the false impression that he is from them. The best of the people after them are the Ulemaa' and the Shuhadaa' and the Siddeeqoon and the Mukhlisoon and the worst of the people is the one who imitates them while giving the false impression that he is from them, while he is not from them.

SOURCE: Ibn Qayyim (Rahimahu Allah ) in Ad-Daa’ Wad-Dawaa’ pp38-39

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The bad habit

 

"Repel the thought , for if you don't , it becomes an idea. So repel the idea ; for if you don't it will become a desire. So fight against that (desire) for if you don't it will become a determination and a passion. And if you don't repel that, it will become an action. And if you don't replace  it with its opposite , it will become a constant habit . So at that point , it will be difficult for you to change it."

SOURCE: Al Fawaid, Ibn Qayyim (Rahimahu Allah)

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The benefits of Salah

Allah the Exalted has said:

"And seek help in patience and in prayer. Surely that is something quite difficult on (people) other than people of humility and submissiveness."

And He has said:

" O you who believe! Seek help in patience and in prayer! Verily, Allaah is with those who are patient."

And He, the Exalted one, has said:

" And command your family to pray, and be patient upon that. We are not asking you for any provisions, (rather) We provide for you, and the favorable outcome is for (those with)taqwaa (consciousness of Allaah that produces righteous actions)"

And in the books of Sunnah is reported that the Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu alyhi wa sallam) used to hasten to prayer whenever and affair disturbed him. And previously discussed was the concept of healing most ailments through prayer before seeking out other ways of dealing with them.

Prayer is something that causes one to receive sustenance.
It is something that safeguards one's physical health.
It keeps away harmful things.
It casts away illness.
It strengthens the heart.
It brightens one's countenance.
It delights the soul.
It gets rid of laziness.
It makes the limbs active.
It increases one's physical strength.
It expands the chest (making one at ease and giving him insight)
It is nourishment for the soul.
It illuminates the heart.
It safeguards one's blessings.
It repels catastrophes.
It keeps away the Shaytaan- the devil.
It draws one close to Ar-Rahman (Allah , the Most Merciful)

And overall  it has an amazing effect on the health of the body and heart , and in strengthening them and expelling harmful pollutants from them.No two people have been afflicted with any disability, disease , or other calamity , except that the portion of the one who prays is less and his outcome is clearner.

Also, prayer has an amazing effect on the evils of the dunyya (the worldly life) and how it repels them, especiallay when the prayer is performed properly and completely , inwardly and outwardly. Nothing keeps the evils of the dunyaat bay and brings on the benefits of it like prayer.

The reason behind this is that prayer is one's connection to Allah , the Mighty and Majestic. so based on the strength of a person's relationship with his Lord , the Mighty and Majestic , the doors of goodness will accordingly be opened up for him, bad things and the reasons for them befalling him will be cut off , and the elements of sucess granted by his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic , will begin pouring in, along with safety and good health, wealth and worldly riches, relaxation , bliss, enjoyment , and all types of joyful affairs will be brought to him, and in an expedient manner, too.

SOURCE: Zaad al-Ma'aad (4/304-305) of Ibn Qayyim (Rahimahu Allah)

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The polisher of the heart

"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 shini 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 ghaflah (neglecting remembrance of Allah). Likewise , it is cleansed and polished by two things : Istigfar (seeking Allah's forgiveness) and dhikr."

 

SOURCE:  Al Wabilus Sayyib (pag. 80 ) of Ibn Qayyim (Rahimahu Allah)

 

 

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The sin that takes to Paradise

One of the Salafs 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,regreat 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 that doing many acts of obedience , since it caused him to have humility and humbleness- which lead to the servant's happiness and sucess- 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 this destruction.

SOURCE: Al wabilus-Sayib minal-Kalimit-Tayyib ( pag.15) of Ibn Qayyim (Rahimahu Allah)

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The mortal plan of shaytaan

Shaykhul Islam Ath Thaani Ibn ul Qayyim (Rahimahu Allah) said:

" And among his repertoire of plans and ploys - of  Iblis - Is that he invites the servant of Allah , with his good character, joy and happiness to types of sins and vices.
As consequently he found him and greets him (to the sunni) so that does not allow him rescued from his evil. Except his demonstration of disgust , giving  an angry look and turning away from him.

