FeeSabilillah

A 'Chest' Wider Than the World

2012-01-29T09:57:00.001Z

A 'Chest' Wider Than the World

Knowledge expands the chest and widens it until it is wider than the world.

Ignorance engenders restriction, limitation, and confinement.

Thus the more a slave’s knowledge widens, the more his chest expands and widens. This is not the case with every type of knowledge rather it refers to the knowledge inherited from the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah upon him. It is the only truly beneficial knowledge. Thus its people have the widest chests of all people, the widest hearts, the most excellent character, and the purest subsistence.

Ibn Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, Zad al-Ma’ad 2/23

"Don’t you see how a person exerts his years of youth,

2012-01-29T09:53:00.001Z

"Don’t you see how a person exerts his years of youth,
But fate and destiny seem to disrupt the lives of men.
So there is he who tastes the bitter cup of death,
And there is he who awaits a similar experience.
They have in store for them, a rapid and passing provision,
And all must one day drink from the cup of death.
There is no inheritor except that his wealth will be inherited,
And there is no plunderer except that he will soon be deprived.
There is none who shows affection except that his love is sold,
And there is no blessing except that it will soon depart .
There is no healthy or afflicted one whom days consume,
Except that it will soon go and be removed.
I see people as guests, who have settled in estrangement,
Their days revolving around them, and overturning them.
There is a charm in this home of delusion which they have built,
But they have surely seen and experienced its rapidness and fleet.
So they criticize the Dunya (world) but yet they don’t desist from its milk,
Indeed, I have not seen the like of this world; it’s criticized yet milked.
It delights them abruptly, yet it harms them suddenly,
… A painful and hurtful burn, its heat still in flames."

- Shu'ayb ibn Ahmad (an Arab poet)

Befriend Righteous People

2012-01-29T09:50:00.000Z

Imaam Abu Hatim said:

“The honorable person appreciates whoever favors him, gives excuse when his friends decline to help him, keeps ties with those who sever them, draws closer to whoever keeps relation with him, grants and favors those who seek his help, and feels pity and kindness for whoever he thinks is weak. As for those who mistakenly perceive him as being weak,death would be dearer to them than the consequences of their error(1). As for the wicked, his are the opposite of these qualities.”

Rawdhaat ul-’Uqalaa’, p174

____________
(1) It means honorable persons are not weak and able to defend themselves sufficiently. Those who seek weakness in the forbearing and calmness of honorable persons will thus regret it if they seek to exploit this perceived weakness, for the response will be fierce and swift.

Those with deep insight never feel safe from four matters

2012-01-29T09:30:00.004Z

‎"Those with deep insight never feel safe from four matters:

A sin committed in the past which they don't know what Allah `azza wa jall has done with it; and a lifespan which remains to unfold, they don't know what lies in it of destruction; and a blessing given to the slave, which could perhaps be a curse and an allure or bait, and misguidance which has been beautified for a person such that he sees it as guidance; and a slip of the heart for a short moment wherein a person's religion is seized away and he does not feel it."

- Ibn al-Mubarak

When we have been entrusted with a secret of another person

2012-01-29T09:25:00.000Z

‎"When we have been entrusted with a secret of another person we should never divulge it to others as this would be a breach of trust which is a major sin. Many people think that they can use a password after which they let out people's secrets. That is "don't tell anyone but....". This is becoming very common. This having been said, we must be very careful not to confide in people unless they are really trustworthy and there is a need to let them know our secrets. Most of those who think their secrets are safe would be surprised to know how, at times secrets spread faster than common news and are let out by those whom we would never believe would do so. Don't trust others easily and don't itch to tell."

