6. ALLAH POSTPONES PUNISHING THE SINNERS
I had thought deeply about seeking (religious) knowledge and busying myself with it. I found that it fortifies the heart (qalb) that causes it to become rigid. Were it not for the strong hope and strength of the heart, no one would busy himself with seeking knowledge.
I write a hadith hoping to narrate it, and I start writing a book hoping to complete it; but when 1 pondered upon the acts of worship, hope dwindles, the heart becomes soft, the tears start to flow, tranquility descends and invoking Allah in secret becomes sweet. It is as if I enter the state of being mindful of Allah in all of my conditions.
Knowledge is better however, stronger in proof and higher in status despite the negative effect of knowledge that 1 have previously mentioned.
As for devoting oneself for worship—despite the benefits I previously mentioned about it— it is for lazy cowards who are sufficed with mending their own affairs rather than guiding others, and so they seclude themselves instead of bringing people closer to their Lord.
Notwithstanding, you should know that the right thing to do is to seek knowledge while exposing your heart to what softens it in a way that does not distract you from perfecting seeking knowledge.
Given the fragility [daf] and softness {riqq) of my heart, I do dislike letting my ‘self visit graves or be in the company of dying people, because this influences my mind and takes me away from the sphere of seeking knowledge to the sphere of thinking {maqam al-fikr) about death (mawt), and so become neutralised; not being of benefit for a while.
The veritable statement to be made in handling this issue is that a disease must be treated with its opposite: He whose heart is rigid or hard (qasiya shahid al-qaswa) and is not mindful of Allah (muraqaba) enough to keep him away from falling into error; ought to treat this with remembering death and visiting people on their deathbeds.
And he whose heart is too soft (shahid al-riqq), then that is enough a worry to address; therefore he should occupy himself with what makes him overcome the effect his soft heart has on him, so he can take benefit from his life and understand the rulings he gives.
Allah’s Messenger used to joke, and used to race ‘A’ishah {radiy Allahu ,anha)m and used to be kind to himself.
He who follows the Prophet’s) way will understand the point that I am making with regards to taking care of one’s self and treating it gently.
(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.