Most of the openhanded people have great
passion for generosity. They do not refrain from it as long as there is the
need to give generously. They do not accept the censure of the blamer nor
bother about the rebuke of the rebuking person. As for those who have passion
for knowledge, they are extremely fond of it and have passion for it more than
the passion of every lover for his beloved. The most beautiful image of man
cannot distract most of them from it. It was said to the wife of Zubayr bin
Bakkaar or someone else: “May it do you much good since you do not have a
fellow wife.” So she replied: “By Allah, these books are more harmful to me
than a number of fellow wives.”
The brother of our Shaykh, Abdur-Rahmaan bin
Taymiyah informed me on the authority of his father thus: “Whenever my
grandfather entered the toilet he used to say to me, ‘Read this book and raise
your voice so that I can hear you.’” I
know of someone that was afflicted with the ailment of headache and fever and a
book was by his head; whenever he recovers, he would read it and whenever the
sickness overwhelms him, he would drop it. One day a doctor entered upon him
while in that state and said to him: “This is not permissible to you, because
you will overburden yourself and it may be the cause of losing what you
desire.”
Our Shaykh narrated to me saying: “When I fell ill the doctor
said to me: ‘Your research and lecture increases your illness.’ I said to
him: ‘I cannot stop that, and I will debate with you in your knowledge! If a
person becomes happy and joyful doesn’t this strengthen his nature or
spirit, and as a result wards off illness?’ The doctor responded: ‘Of
course!’ So I said to him: ‘Verily my soul is pleased with knowledge
and it strengthens my nature and I find relaxation in that.’ The
doctor responded: ‘This is something outside our own
treatment.’”
So passion [for knowledge] is an attribute of
perfection and it is the most beneficial and highest form of passion and it is
based on the relationship existing between the soul and such attribute. For
this reason, the highest and noblest souls are the highest and noblest in
passion.
Source:
Rawdah al-Muhibbeen wa Nuzhah al-Mushtaaqeen by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
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