- Mufti Isma'il Menk

"Dont you see that the lion, is quite but yet it is still feared

2012-01-29T09:19:00.001Z

‎"Dont you see that the lion, is quite but yet it is still feared; whilst the dog barks constantly, but is despised."
Imam Shafi'i (Rahimullah)

Trials and tribulation are like feeling the heat and cold

2012-01-29T09:18:00.002Z

Trials and tribulation are like feeling the heat and cold, when one knows that they cannot be avoided, he will not feel anger at their onset, nor will he be distressed or disheartened.” [Ibn Taymiyyah]

A man is the one who fears the death

2012-01-29T09:15:00.000Z

“A man is the one who fears the death of his heart, not his body.”

- Ibn al-Qayyim.

O son of Adam, how is your heart ever going to be softened

2012-01-29T09:14:00.002Z

"O son of Adam, how is your heart ever going to be softened by the recitation of Qur'an when all you read for is to reach the end of the surah." -Al-Hasan Al-Basree

he hypocrites in the Masajid are like birds in cages

2012-01-26T13:11:00.002Z

Al-Zamakhshari narrates :
مالك بن دينار: أن المنافقين في المساجد كالعصافير في القفص
Malik bin Dinar said: “The hypocrites in the Masajid are like birds in cages.”

["Rabi Al-Abraar", 1/250].

Whoever strives to please a tyrannical ruler

2012-01-25T08:42:00.003Z

من أرضى سلطاناً جائراً أسخط رباً قادراً
'Whoever strives to please a tyrannical ruler, will end up displeasing The Most Powerful Lord.'

-

Befriend Righteous People

2012-01-18T11:41:00.001Z

Imaam Abu Hatim said:

“The honorable person appreciates whoever favors him, gives excuse when his friends decline to help him, keeps ties with those who sever them, draws closer to whoever keeps relation with him, grants and favors those who seek his help, and feels pity and kindness for whoever he thinks is weak. As for those who mistakenly perceive him as being weak, death would be dearer to them than the consequences of their error(1). As for the wicked, his are the opposite of these qualities.”

Rawdhaat ul-’Uqalaa’, p174

O the one showing off

2012-01-18T11:39:00.000Z

Fudayl Ibn Iyyaad ,explaining the difficulty in achieving sincerity and mentioning a matter which many of the servants engage in,said:

"If it were said to you;'O the one showing off,you get annoyed and it becomes unbearable to you and perhaps,what was said to you is the truth.You have shown goodness for worldly benefits and pretended; you had shortened your garment and bettered your Sumt1 and kept away your harm until it was said:Aboo So-and so is a righteous servant;how good is his Sumt.So they,honor you and come to you and refer to you like the Tasawwuk Dirham2 not known by everyone and when it is opened up, copper is seen."

Source:Rawdat-ul-‘Uqalaa wa Nuzhat-ul-Fudalaa of Abu Haatim Ibn Hibbaan Al-Bustee,Volume.2 page.667.

Conceal your inability as much as you can with silence

2012-01-18T11:36:00.000Z

A poet once said:

Conceal your inability as much as you can with silence
In silence there is indeed a respite
And if you’re unable (of answering), then make silence your answer
Perhaps the answer to a statement is in the silence

- Rawdat ul uqalaa

And lessen your speech when you do speak

2012-01-18T11:35:00.000Z

Al-Muntasir ibn Bilaal al-Ansaari:

و لن يَهلِكَ الإنسانَ إلا إذا أتى *** مِن الأمر ما لم يرضهُ نصحاؤه
و أقلل إذا ما قلتَ قولاً, فإنه *** إذا قلَّ قول المرء قلَّ خطـاؤه

A person can never be ruined unless he approaches
A matter which is not pleasing to his sincere advisors

And lessen your speech when you do speak,
For when the speech of a person is lessened, their mistakes are lessened

Knowledge is beauty and silence is salvation

2012-01-18T11:33:00.000Z

And truthful was the poet when he said:

Knowledge is beauty and silence is salvation
If you speak, then do not be excessive
If I ever regretted my silence just once
Then I have indeed regretted my speech a lot more