Then, the enemy will act kindly towards him, greeting him with happiness, with a radiant face and beautiful words.

Then, will join him, and will have a strong desire to save from their clutches , however he will be unable to do it.

As a result , the enemy (Iblis), will keep moving between them ( the deviant, the innovator that works for shaytaan , the servant sunni) until he gets his desired goal.

Finally, he enters the servant with his plots and through the good character and a shiny face.

For this reason, "the doctors of the heart" have advised us to stay away from the people of the innovations , not to send them the greetings of Salam, and happy, shining faces or even meet them (at all) unless it is with dinginess and severity!!!!

SOURCE: Ighaathatul Lagfaan  1 /140 of Ibn Qayyim (Rahimahu Allah)

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The pillars of the Kufr

" The pillars of Kufr (i.e. disbelief and disobedience) are four:

1. Kibr, i.e. arrogance , which prevents him from submission (to the command of Allah).
2. Hasad, i.e. jealousy , which prevents him from accepting advice and giving it.
3. Ghadab, i.e. anger, which preventes him from being just.
4. Sha'wah, i.e. lowly desiers, which prevents him from devoting himself totally to worship.

Hence if the pillar of arrogance is removed, then it becomes easy to submit , and if the pillar of jealousy is removed then it becomes easy for him to accept nasheehah (i.e. advice) and to give advice. If the pillar of anger is removed tehn it becomes easy for him to be just and humble himself and if the pillar of lowly desires is removed then it becomes easy for him to be patient , chaste and devote himself to worship. Every imprudent characteristic derives from these four. And when these characteristics settle in his heart they will cause him to see falsehood as truth and to see truth as falsehood. To see Ma'roof (i.e. good) as Munkar (i.e. evil) and evil as good, and it brings him closer to the life of this world and pushes the Hererafter further from him.

Uprooting strong and power mountains from their places is easier that removing these four characteristics from the heart of an individual who is tested with them. This proves specially true when these characteristics become firmly rooted and embedded in an individual to the point they become second nature , for when an individual reaches this point it is almost impossible for him to do any good deeds , nor would he purify himself with them if he were to perform any acts of good. The more he strives  diligently to perform acts of good the more his actions are corrupted by these four characteristics.

If you reflect on the disbelief of the past nations , you will find that it derived from one of these four pillars, and it was due to one of these four that they were punish. However the severity of the punishment was dependant of the degree and extent of these pillars with those nations. So, whoever adorns himself with these pillars then he subjects himself to all types of consequences , in the life of this world and in the Hereafter. And whoever avoids them distances himself from all types of evil , because these characteristics prevent him from  Inqiyad (i.e. submission), Ikhlas (i.e. sincerity), tawbah (i.e.repentance), accepting the truth, giving advice to the Muslims and humbling himself to Allah and to His creation.

These characteristics emerge due to the slave's ignorance of his Lord, and his ignorance of his own selfworth or value. If he truly knew his Lord with all of His lofty characteristics and was truly aware of his own-short comings and deficiencies , he would not have a reason to be arrogant nor seek retribution for himself. Nor would he be jealous of any one because of what Allah has given them, because in reality, jealousy is a type of enmity or hostility towards Allah, primarily because the slave hates the fact that Allah has bestowed upon one of his servants a particular blessing and he ardently desires that this blessing be taken away from him. So he actually oppose and contests the decree of Allah and he deems the blessing of Allah to His slave to be unjust and dislikes for him what Allah loves for him. And it was because of this characteristics that Iblis become the enemy of Allah, i.e. his arrogance and jealousy.

Hence to reply these two hideous and evil characteristics with sound knowledge of Allah and His uniqueness and being pleased with Him as your Lord and turning towards Him for assistance in all of his affairs , and replacing anger with true knowledge of himself and his value, and the fact, that he does not have the right to get angry and seek retribution for himself over the pleasure of his Lord and expressing anger towards his Lord, who originated him.

And the greatest thing which would assist him in ridding himself of this characteristic is to condition himself to get angry for the pleasure of Allah , and to be pleased with the pleasure of Allah. And every time he gets angry or is pleased for the pleasure of Allah then anger and pleasure for other that Him will be obliterated , and the opposite is the same.

