Fruits of Al-Fawaid
Imam ibn Qayyim al-Jawzeyya
From the book of Al-Fawaid by the scholar Muhammad ibn Al-Qayim Al-Jawzyyiah
- Categories: Tazkiah -
In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the worlds. And I bear witness that there is no God except Allah alone with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His messenger; prayers and peace of Allah be upon him and all his family and companions.
• Seeking knowledge is the pollen of faith; therefore, when faith and seeking knowledge come together, they produce the good deed.
• Expecting good from Allah is the pollen of need and want to Him; therefore, when they come together, they produce answering the invocation.
• Fearing Allah is the pollen of loving Him; therefore, when they come together, they produce obedience of orders and abstaining from the prohibitions.
• Patience is the pollen of certitude; therefore, when they come together, they produce leadership in religion. Allah Almighty says: {And We made from among them (Children of Israel), leaders, giving guidance under Our Command, when they were patient and used to believe with certainty in Our Ayât (proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.)} [Surat As-Sajdah :24]
{وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا لَمَّا صَبَرُوا وَكَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ} السجدة: 24
Transliteration: WajaAAalna minhum aimmatan yahdoona biamrina lamma sabaroo wakanoo biayatina yooqinoona
• Correct following of the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) is the pollen of sincerity; therefore, when they come together, they produce accepting the deeds and considering them.
• Work is the pollen of knowledge; therefore, when they come together, they produce prosperity and happiness, but when one of them comes alone, it produces nothing.
• Patience is the pollen of knowledge; therefore, when they come together they produce mastery in this life and Hereafter in addition to taking benefits from the knowledge of the scholar. However, when one of them comes alone, it produces no profitability or utilization.
• Determination is the pollen of insight; therefore, when they come together, their owner gains the good of this world and the good of hereafter and his mettle would exalt him to all aspects of exaltation. Hence, not gaining perfectness is a result to not having insight or not having determination.
• Good intention is the pollen of the mental health; therefore, when they are missed, every good is missed. On the other hand, when they come together, they produce all kinds of good.
• Good opinion is the pollen of courage; therefore, when they come together, they produce victory and triumph. On the other hand, when they are missed, there are disappointment and letting down. And if there is good opinion but there is no courage, there will be cowardice and helplessness. And if there is courage but there is no good opinion, there will be impetuousness and destruction.
• Patience is the pollen of mind; therefore mind is strengthened and enlightened as long as advice is strengthened.
• Reminiscence and contemplation are the pollen of each other; when they come together, they produce renouncing the worldly pleasures and desiring the hereafter.
• Piousness is the pollen of putting trust in Allah; therefore, when they come together, heart becomes straight.
• The pollen of being ready for meeting the enemies is less wishing (of the worldly affairs); therefore, when they come together, there are all kinds of good. On the other hand, when they go in different directions, there are all kinds of evil
• The pollen of the superior determination is the good intention; therefore, when they come together, the servant fulfills the utmost purpose.
Eloquent wisdoms
• Whoever does not have benefit from his eye does not have benefit from his ear.
• For the servant, there is a curtain between him and Allah and another one between him and people. Therefore, whoever tears the curtain that is between him and Allah; Allah tears the curtain that is between him and people.
• There is a Lord the servant will meet Him, and there is a house he will inhabit it. Therefore, he should seek the contentment of his Lord before meeting Him, and fill his house with life before moving to it.
• Wasting time is graver than death, because wasting time sets you away from Allah and hereafter while death sets you away from the world and its people.
• The whole world does not deserve an hour of solicitude; therefore, what about a whole life of solicitude?!
• What is desirable today leads to what is detestable tomorrow, and what is detestable today leads to what is desirable tomorrow.
• The greatest profit in the worldly life is to make yourself, all the time, busy with what is better and more profitable to it in its hereafter.
• How could a person be sane after selling Paradise with its bliss in return of desire that lasts for one hour?
• The worshiper gets out the worldly life before meeting his need of two things; weeping over himself and praising his Lord.
• When you fear a creature, you repel him and escape from him. On the other hand, when you fear Allah almighty, you delight by Him and get closer to Him.
• If knowledge were to bring benefit without the existence of work, Allah Almighty would not scolded the scholars of the People of Book (i.e. Jews and Christians); and if work were to bring benefit without the existence of sincerity, He would not scolded the hypocrites.
• Combat the inclination; otherwise it will turn to be an idea. Then combat the idea; otherwise it will turn to be desire. Then combat it; otherwise it will turn to be determination and insistence. Then combat it; otherwise it will turn to be an act. Then set it right by doing its contrary; otherwise it will turn to be custom and it will be difficult for you to abstain from it.
There are three levels of piousness:
- First: Preventing the heart and limbs from committing the sins and what is prohibited.
- Second: Preventing them from doing the detestable acts.
- Third: preventing them from indulging in the trivial issues.
The first level grants life to the servant, and the second grants him health and power, and the third grants him joy and delight and happiness.
• Whoever is created by Allah for Paradise, its gifts of detestable things would continue to come to him. On the other hand, whoever is created by Him for Fire, its gifts of desires would continue to come to him.
• When Adam sought eternity in Paradise from the tree, he had been punished by getting out. And when Yusuf sought getting out the jail from the man of the dream, he stayed in it several years.
Important tip:
When a detestable thing occurs to the servant, there are six issues he should consider them:
• First: Monotheism; believing that it is predetermined and willed and created by Allah, and that it is only the will of Allah that will be accomplished.
• Second: Justice; believing that the judgment of Allah will surely be fulfilled and that His verdict is just.
• Third: Mercy; believing that His mercy in this judgment is greater than His wrath and that His mercy is included in His judgment.
• Fourth: Wisdom; believing that the wisdom of Him (Almighty) required this and that it is not destined by Him in vain or judged by Him as play.
• Fifth: Praise; believing that He Almighty deserves the perfect praise for that from all its aspects.
• Sixth: Slavery; believing that he is just a slave, the judges of His master are applicable to him for his being His slave and his being owned to Him. Hence, Allah could make him subject to His destined judges as He makes him subject to His religious judges; he is the subject to all these judges.
(From the book of Al-Fawaid by the scholar Muhammad ibn Al-Qayim Al-Jawzyyiah)
Compiled by: the scientific department in Madar Al-Watan