"Don’t you see how a person exerts his years of youth,

2012-01-18T11:30:00.001Z

Righteous Predecessor Advises his Son Al Khataab

2012-01-17T18:09:00.001Z

Righteous Predecessor Advises his Son Al Khataab ibn al Ma’laa al Makhzumee

Al-HaafidhAbu Haatim Muhammad ibn Hibbaan
Reference:Rawdat al ‘Uqalaa, Al Hakim an Naysaburee
Mohammad ibn al Mundhir ibn sa’eed related to me that Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Idrees al Hanthalee said…that al Khataab ibn al Ma’laa al Makhzumee al Qurashee advised his son saying:

My son, fear Allaah and be obedient to Him. Avoid sinning by following His Sunnahand teachings in order to rectify your faults and attain bliss, indeed nothing whatsoever is hidden from Allaah. I put some directions together and drew out a plan for you. If you memorize, understand and act upon them, you would fill the eyes of kings and even the vagabond would be obedient to you.

You would continue to be needed and honoured, people would continue to be in need of what you posses.

So obey your father, suffice yourself with his advice and open your mind and heart to it.

Beware of excessive talking, joking, laughing and fooling around with brothers, indeed this removes respect / esteem and causes disputes. It is upon you to be tranquil and calm without having pride, which may be attributed to you, and without being arrogant, which may be said about you.

Treat both friends and enemies pleasantly, prevent their harms without belittling them or holding them in high regard.

Take the middle path in all your affairs, for indeed the best affairs are the intermediary ones [i.e. between extremism and excessive lenience].

Speak little, spread the Salaam, and walk firmly and purposefully. Do not stamp your feet, drag your tail [i.e: Isbaal], raise your neck, robes or be conceited. Do not look around too much, stop at crowds or linger in the market.

Do not debate a lot and do not get into arguments with the foolish. When you speak, keep it short and limit joking. If you sit, cross your legs and avoid interlocking your fingers, playing with your beard, ring or sword handle. Do not clean between your teeth [while sitting in public], pick your nose or busy yourself with chasing flies away. Do not spy on others and so forth, which would cause people to belittle or insult you.

Sit calmly in gatherings and speak proportionately. Listen attentively to those who speak about good without displaying amazement or asking them to repeat themselves and refrain from telling jokes or funny stories.

Do not speak about how impressed you are of your children, servants, means of transportation or weapons. Beware of drawing ‘The Eye’ upon yourself, for if you display your admiration for these things, the foolish would desire them. They would then make up stories about you and question your intellect.

Do not behave like women, and do not be as subservient as a servant. Do not puff up your beard or pat it down to hide it. Refrain from trimming it and pulling out grey hairs. Do not excessively use Kuhl and oils/lotion, use Kuhl occasionally.

Do not plead for your needs, and do not be demanding of your requests.

Do not tell your family how much wealth you have, let alone others. For if they perceive it to be little, you would be trivial in their eyes, and if it were a lot, you wouldn’t gain their satisfaction through it anyway. Discipline them without using force and be lenient to them without being weak and do not mock your servants.

If you were to ever argue, be respectful and safeguard yourself from your own ignorance. Avoid being hasty and contemplate over your argument. Show the judge your forbearance, refrain from pointing a lot, shuffling your feet, reddening your face and sweating. If you are insulted by your adversary, be forbearing and only speak when calm.

When you make a promise, abide by it, and when you speak be truthful. Do not raise your voice when arguing, as if you were debating with a deaf person, but at the same time do not be hushed like a mute, and select the best of speech, saying things that are accepted.

If you relate something that you have heard, refer it to the initial speaker. Beware of telling atrocious tales that are disliked by the hearts and cause the skin to tremble, and refrain from being repetitive such as saying ‘yes, yes’, ‘no, no’, ‘hurry up, hurry up’ and so on.

When you practice ablution, scrub your palms well and place glasswort (a strong-pleasant smelling succulent shrub) in your mouth as you would when using Siwaak (brushing your teeth). Do not clear your throat into the wash basin. Remove water from your mouth gently, do not spit it so as not to accidentally spray the closest person to you.

