11. PEOPLE TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTED
I noticed that the healthy person does not realise the value of his health until he becomes sick, and the free does not appreciate his freedom until he is locked up (i.e. becomes occupied).
I realised a very interesting meaning when I pondered the condition of men. When a man has a woman with average beauty, his heart is not attached to her in a joyful manner for two reasons: Firstly, she is not that pretty and secondly, what one has is often disliked and the self always seeks what it cannot have.
Therefore, sometimes you find the man is bothered and desires another woman while he is unaware that he is after heavy chains restraining his heart from focusing on the affairs of the Hereafter or even any other work or deed in this life.
Thus, he becomes a prisoner of the one whom he is in love with and only thinks of her.
I truly wonder at the free who prefer prison, and the relaxed that prefer tiredness!
If the woman he is married to needs to be protected and preserved, woe to him! He will always be in constant tension and if she was from those who like to show their beauty and whose evilness cannot be assured to be availed, it will ruin him completely because if he sleeps he will not enjoy his sleep and if he leaves his house he will fear she may do something wrong.
If she wanted money beyond his capacity, he will have to be involved in wrong means to manage just to please her, and if she wants sexual intercourse when he is weak that will be indeed his ultimate ruining.
If she dislikes him then this will completely break him down. In fact such a person is like someone who worships an idol.
A man who is married to a wife of average beauty should fear Allah and discard the whispers of his desires as such whispers and desires will never end.
If he was to fulfil his desires and marry a second one, he will eventually be bored of it and so will start seeking a third one and then become bored and seek a fourth woman and so forth.
In fact, this will only satisfy him in the short run while his heart will remain attached to such desires and live in a shock as his thoughts will be dedicated to thinking of how to have a lover. Hence, when she leaves him or falls sick, he will remain in sorrow or die of sadness eventually.
In contrast, the one who is liked due to her religiosity and content with the one whom he loves makes all the aforesaid trivial.
A person should seek what makes him focused on his Hereafter and to pay no attention to his desires and sexual lust to be safe.
(Source: al-Hafiz Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-jawzl [d. 597AH] “CAPTURED THOUGHTS being” a translation of his masterpiece ‘Sayd al-K hatir)
Comments
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.