8. ONE ATTAINS WHAT IT OCCUPIES HIMSELF WITH
I noticed that most of the scholars are busy with the outer image of knowledge; the concern of the jurist is to teach people and the concern of the exhorter is to preach to people.
The former dedicates all his efforts to conduct his classes and rejoices when seeing plenty of people attending his lectures; he trivialises the views of his opponents and spends all his time thinking of matters of dispute in order to defeat his opponents. He aspires to be looked up to, glorified among people and he even may endeavour to collect wealth and mingle with rulers.
The latter endeavours to ensure his words are articulated beautifully whereby he can attract more audience and provoke people to glorify him; hence he rebukes and defames his peers [as he wants all the attention for himself].
The hearts of these people are heedless (ghafla) of Allah, Most High; otherwise, if they had the least knowledge about Allah, they would have preoccupied themselves with His servitude and enjoyed invoking Him in privacy (khalwa).
However, when such hearts are empty of all that, only the affair of this low worldly life busies their minds, therefore they cannot seem to find the sweet taste of worship when they do it.
They prefer the gatherings of people and find intimacy when people visit them. Indeed, this is the sign of failure and disgrace.
Contrastingly, whenever the scholar endeavours to please Allah, Most High, he is preoccupied with His obedience and worship. He will find meeting people and conversing with them the most unbearable thing for his heart, and that solitude with His Lord is the most beloved act to his heart. Hence he will be too busy to rebuke his peers or seek power because he devoted his endeavours for his Hereafter, which is above all other endeavours.
The self must have something to occupy itself with; for whosoever endeavours to serve mankind and shuns themselves from Allah, will be focusing on his position in this life, and this requires him to turn away from Allah. Allah said,
“Allah has not put for any man two hearts within him .” [al-Ahzab (33):4]
(Source: al-Hafiz Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-jawzl [d. 597AH] “CAPTURED THOUGHTS being” a translation of his masterpiece ‘Sayd al-K hatir)
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