The Thinking Muslim Blog

Ibn Taymiyyah said: "Dhikr is to the heart as water is to fish, so what will be the condition of the fish if it leaves the water?!" الذكر للقلب مثل الماء للسمك، فكيف يكون حال السمك إذا فارق الماء؟!

I've observed over the years that many aspiring students of knowledge are too lazy and lack discipline. They do not stay committed to their studies or even reading, which naturally leads to lack of progression in their knowledge and understanding. In order to succeed in anything, you must be persistent else you will not reach your goal. Over the years, I've recommended some new students to certain books to begin their journey but they never stay committed. They'll do a few lessons and then just give up or start doing something else and lose focus. Then they come to me after a year or two asking the same questions and advice. This is a very bad practice and habit. Here are some tips based on my own experience: -Once you reach a conclusion on covering/reading a particular text, then stay committed to it until the end. This must be your intention from the start and let nothing get in the way. Everything else must revolve around it. -Set a daily routine of how much to cover/read that particular text. My personal preference: if you're reading on your own, then 10/pages a day and if you're doing an audio/video sharh, then 1 lesson a day until you completely finish. If you're able to do more, great. If you need to do less, fine but just be persistent. It's not important how much you do but what you can handle on a daily basis in a comfortable manner and be consistent with it. -There will be days when you will get lazy and not want to do your set portion of the day. This is fine as long as you force yourself to get back on routine the following day. I let my self slide a day or two here and there but then guilt comes in and I force myself to continue the process. -Keep in mind your goal and why you're doing it. That goal must always be in front of your eyes so that you remain focused and there is a continuous incentive to make you keep going. -Think of the harm of not progressing. If you're level of knowledge and understanding is still the same after a few years, then this is a really bad sign that either you're not doing enough or you're doing something wrong and you need to fix it. Don't waste your life more than you already have being lazy about it. -Keep begging Allah in your du'as to keep you going, put blessing in your time and effort, and to grant you understanding of His beautiful religion.

Ibn Taymiyyah’s Path of Joy and Contentment: IBN AL-QAYYIM WROTE this about Ibn Taymiyyah’s spiritual wayfaring or suluk, rooted as it was in joyful contentment with Allah: ‘I saw Shaykh al-Islam, may Allah sanctify his soul, in a dream, and it is as if I told him an issue about an act of the heart and I went on to mention its greatness and benefit, which I do not remember now. So he said: “As for me, my path is delight with Allah and joy in him.”’1 This Taymiyyan spiritual path of rida bi’Llah — ‘contentment with Allah’ — has as its fruits happiness and joy with Allah, and with life itself. Ibn al-Qayyim says it is the shortest path, even if it’s a steep one. Rida bi’Llah doesn’t negate feeling pain or sorrow. But at one’s core there’s an unwavering trust that all is unfolding as per the Divine Plan, and such a plan is always good for the believer: this being the key to joy and contentment. One acts responsibly, but lives in the serene awareness that Allah’s purpose is always good for the believer; and that He is always in control. _______________ 1 Cited in Ibn al-Qayyim, Madarij al-Salikin (Makkah: Dar ‘Alam al-Fawa’id, 2019), 2:483.

The Five Defence-Walls of Faith: Imam al-Hajjawi [d.968H/1561CE], one of the pillars of the Hanbali school, wrote: ‘It has been said: The allegory of faith (iman) is like that of a fortress having five walls. The first [innermost wall] is made of gold, the second of silver, the third of iron, the fourth, baked bricks, and the fifth [outermost wall] from clay bricks. ‘As long as the inhabitants of the fortress are diligent in guarding the clay wall, the enemy will not set its sights on [attacking] the next wall. But if they become negligent, they will attack the next wall, then the next, till the entire fortress lays in ruins. ‘In a similar way, faith is defended by five walls: certainty (yaqin), then comes sincerity (ikhlas), next up is performance of the obligations (ada’ al-fara’id), after which are the recommended acts (sunan), and lastly guarding beautiful behaviour (adab). ‘So long as adab is guarded and defended, the Devil will not find a way in. But if adab is neglected, Satan makes inroads into the sunan, then the fara’id, then ikhlas, and finally yaqin itself.’1 __________________ 1. Sharh Manzumat al-Adab (Saudi Arabia: Dar Ibn al-Jawzi, 2011), 36.

Qur’an Verse and Hadith Explained: Does the Sun Set in a Muddy or Hot Spring? https://thethinkingmuslim.com/2024/05/21/quran-verse-and-hadith-explained-does-the-sun-set-in-a-muddy-or-hot-spring/

Al-Adab Al-Mufrad Imam al-Bukhari states: (555) Ishaq narrated to us, saying: Muhammad bin Fudayl narrated to us, saying: Al-Walid bin Jamee' narrated to us: on the authority of Abu Salama bin Abd al-Rahman, he said: The Companions of Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, were neither aloof nor did they put on airs of humility. They would cite poetry to each other in their gatherings and recount their stories from the days of Jahiliyyah. But if a compromise was sought from one of them concerning a command of Allah, the pupils of his eyes would spin as if he were a madman.

It is narrated that Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, warned a man against injustice. The man said: "O Imam, I am poor and have family [to look after]." Imam Ahmad said: "Look at this wicked man, he claims that when he disobeys Allah, He provides him and when he obeys Him, He does not provide him!" (Al-Kiyasah fi Ahkam al-Siyasah) رُوي أن الإمام أحمد رحمه الله نهى رجلاً عن الظَلَمَة. فقال: يا إمام، أنا فقير ولي عيال. فقال: انظروا إلى هذا الخبيث يزعم أنه إذا عصى الله يرزقه، وإذا أطاعه لا يرزقه! (الكياسة في أحكام السياسة) لابن المبرد

Some of the scholars said, "Three are the flags of goodness in the student [of knowledge]: 1) Honoring scholars with good humility 2) Being blind to the faults of people by scrutinizing one's own flaws 3) Spending money on seeking knowledge, preferring it over worldly pleasures." من نصائح ذي النون المصري (ت ٢٤٥هـ): "ثلاثة من أعلام الخير في المتعلم: تعظيم العلماء بحسن التواضع لهم، والعمى عن عيوب الناس بالنظر في عيب نفسه، وبذل المال في طلب العلم إيثاراً له على متاع الدنيا"

I have seen some learned people say that if you want to capture the spirit and essence of the Sunnah as a whole, then go through the following three books: 1 - Umdah al-Ahkam by al-Maqdisi 2 - Buloogh al-Maraam by Ibn Hajar 3 - Riyaadh Saliheen by Nawawi The hadiths found in Umdat al-Ahkam and Buloogh al-Maraam are the foundations of legal rulings in fiqhi texts. All three have been translated into English. If you can go through commentaries on each that would even be better, especially for (1) and (2).

Imam al-Zuhri used to say to young men and youth: "Do not belittle yourselves because of your young age. When a difficult matter came to Umar ibn al-Khattab, he called the youth, consulted them, seeking the sharpness of their minds." فقد كان الإمام الزهري يقول للفتيان والشباب: "لا تحقروا أنفسكم لحداثة أسنانكم، فإن عمر بن الخطاب كان إذا نزل به الأمر المعضل دعا الفتيان، فاستشارهم، يبتغي حدة عقولهم"