Do not take a bite from a meal and then replace the rest [when eating with others from the same dish], indeed this is disliked. Do not frequently as for drinks at the kings table, and do not fiddle with bones. Do not fault anything that is offered to you at the table by saying things such as there is not enough seasoning, vegetables or honey and so on.

Do not grasp onto your money like a miser, and do not spend it like a foolish deluded spendthrift. Know what obligatory rights others have over your wealth, the sacredness of friends, do not be dependant on people and they would be in need of you. Know that greed leads to an attribute [i.e would lead it be one of your attributes], and desire, as is it said, knocks at the door of slavery/servitude [i.e would lead you to be subservient to others]. Tasting it may prevent you from tasting a lot of other meals.

Being self-sufficient is an immense treasure/wealth and an honorable mannerism. A man knowing himself/his standing…

“My son, indeed a man’s wife is his home/livelihood, he has no life with other than her, so when you decide to take a wife, inquire about her family, for indeed good roots yield sweet fruits. Know that women differ greatly, more so than the fingers of your hand, so shield yourself from those amongst them who are naturally prone to cause harm. Amongst them are those who are self conceited…”

"God ever bless those days gone by,

2012-01-13T17:45:00.001Z

سقى الله أياماً مـضـت ولـيالـياً
تحاكي لنا النيلوفر الغض في النشر

فأوراقه الأيام حـسـنـاً وبـهـجة
وأوسطه الليل المقصر للـعـمـر

لهونا بها فـي غـمـرة وتـآلـف
تمر فلا ندري وتأتي فـلا نـدري

فأعقبـنـا مـنـه زمـان كـأنـه
ولا شك حسن العقد أعقب بالغـدر
"God ever bless those days gone by,
Those nights we joyed in, thou and I,
Memories that still fragrant are
And fresh as the sweet nenuphar.

The lily's petals are ablaze
With glittering beauty, like our days;
Its center is the night, whose knife
Cuts short our slender thread of life.

We passed our days and nights away
In heedless joy and folly gay,
And so they came, and so they fled,
And we knew not the way they sped.

But presently another time
Succeeded to that age sublime,
Fair promise of fidelity
Belied, alas! by perfidy".

AND:

فلا تيأسي يا نفس عل زماننا
يعود بوجه مقبل غير مدبـر
كما صرف الرحمن ملك أمية
إليهم ولوذي بالتجمل والصبر
"Yet, O my soul, do not despair:
Perchance the times will yet be fair,
And Fortune, who has turned her face
Too long, renew her former grace.

For Allah, the All-Merciful,
Hath given the 0mayyads rule,
And I, like them, may therefore wait
In fortitude for better fate".

~ Ibn Hazm ~

Love fluttered and was gone..

2012-01-13T17:43:00.003Z

ويا جوهر الصين سحقاً فقد
عنيت بياقـوتة الأنـداس"Ha, thou has had thy day,
Proud jewel of Cathay!
My ruby I acclaim,
My Andalusian flame".

AND:

جرى الحب مني مجرى النفس
وأعطيت عيني عنان الفـرس

ولي سـيد لـم يزل نـافـراً
وربما جاد لي في الخـلـس

فقبـلـتـه طـالـبـاً راحة
فزاد أليلا بقلـبـي الـيبـس

وكان فؤادي كتبـت هـشـيم
يبيس رمى فيه رام قبـسـي

"Love fluttered and was gone
Like breath within my bone:
I pricked my eyes to view
Like horse to the hulloo.

I had a mistress fair:
She fled me everywhere,
Yet sometimes stealthily
She gave her lips to me.

I laid my lips on those,
And thought to find repose,
But felt within my breast
New pain and more unrest.

My heart did withered lie
Like herbage parched and dry
Whereon some casual hand
Will toss a flaming brand".

~ Ibn Hazm ~

"He tells more falsehoods, all in all....