However the cure for his lowly desires sound knowledge and understanding that his obedience to his lowly desires is the greatest reason on hindrance for him attaining satisfation , and his abstaining from these lowly desires is the greatest reason and means by which he can attain satisfation. so every time he sets out to attain satisfaction by following his lowly desires he actually pushes himself further away from achieving this satisfaction , and the more he avoids his lowly desires , the closer he is to attaining the satisfaction he is looking for in the most complete manner.

So Ghadab (i.e. anger) is like a predator , the minute you turn your attention away from it , it will eat you alive.
And shah'wah (i.e. lowly desires) is like fire the moment he ignites him, it will begin to burn him alive.
And Kibr (i.e. arrogance) is like arguing with a king about his possesion , either he will kill you because of this , or just deprive you of it.
And Hasad (i.e. jealousy) is like showing enmity and hatred towards someone who is more powerful that you.


The one who can control his lowly desires and his anger will remove the Shaytaan from his midst. And the he whose lowly desires and anger overtakes him deprives himself from the shade and protection of Allah.

SOURCE: Fawaa'id al fawaa'if of Ibn Qayyim ( Rahimahu Allah)

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Connected a lifetime

The soul (ar-rooh) is conected with the body in five different ways, to which different rules apply.

1. Its connection to the body as a fetus in hir mother's womb.
2. Its connection to the body  after a person is born.
3. Its connection to the body when a person is asleep , when the soul is connected in one way and separated from it in another way.
4. Its connection to the body in al Barzakh (the period between a person’s death and the Day of Resurrection) when it has departed from the body and separated from it , but is not separated completely in such a way that there is not connection at all. We have mentioned at the beggining of this reply that there are ahadeeth and reports which indicate that the soul is returned to the body when somebody sends the greeting of salam to a deceased person. This returning is of a special nature which does not mean that the life is restored to the body before the Day of Resurrection.
5. Its connection to the body on the Day when bodies will be resurrected. This is the most perfect type of connection to the body , and has not comparison to previous types , because after that the body will never die, sleep or have anything wrong with it. When a person is asleep, his soul is in his body, and he is alive, although his being alive is not the same as that of a person who is awake, for sleep is comparable to death. Whose soul is not restored to his body. This is like the case of a sleeping person who is in a state between life and death. We hope that this will dispel a lot of your confusion.

SOURCE: A short essay on the souls connection to the body, in this life and in the Hereafter  from Kitaab ur rooh (pag.44) of Ibn ul-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah.

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how you are according to your salah

The five categories of people who pray:

1. The category of the oppressor to himself, the negligent one, one who is deficient in performing ablution for it, negligent with his appointed time periods, its boundaries and its pillars.
2. One who preserves it appointed time periods, its boundaries, its outward pillars and ablution for it, however he forsakes striving against his own self from whisperings and thinking to himself, and so is preocupied with whisperings and thoughts.
3. One who preserves its appointed time periods, its pillars as well as strives against himself in repelling whisperings and distracting thoughts that overcome him, he is busy in striving against his enemy in order to prevent him from stealing his prayer, he is in prayer as he is in Jihaad.
4. One whom when he stands for prayer perfect its rights, its pillars and its boundaries. His heart is occupied with preserving its boundaries and preventing anything of it being lost, rather all his attention is directed to performing it as it should be, in its most complete and perfect form, his heart is occupied with the prayer and worshiping his Lord  the Elevated, with it.
5. One who performs the prayer, like the previous person, but in addition to this, he has taken his heart and presented it to his Lord. He looks at his Lord with his heart, fully concerned with him, it is as if he sees and witnesses his Lord. All distracting thoughts and whisperings fade away and the veil between him and his Lord is removed. The difference between this person in his prayer and others, is greater and better that all what is between the heavens and earth, he is fully occupied and overjoyed with his Lord in his prayer.

The first category is punished, the second is held accountable, the third is perdoned, the fourth is regarded and the fifth is brought close to his Lord, because he gains a portion of what made the prayer a delight to him. For whoever is delighted with his prayer in the life of this world, will be delight  by being close to his Lord in the After life as well as being dclighted with his Lord in this life, and whoever is delighted with Allah, the Elevated, his soul will be torn apart from the life of this world in loss.

