The Doors of Success

Shaqeeq Ibn Ibraheem said:

'The doors of success have been closed upon the creation because of six things:
Their busying themselves with the blessings of Allaah instead of thanking Allaah for them, their desire for knowledge while they abandon actions, the hastiness to sin and delaying repentance, the deception of having righteous companions and not taking them as examples, the turning away of the dunya from them while they chase it, and the approach of the afterlife towards them while they turn away from it.'



[al Fawaid by Ibn alQayyim pg.161]

"Whoever wants to love Allah and His Messenger then let him..."

1 - The Messenger of Allah said:

"Whoever wants to to love Allah and His Messenger, then let him read the Mushaf."

['Sahih al-Jami''; # 6289]


2 - Ibn 'Abbas narrated:

"al-Walid bin al-Mughirah (a polytheist) came to the Messenger of Allah. The Messenger of Allah recited the Qur'an to him, and al-Walid seemed to become affected and softened by it. Abu Jahl came to know of this, so, he came to al-Walid and said: "Don't you see that your people are collecting charity for you?"

He said: "And why is that?"

Abu Jahl replied: "So that they can give it to you, as they see that you went to Muhammad to get some of his food."

al-Walid said: "Quraysh knows that I am of the wealthiest of its sons."

Abu Jahl said: "So, say to Muhammad something that would convince your people that you oppose him."

al-Walid replied: "And what can I possibly say? There is not a single man who is more knowledgable of poetry or prose than I, or even that of the Jinn, and by Allah, what he says bears no resemblance to these things. By Allah, what he says has a sweetness to it, and a charm upon it; the highest part of it is fruitful and the lowest part of it is gushing forth with bounty; it dominates and cannot be dominated, and it crushes all that is under it.""

[Reported by al-Hakim in 'al-Mustadrak' (2/506-507) and at-Tabari in 'Jami' al-Bayan' (29/156), and it is authentic]


3 - Jubayr bin Mut'im said:

"I heard the Messeger of Allah recite 'at-Tur' in the Maghrib prayer, and when he got to the verses {"Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? No, but they have no firm Belief. Or are with them the treasures of your Lord? Or are they the tyrants with the authority to do as they like?"} [at-Tur; 35-37], my heart wanted to fly from my body out of awe."

['Tafsir Ibn Kathir'; 4/309]


4 - 'Uthman bin 'Affan said:

"If our hearts were truly pure, we would never get enough of the Words of our Lord, and I hate that one day passes with me not looking in the Mushaf."

['al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah'; 7/215]


5 - Ibn Abi Mulaykah narrated:

"'Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl used to press the Mushaf to his face and cry, saying: "The Book of my Lord! The Words of my Lord!""

[Reported by 'Abdullah bin al-Mubarak in 'al-Jihad'; # 56]


6 - Bishr bin as-Sirri said:

"Verily, each verse is like a date: the more you chew it, the more of its sweetness is released." Abu Sulayman heard this and commented: "True. It is the case with one of you that if he begins one chapter of it, he wants to read it to the end."

['al-Hadith fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an'; p. 70]

Characteristics of the Seeker of Happiness

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

"...The seeker of Allah and the Hereafter - rather, the one who seeks to obtain all knowledge, productiveness, and leadership, such that he is a leader who is taken as an example in all of this - should be brave, bold, in control of his whims, and not under the control of his imagination.

He should be abstinent from everything except that which he is after, passionate about what he has turned his face towards, knowing the path to it, as well as the paths which lead away from it.

He should be bold in his aspiration, firm in his resolve, and not swayed from his goal by the blame of the blamers or the discouragement of the discouragers.

He should generally be tranquil, constantly in thought, and not be moved by the sweetness of a compliment or the pain of criticism.

He should be forthcoming in providing himself with what he needs to help him obtain his goal, and should not be incited by those who oppose him.

His slogan should be patience, and his rest should be his fatigue, and he should love to have the best manners.

He should make the best of his time, not mixing with the people except in a most cautious state, just like a bird that quickly comes down to snatch a morsel from between two people.

He should stand over himself, encouraging himself by way of hope and fear, and should seek to be outstanding amongst his group..."


['al-Fawa'id'; p. 265]

Be Smart..!

Sufyaan Ath-Thawree

said in a letter to

Uthmaan ibn Zaaidah

~~~~~~~~~~

The most intelligent of the intelligent ones is he who enters Paradise because of a sin he committed: He places his sin before his eyes , continuing to be constantly afraid for himself on account of that sin until he departs from this world and enters paradise.



And the most foolish of the foolish ones is he who enters the Hellfire on account of a single good deed he performed: He places it before his eyes, constantly remembering it and hoping to be rewarded for it, and in the meanwhile, he takes his sins lightly; and he continues to remain upon that condition until he parts from this world and enters the Hellfire.



Be smart: be constantly afraid for yourself on account of your past mistakes, since you do not know whether your Lord will punish you for them. And you do not know what impact your sins will have on the remainder of your life.

The Distinguished Student

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud [Radiyallahu 3anhu] said:


يَنْبَغِي لحَامِلِ اَلْقُرْآنِ أَنْ يُعْرَفُ بِلَيْلِهِ إِذَا النَّاسُ نَائِمُونَ

The one who memorizes Quran must be known by his nights when the people are sleeping,



وَ بِنِهَارِهِ إِذَا النَّاسُ مُفْطِرُونَ

by his days when the people are eating,




وَ بِحُزْنِهِ إِذَا النَّاسُ يَفْرَحُونَ

by his sadness when the people are rejoicing,




وَ بِبُكَائِهِ إِذَا النَّاسُ يَضْحَكُونَ

by his crying when the people are laughing,




وَ بِصَمْتِهِ إِذَا النَّاسُ يَخُوضُونَ

by his silence when the people are chatting away,





وَ بِخُشُوعِهِ إِذَا النَّاسُ يَخْتَالُونَ.ـ

and by his humility when the people are boasting.

(اَلْتِّبْيَانُ)

A meeting with Allah

Narrating the occasion of a momentous day when the residents of Jannah shall have a meeting with Allah SWT! It is based on an authentic narration by Ibn Qayyim's (RA) Haadi al-Arwaah ilaa Bilaad il-Afraah, p.193

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukBX2TvfyQE

Five Traits for Complete Actions

Taken from :

Al Iklaas wan Niyyah by Ibn AbidDunya

Dawood ibn Muhammad narrated to us that he heard an Nabaajee saying:

“There are five traits for accepted deeds:


1* Having Imaan by knowing Allaah,


2* knowing the truth,


3* sincerely performing worship to Allaah,


4* acting upon the Sunnah

and

5* eating from what is permissible.

If you miss one of these your deeds will not be raised. This is because if you know Allaah but do not know the truth you would not benefit, and if you know the truth but do not know Allaah you would not benefit. If you know Allaah, know the truth but do not sincerely perform worship for Allaah you would not benefit. If you know Allaah, know the truth, sincerely perform worship for Allaah but it is not according to the Sunnah you would not benefit. And if you complete the four but you do not eat from what is permissible you would not benefit.