2012-01-13T17:40:00.005Z

أنم من المرآة في كـل مـا درى
وأقطع بين الناس من قصب الهند
أظن المنايا والزمان تـعـلـمـا
تحليله بالقطـع بـين ذوي الـود
"He tells more falsehoods, all in all,
Than mirror, mirror on the wall:
He strikes more swiftly friends apart
Than Indian sabres split the heart".

"I think that Fate and sundering Time
Are his disciples in the crime
All practise to one common end
Of separating friend from friend".

~ Ibn Hazm ~

Two lovers madly smitten

2012-01-13T17:40:00.001Z

صبان هيمانان فـي واحـد
كلاهما عن خدنه منحرف
كالكلب في الآرى لا يعتلف
ولايخلى الغير أن يعتلـف

"Two lovers madly smitten,
And by the same love bitten;
Each turns against the other,
Each wrestles with his brother".

"The dog beside the manger
Comports himself no stranger
Too sick to eat, too greedy
To entertain the needy"

~ Ibn Hazm ~

"Naught I care for others' blame

2012-01-13T17:38:00.000Z

فلست أبالي في الهوى قول لأئم
سواء لعمري جاهر أو مخافت
وهل يلزم الإنسان إلا اخـتـياره
وهل بخبايا اللفظ يؤخذ صامـت

"Naught I care for others' blame
Who declare my love a shame;
Let them whisper, let them shout,
I can face their scandal out ...

"Shall a man be judged, think you,
Save for what he willed to do?
Or have charged against his head
Words that he has never said?"

~ Ibn Hazm ~

"They blame the girl of whom I'm fond

2012-01-13T17:36:00.000Z

يعيبونها عندي بشقرة شعرها
فقلت لهم: "هذا الذي زانها عندي"

يعيبون لون النور والتبر، ضلّة
لرأي جهول في الغواية ممتدّ!

وهل عاب لون النرجس الغضّ عائبٌ
ولون النجوم الزاهرات على البعد؟

وأبعدُ خلق الله من كل حكمة
مفضّلُ جرمٍ فاحمِ اللون مُسودّ

به وصفت ألوان أهل جهنم
ولبسة باكٍ مثكل الأهل محتدّ

ومذ لاحت الرايات سوداً تيقّنت
نفوس الورى أن لا سبيل إلى الرشد

"They blame the girl of whom I'm fond
Because her lovely hair is blond:
"But that's exactly", I reply,
"What makes her pretty, to my eye!"

They criticize the colour bright
Of glittering gold, and shimmering light,
And they are crazy so to do,
And stupid, and erroneous, too.

Is there just a cause to crab, think you,
The tender-sweet narcissus' hue,
Or is the twinkle of a star
So hateful to behold afar?

Of all God's creatures, I declare
That man of wisdom has least share
Who chooses, in his darkened soul,
To love a body black as coal.

Black is the hue, the Scriptures tell,
Of the inhabitants of Hell;
Black is the robe the mourner dons,
And mothers who have lost their sons.

Moreover, since from Khorasan
The black Abbasid banners ran,
The souls of men know, to their cost,
The cause of righteousness is lost"

~ Ibn Hazm ~

No longer darkness would remain, But light eternally"

2012-01-13T17:30:00.001Z

أقمت إلى أن جاءني الليل راجيا
لقاءك يا سؤلي ويا غاية الأمل

فأيأسني الإظلام عنك ولم أكن
لأيأس يوماً إن بدا الليل يتصل

وعندي دليل ليس يكذب خبره
بأمثاله في مشكل الأمر يستدل

لأنك لو رمت الزيارة لم يكن
ظلام ودام النور فينا ولم يزل

"I waited still, until night came
Upon me, hoping yet
To meet thee, O my quest, and aim
On which my heart is set!

Then I, who never any day
Despaired, though long the night,
At last to dark despair gave way
When dark o'ercame my light.

Moreover I a proof will cite
That cannot tell a lie;
The like such problems solve aright
As reason else defy:

To wit, if thou shouldst ever deign
One night to visit me,
No longer darkness would remain,
But light eternally".

~ Ibn Hazm ~