4. THE TRUE PLEASURES OF THE WORLD
Seekers of the world (dunya ) have neglected its true pleasures (Iadha): the honour of knowledge (sharf al-ilm ), the flower of chastity (zahra ab’aff), the pride of guarding one’s valuables, the glory of contentment (qanaa) and the sweetness (halawa) of helping others.
He who only enjoys food and sexual relations is ignorant of true pleasure, because these things are not sought for in and of themselves. They are sought to gain bodily strength and offspring. Sexual pleasure only takes place for a short period of time, and weakens the body.
And what pleasure is there in gathering too much wealth? Its collector becomes enslaved to it, spending the night worrying about it, while small amounts of it call him for more amounts.
And where is the pleasure in food? When a person is hungry then all types of food become the same to him. If he eats too much then he will harm himself.
‘All Ibn AblTalib {radiyAllahu ‘anhu) said, ‘’Fitnah was established on three pillars: Women [which is] Shaytan s set trap; Alcohol [which is] Shaytan’s swift sword; and wealth [which is] Shaytan s poisonous arrow.’
He who sways too much toward women will never enjoy life. And he who enjoys alcohol will never enjoy a sound mind, and he who loves wealth will be a slave to it for as long as he lives.
(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.