Gems from the Writings of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (01)

Ø  There is a vacuum in the heart which nothing can ever fill except Allah, the most High; and in it there is disorder which nothing can rectify except turning to Him; and there is sickness in it that nothing can heal other than sincerity to Him and worshiping Him alone.

Ighaathah al-Lahfaan

Ø  Whenever wants become great, the hindrances and obstacles towards it become numerous. This is the way of Allah regarding His creatures.

                                                                                                             Taariq al-Hijratayn

Ø  The one who loves Allah and His Messenger will be jealous for Allah and His Messenger in accordance to his love and veneration of Him. And if his heart is devoid of jealousy for Allah and His Messenger, then he is very much devoid of love.

Rawdah al-Muhibbeen

Ø  Whoever fears anything other than Allah will be overcome by it; and whoever hopes in anything other than Allah will be disappointed regarding it and be deprived of its good. This is Allah’s way regarding His creatures, and no change will you find in Allah’s way of dealing.

 Madaarij as-Saalikeen

Four Keys to Good Character

Imaam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah stated:

Good character is established upon four pillars; it cannot be attained except based on them. They are: patience, chastity, courage and justice.

Patience will make one to endure, suppress anger, abstain from harming others, and have forbearance, tolerance, and kindness and not be thoughtless and hasty.

Chastity will cause one to abstain from despicable and vile things of speech and action; and it will make one to have modesty, which is the head of every good and prevent one from illegal sexual intercourse, miserliness, lying, backbiting and slandering.

Courage will make one to have sense of honor, give preference to high standard of characters and traits, to give generously, which is the courage of the soul and its strength to give out what is beloved and separate from it. It will also make one to suppress anger and have forbearance, because through the strength of one’s soul and its courage, one will withhold its trouble and restrain it from incitement to evil and violence as stated by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger.”[1]  That is the reality of courage. It is the special ability with which a person defeats his opponent.

Justice will make one’s character to be upright and balanced between the two extremes of immoderation and negligence. It will spur one towards the character of selflessness and generosity, which is the middle cause between humbleness and brazenness, and the character of courage, which is the middle cause between cowardice and rashness; and towards the character of patience which is the middle cause between anger and humiliation. The origin of all these virtuous characters is from these four things.

Source: Madaarij as-Saalikeen Bayna Manaazil (Iyyaaka Na‘bud wa Iyyaaka Nasta‘een) by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

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[1]  Recorded by al-Bukhaaree (6113) and Muslim (2609)