7.6. AL- FUDAYL AND AL-JUNAYD ON CONTENTMENT
The point is that al-Qushayrl’s quote from al-Nasr AbadI is very beautiful: ‘He who wishes to reach the position of (being) content acceptance must adhere to that in which Allah has placed His acceptance.’ The same goes for Shaykh Abu Sulayman’s words: When the servant has forgotten his desires he is content.
This is because the only thing that stops a person from being pleased and content is the fact that his soul keeps seeking fulfillment from superfluous desires and becomes annoyed if it fails. Therefore, when one does not think about his desires, he is content with the provisions Allah has granted him.
Similarly beautiful is his quote from al-Fudayl Ibn ‘Iyad who says to Bishr al-Hafi: ‘Contentment is better than the abandonment of superfluous matters because a content person does not desire things that are above his status.’ These are fine words, though I have my doubts about Bishr al-Hafi ever hearing from al-Fudayl.
He also related the following suspended (muallaq) narration: Al- Shibll said in front of al-Junayd: ‘La hawla wala qawwali ilia billah!’ So al-Junayd told him: The words you have uttered indicate unease, and unease is caused by a lack of contentment with the divine decree.’
This, too, is a fine statement indeed and al-Junayd, may Allah be pleased with him, really was the master of the group (of Sufiyah) and one of its finest teachers, educators, and rectifiers. Contrary to popular belief, this sentence is actually a plea for help, not a plea to return things the way they were. Many utter it at times of difficulty in a plea to regain what they have lost, and thereby utter it in a state of anxiety, not patience.What al-Junayd actually rebuked in the narration was the attitude which led al-Shibll to say the words, as it signified a lack of contentment. Had he uttered them in the right context, he would have not rebuked him.
By Shaykhu’l-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah
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