The Believer Fears No Person!

Ibn Taymiyyah commented (‘Majmu’ al-Fatawa’; 1/77-78) on the verse: {“It is only Satan that suggests to you the fear of his allies. So, do not fear them, and fear Me if you are believers.”} [Al 'Imran; 175]:

“So, this verse proves that Satan makes his allies sources of fear, and he causes people to be afraid of them. And the verse shows that it is not permissible for the believer to fear the allies of Satan, and he should not fear people, as it was Said: {“So, do not fear the people, and fear Me…”} [al-Ma'idah; 44] So, we are commanded to fear Allah, and we are prohibited from fearing the allies of Satan. Allah Said: {“…So that men may have no argument against you except those of them that are wrong-doers. So, fear them not, and fear Me!”} [al-Baqarah; 150] So, He prohibited the fear of the wrong-doer, and He commanded us to fear Him.

He also Said: {“Those who convey the message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none except Allah…”} [al-Ahzab; 39] And He Said: {“…and fear Me, alone…”} [an-Nahl; 51]

“The problem is not with my Lord…”

Ibn al-Qayyim related from al-Jariri:

“I was told of a man from the Children of Israel who had a need that he wanted fulfilled by Allah. So, he engaged in constant worship and then asked Allah for his need. When he did not see that his need was fulfilled, he spent the night blaming himself, saying: “O self! What is wrong with you that is preventing your need from being fulfilled?”

And he spent the night sad and holding himself to account, saying: “By Allah, the problem is not with my Lord. Rather, the problem is with myself,” and he remained in such a state of holding himself responsible until his need was finally taken care of.”

['Ighathat al-Lahfan'; 1/77]

From Whom Did Islamic Knowledge Originate?

“…And the Religion, Fiqh, and knowledge spread between the people from the companions of Ibn Mas’ud, the companions of Zayd bin Thabit, the companions of ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar, and the companions of ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas. So, all the knowledge that is with the people is generally from the companions of these four.

As for the people of Madinah, their knowledge is from the companions of Zayd bin Thabit and ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar.

Worship of Ease vs. Worship of Difficulty

“…Indeed, Allah has tasked His slaves with worship in difficult conditions just as He has in conditions of ease. He has tasked them with worship in what they dislike just as He has tasked them with worship in what they love. Most people are given the chance to worship in regards to what they love. However, the true distinguishing factor is when one worships during conditions that he dislikes, as this is what makes a person degrees and degrees above others, and this is what determines his level with Allah.

So, making ablution with cold water in extremely hot weather is worship, and kissing your beautiful wife that you love is worship, and spending money on her, the children, and yourself is worship. This same ablution with cold water in extremely cold weather is also worship, and abandoning a very tempting sin when there is no fear of anyone finding out is also worship, and spending your money in times of poverty is also worship.

However, there is a huge difference between the two sets of worship!

So, the one who is a slave of Allah in both types of conditions, fulfilling His rights in what he likes and dislikes, is the one who this verse applies to: {“Is Allah not sufficient for His slave?”} [az-Zumar; 25] and in another qira’ah: {“…for His slaves?”} They both carry the same meaning, as the singular form of the word is simply an ascription to the generality of it, and is referring to all of the slaves of Allah.

The complete sufficiency that is referred to in this verse comes with the complete servitude and worship displayed by the slave, and incomplete sufficiency comes with incomplete servitude. So, whoever finds himself with good should praise Allah, and whoever finds himself with anything else should only blame himself…”

['al-Wabil as-Sayyib'; p. 22-23]

How to Give Da’wah to Those Who Love the Dunya

“…The smart one does not command people to abandon the dunya, because this is impossible for them. Rather, he has them abandon sins while they are established in their dunya. This is because abandoning the dunya is an optional virtue while abandoning sins is an obligation. So, how can he command them with something optional while they have not even fulfilled what is obligatory?

If it is difficult for them to abandon sins, he should then strive to get them to love Allah by reminding them of His signs, blessings, Kindness, perfection, and Loftiness. This is because the hearts are naturally designed to love Him, and if they become attached to loving Him, it then becomes extremely easy to abandon sins and to detach oneself from them.

Yahya bin Mu’adh said: “The intelligent one seeking the dunya is better than the ignorant one abandoning it.”

The smart one calls the people to Allah from their dunya, and this makes it easier for them to respond to him. The zahid calls them to Allah by way of abandoning the dunya, and this makes it hard for them to respond, since it is very hard to pull someone away from the breast that he has developed his mind while suckling on…”

['al-Fawa'id'; p. 233-234]

The Unavoidable Obstacle

In ‘Madarij as-Salikin’ (1/218-222), Ibn al-Qayyim has a section about the obstacles that Satan puts into the path of the one who chooses to live his life for Allah. He mentions the six commonly known obstacles in the order that they will be thrown into the path of the believer, such that whoever passes through one obstacle is then faced with the next (disbelief, followed by innovation in religion, followed by major sins, followed by minor sins, followed by permissible acts that distract one from acts of obedience, followed by acts of obedience that are of lower reward than others).

However, he mentions a seventh and final obstacle for the one who passes through the above six successfully:

Three Distinctions Often Confused

There are certain things that the soul often confuses and mixes up, and only those with deep insight and wisdom are able to properly distinguish between them. Ibn al-Qayyim points out some of these fine details and distinctions that should be made.