It is narrated that when a server stands for prayer, Allah, the Glorified says:

"Remove the veil"

And if the servant turns away , He says:

"Replace it"

 This " turning away" has been explained as the turning of the heart away from Allah the Mighty to other tha Him. So if he turns away, the veil is replaced between him and his Lord and Shaytaan enters and presents worldly affairs to him, he shows them to him in the image of a woman. But if he turns with is heart to Allah and does not turn away, Shaytaan would not be able to come between Allah and the heart, he only enters if the veil is replaced. If he returns to Allah the Elevated with his heart, the Shaytaan would scape, and if he turns away, the Shaytaan would return, such in his state with this enemy in prayer.

SOURCE: Al Waabil as Sayyib : Vol. 1 P. 138R of Shaykh ul Islaam Ibn Qayyim (Rahimahu Allah)

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The ten things you will never benefit from

The first knowledge that is void of action.
The second Actions that are void of sincerity to Allah and void of exemplification of the Sunnah. (Note: These two conditions constitute the act being accepted by Allah,i.e, Ikhlaas and Ittiba'a)
The third: Wealth which is not spent in the way of Allah, so the one who exhausted of all his energy ammasing it will not benefict from it in this life, nor will he see the fruits of it in the hereafter.
The fourth: A hart which is void of the love of Allah and the ardent desire to meet him.
The fifth: A body which is void of obedience to Allah.
The sixth: A love for other than Allah which is void of any boundaries (i.e.unconditional)
The seventh: Time which is void of benefict and the individual does not take advantage of it to do actions which would bring him closer to Allah.
The eighth: A thought that goes trough the individuals mind and will bring him no benefict.
The ninth: Doing a favor for someone who, that favor will not bring him closer to Allah, nor will it benefict him in the affairs of his livelihood.
The tenth: Fear and hope of someone whose forelock is in the hands of Allah, like a captive in the company of his master, who can bring no benefict or harm to himself or others, nor can he give life to the death nor does he have any power over resurrection.

The worse and most detrimental of these ten is two:

The heart and the time.

Firstly the heart because it is corruption stems from giving precedence to this to this transient live over the hereafter, and time because it makes the individual feel like he will live forever (which enables him to be even more negligent about his obligation to Allah)

The most amazing thing is when someone is presented with a situation and he turns all of his attention towards  Allah to fulfill his needs, and never takes the time to ask Allah for the remedy he is need of to bring his heart back to life from the death of ignorance and negligence, and the cure he is in dire need of for his disease of Shahawaat (following his lowly desires) and Shubuhaat ( doubts and misconceptions). Indeed in the heart dies, he will never be conscious of the sins which he commits and his disobedience to Allah.

SOURCE: Fawaa`id ul Fawaa`id  of Ibn al Qayyim (Rahimahu Allah) pag.384

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The medicine of Allah

Ibn Al Qayyim (Rahimahu Allah) said:

"Were  it not Allah treats His slaves with the remedy of trials, and calamities,

they wall transgress and overstep the mark.

When Allah wills goods for His slaves, He gives them the medicine of calamities

and trials according to his situation, so as to cure him from all fatal illnesses and diseases

until Him purifies and cleanses him, and then makes him qualified for the most honourable

position in this world, which is that of  being a true Slave of Allah ('uboodiyyah), and for the greatest reward in the Hereafter, which is that off seeing Him and being close to Him." 

[Zaad al-Ma’aad, 4/195]

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A dangerous company

" As for the signs of being serious about keeping away from forbidden things, they are: keeping away from things that could lead to it, and avoiding all means of drawing close to it, such as the one who flees from places in which there are images that lead to fitnah (temptation), for fear to be tempted by them, and giving up things with which there is nothing wrong for fear of things that are wrong and avoiding excessive indulgence in permisible things for fear of falling into that which is makrooh, and avoiding people who commit sin openly or regard it as good and promote it and take it lightly an do not care about what they do of sin, for mixing with such people is likely to incure the wrath and anger of Allah, so no one mixes with them except the one  whose heart is lacking in respect for Allah and His sacreds limit."

Ibn al Qayyim in Al-Waabil al-Sayyib p. 32.

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