7.20. THE ERROR IN SAYING: ‘CONTENTMENT IS WHEN YOU DO NOT ASK ALLAH FOR PARADISE AND DO NOT SEEK HIS PROTECTION FROM HELL.’
Once you understand this introduction, we come back to the words: ‘contentment is when you do not ask Allah for paradise and do not seek his protection from Hell.’ Here we should ask if the person who said this meant that one should not ask Allah for the contents of what is defined as paradise in the Shariah and thus not ask for the chance to gaze at him or anything else that all the Prophets and proteges have asked. Does he also mean that one should not ask Allah not to conceal himself and only contradicts all the Prophets and Messengers and all believers in general but is also self-contradictory and illogical.
This is because the only reason one does not ask for the state of being content is that he is content with Allah. This state of being content with Allah only occurred after knowing him and thereby loving him. If thus contentment and love no longer remain, a person is basically saying that he is pleased not to be pleased, which is a contradition.
Therefore, this kind of was undoubtedly uttered by one who doesn’t understand what he is.This further made clear by the fact that what makes the content person bear the pains and difficulties of life is the pleasure and sweetness of being content; should this sweet delight vanish, he would not be able to bear the bitterness and hurt. How could he then be imagined as being content and not having this sweet feeling? Such words are uttered only by men in the state of spiritual intoxication and “passing away” who taste the sweetness of contentment and erroneously think that it will last in all situations. This, of course, is a grave mistake like that of Samnun mentioned earlier.
If the one who uttered this statement was trying to say that one should not ask for worldly pleasures but should rather ask for what is above that, he has erred in two ways:
The first error: he did not include the said matter in the contents of Paradise even though it really is the greatest pleasure therein.
The second error: he affirmed that he is indeed seeking something in spite of being content. If this request does not go against the reality of being content, there should be nothing wrong in asking for something else as well if one is in need of that.
Moreover, it is well-known that one cannot reach the delight of gazing at Allah without first being spared from Hell and tasting the enjoyment of Paradise that is less in rank than the gazing. The maxim states: what is necessary in achieving a goal is itself a goal, so seeking to gaze at Allah entails seeking what comes with it, and this includes deliverance from the Fire.
Therefore, his contentment is not at odds with asking for that which benefits and seeking refuge from all that is harmful and ask- ing for Paradise and seeking refuge from Hell. The same applies to everything else that is inseparable with the gazing, so the statement of this person contradicts itself.
Then, if he does not ask Allah for Paradise nor seek His protec- tion from Hell, his condition is such that he is either asking or not asking Him to fulfill some lesser need by helping him in some other way or repelling some other harm. If he is doing this, then he might as well be asking for Paradise and seeking protection from Hell as
they are more important. But if he holds contentment to mean that he should never ask for anything, even in a state of dire need, and should not seek protection from any harm, then there are two sce- narios: either he is hoping in his heart that Allah helps him or he is not hoping for anything.
If he is indeed hoping for Allah’s help in his heart, his state indicates that he is really seeking His protection as there really is no differ- ence between one who asks something through his tongue and one who does so through his state. If the two are combined, the case is naturally even clearer and more perfect.
But if he is not hoping for anything, we all know that he cannot stay alive without some necessities which enable him to survive and repel harm. This said, he either loves and seeks these necessities of life and wants someone to provide him with them or not.
If he does indeed love and seek them and wants them from someone else than Allah, he is a blameworthy polytheist and is not to be praised in any way. But if he says that he does not love nor seek them and neither wants them from Allah or His creation, we say that this is not possible as far as living beings are concerned, for they cannot be void of love towards that which they need to survive. This is known by basic sense. If someone is like this, he cannot be described as being content, for true contentment necessitates that one have a specific type of love and want within him. How could a content person be void of all of that? This and other arguments clearly show the futility of these statements.
With regard to the path and religion of Allah, the people who claim contentment have erred from a number of angles:
The first angle: the actions of a content person have to be in accordance with what pleases Allah. If they are not, how can he be content with Allah while not doing what Allah is pleased with? Moreover, how is it acceptable for one to be content with what angers Allah and what He detests, rebukes and forbids?
The clarification of this is as follows:
Contentment is either something that Allah loves and is pleased with or something He is not pleased with. Regarding the content- ment that falls under the latter, there is no command of obliga- tion or recommendation to have it. To clarify this, some types of contentment can actually be unbelief, like the contentment of the unbelievers with polytheism and killing and belying the Prophets and their contentment with everything that Allah hates and is angry with. Allah, Most High, says:
“That is because they followed what angered Allah and disliked [what earns] His pleasure, so He rendered worthless their deeds.” (Muhammad (47): 28)
Therefore, if one follows that which angers Allah with his contentment and action, he has angered Alllah. The Prophet said: ‘When a sin is committed on earth, the one who is absent but pleased with it is like those who are there, and the one who witnesses it but hates it is like those who were not there and disapproved of it. He also said: ‘There will be rulers after me from whom you will approve some and disapprove some. He who disapproves (the bad) is free of blame, he who hates (the bad) is safe, but perished is he who is content and follows.’
Allah, Most High, says:
“They swear to you so that you might be satisfied with them. But if you should be satisfied with them indeed,Allah is not satisfied with defiantly disobedient people.” (al-Tawbah (9): 96)
Therefore, our satisfaction and contentment with sinners is not something that Allah loves and is pleased with, nor is He pleased with the sinners. Allah says:
“Are you satisfied with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But what is the enjoyment of worldly life compared to the Hereafter except a [very] little.” (al-Tawbah (9): 38)
Here, Allah rebukes this type of satisfaction and contentment. He also says:
“Indeed, those who do not expect the meeting with Us and are satisfied with the life of this world and feel secure therein…” (Yunus (10): 7)
This, too, is blameworthy contentment. After this, there is a lot of contentment that is neither this nor that (i.e. it is permissible).
If one is content with his unbelief and sins and the unbelief and sins of others, he is not following that which pleases Allah nor is he a believer in Allah. Rather, he is displeasing his Lord and his Lord is angry with him. Upon him are the curses and blame of His Lord and he is subject to His punishment.
The path of Allah which the guided Shaykhs order us to follow is but abidance by the command to obey Allah and the prohibition to disobey Him. If someone orders, recommends, or praises the contentment which Allah hates, rebukes, and forbids, and which leads to His punishment, he is an enemy of Allah rather than His protege. He is a person who turns others away from His path and does not walk it himself either.
We now know that the contentment of the children of Adam can be beloved to Allah and can be displeased and hated by Him. It can also be neither of these and thus merely permissible and neutral. This is the case with all of the actions of the heart including love and hate. All of these things are either beloved to Allah, detested by Him, or permissible. Therefore we say to those who do not ask Allah for Paradise nor seek His protection from Hell:
First, the ruling on asking Allah for Paradise and seeking His pro- tection from Hell should be obligated, recommended, permissible or disliked. As for it being forbidden or disliked, no Muslim makes such a claim. Neither is it permissible and neutral. If it is said that it is permissible and neutral, we say that even if this was the case, doing
something permissible and neutral does not negate contentment because abstaining from things like eating, drinking, and wearing clothes (which are all permissible) is not a requisite of contentment if doing these things does not negate contentment, how is the case of permissible supplication any different?
If we say that asking and supplicating is in fact obligatory or recommended, we all know that Allah is pleased with the obligatory and surplus deeds of His servants. One then wonders how a content person and a protege of Allah would abstain from doing what Allah loves and is pleased with and would instead insist on doing what He hates and dislikes. This is a trait of His enemies rather than a trait of His proteges.
By Shaykhu’l-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah
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