22. DO NOT CONTEMPLATE THE PLEASURES OF THIS WORLD FOR THEY ARE DEBASED WITH IMPERFECTION
This worldly life is altogether merely a (temporal) passage so a person should not indulge in its pleasures, but rather set out such pleasures to help him pass the days until he reaches the end of it.
If a person thinks for one second about how animals are slaughtered and the filth the slaughterer is covered with during the process— and how the food is then prepared— he will never enjoy the meal. And if he thinks of the process of chewing food and how it mixes with one’s own saliva, he could not eat it.
A person can be one of two; either a person who wants to lavish himself with lawful worldly pleasures (ladhat) or a person who wants to use such pleasures to pass the time considering these worldly pleasures necessary for that.
Regardless of which type a person is, he should not look at the concealed bodily parts he has for if a man glances at the genitals of his wife, he would be turned off. ‘A’ishah (radiy Allahu ‘anha) said, “Neither I nor the Prophet ever saw the private parts of each other.” For that reason, an intelligent person should have particular times his wife knows about, so she can beautify herself for him; and not to investigate further than what is apparent so he does not find anything he might dislike.
This will make the lives of both spouses good and (mutually) maintained. II the wife does not look after herself, shortcomings will become apparent leading to her husband being turned off and causing him to look for another wife and so forth. The same is requested also from the husband who needs to look his best and adorn himself for her just like she does for him, so both can live in harmony and their love lasts.
If these directions are ignored and the husband notices (unbearable) negative aspects in his wife, the result will be either neglect of the wife or his seeking another marriage. If he starts to avoid and neglect her, he will in turn have to suppress his sexual desires if there are no other lawful women he can be with. If he starts to look for another wife, he will need money so in both cases he is put at a disadvantage.
Whoever does not follow the directions and guidelines I have previously mentioned, he will not be able to live this life smoothly.
(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.