Author: Abul Nasr Zaranji
Twenty Discourses, Twenty Radiant Faces (Part 13)
Morality, Asceticism, and Piety of Allama Ibn al-Qayyim (May Allah have mercy on him)
Ibn al-Qayyim’s family was of special dignity and a clear example of the virtues of morality. Ibn al-Qayyim observed and heard all these good things with his ears. The things he saw and heard taught him gentle and good morals, a pure inner self, great determination, steady steps, far-sighted thoughts, and interesting positions.
Ibn al-Qayyim was a worshiper whose soul was filled with passion and devotion. At night, when the desire to meet Allah Almighty arose, he would be unable to stand from excessive joy and would stand in front of Him with utmost humility and pray. Ibn al-Qayyim’s heart was filled with love for Allah and a state of repentance towards Him; the light of humility before Allah was visible on his face. He performed Hajj several times and stayed in Makkah for a long time. The people of Makkah spoke of his abundance and frequency of worship and circumambulation, which caused wonder among the people.
His student Ibn Rajab says about him: “Ibn al-Qayyim was a night-worshiper who prayed extremely long prayers. He was fascinated by the remembrance of Allah and became accustomed to it. Love, repentance, seeking forgiveness, expressing his need for Allah, seeing himself humbled before Him, and avoiding obstacles to His worship were ingrained in Ibn al-Qayyim’s heart. I have never seen anyone like him, and I have never seen anyone more thoughtful than him.”
Allamah Ibn Hajar Asqalani says: “When Allamah Ibn al-Qayyim prayed the morning prayer, he would stay in the same place and engage in the remembrance of Allah until the time for the noon prayer arrived. He would say, ‘This is my breakfast, and if I do not do it, my strength and powers will be depleted.’ He would also say: ‘A person achieves the rank of Imamate in religion through patience and poverty, and one who wants to follow the path of Allah must possess great zeal that will cause his growth and advancement, and he must also have knowledge that will guide him to the right path.’”
If one studies the book “Madarej al-Salekin” by Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him), it becomes clear that he had a steadfast heart filled with certainty in Allah, expressing his lack of devotion to Him, along with his helplessness and repentance at His threshold. The love of Allah was so deep in his heart that he did not recognize anyone besides Him when he worshipped. He had true love, and his heart belonged to Allah in both secret and appearance. Worship was to him like medicine and ointment that he applied to his wounds to heal them. In “Madarej al-Salekin,” he mentions compelling reasons for loving Allah, which we will outline:
1. Reciting the Quran with reflection and understanding its meanings and concepts, and what it requires of us: like a book that a person memorizes and explains to convey its meaning and intent to others.
2. Getting closer to Allah through Nawafil after performing obligatory acts: Because Nawafil cause a person to reach a level of popularity, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) narrates in a Qudsi hadith that Allah says: “My servant draws closer to Me through continuous Nawafil until I love him.”
3. Constantly remembering Him in every situation through the heart, tongue, action, and state: Every person’s share of popularity with Allah is equal to the amount of remembrance (Zikr) he makes.
4. Sacrificing the desires and loves of the soul in exchange for the things that Allah loves, and acting on Allah’s commands, even if they are difficult.
5. Thinking and contemplating the names and attributes of Allah and knowing Him through the heart and wandering in the garden of His knowledge and its creations: Because the one who knows Allah by His names, attributes, and actions loves Him intensely. For this reason, the Mu’attilah, the Far’aniyyah, and the Jahmiyyah have created a distance between the human heart and its beloved.
6. Looking at the goodness and favors, the outward and inward signs and blessings of Allah: This guides a person towards His love.
7. Among the most astonishing causes of Allah’s love is the prostration of the heart, despair, and the expression of poverty in front of Him.
8. Solitude with Allah when divine mercies descend, supplications to Him, reciting His words, standing before Him with the presence of the heart, adorning oneself with the manners of worship when standing in front of Him, and ending it with seeking forgiveness and expressing inability to worship Him.
9. Being with the lovers and friends of Allah and the truthful and picking the sweet and good fruits of their words just as one picks fruit from a tree.
10. Avoiding anything that separates the heart of man from Allah.
Finally, Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “The lovers of Allah attained the rank and status of love and entered upon their beloved through these ten means, but the criterion for all of these is two things:
11. The readiness of man to attain this rank.
12. Having a discerning eye.”
If we reflect for a moment on these ten reasons, we will realize that only someone who has tasted love himself and has also attained the status of popularity through these means can utter these words.
The distinguished student of Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Kasir, says about his master: “He had a good recitation and also good and pleasing morals; he did not envy anyone, did not bother anyone, and did not find fault with anyone. I was the closest and most beloved person to him; I do not know anyone more devout than him at this time. His way of praying was such that he would make it very long, especially in his bowing and prostration, to the point that many of his companions would reproach him; but he would not turn away from any of them or argue with them.” Overall, he was unique in his life and circumstances, and his goodness and good morals prevailed and surpassed everything.
Moreover, from the summary of his good morals and the purity of his heart, we see how he expressed the proper manners of dealing with and interacting with the servants of Allah, correcting and treating their behavior with great goodness and clarity of soul. He states in “Madarej al-Salekin”: “A person who has done something wrong to you and then comes to you and apologizes; at this moment, the humility of humanity requires you to accept his apology, whether it was right or wrong, and his inner self should be left to Allah. Just as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) accepted the excuses of the hypocrites who had refused to participate in jihad and then apologized to him, he forgave them and left their inner selves to Allah.”
Imam Ibn Qayyim’s (may Allah have mercy on him) Teachers
Zarkali says about Ibn Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him): “He acquired most of his knowledge from Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), and he did not reject any of Ibn Taymiyyah’s sayings; rather, he was involved in spreading, publishing, and supporting the teachings of Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him). Ibn Qayyim was the one who disseminated the books of Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) throughout the world.”
Ibn Rajab states: “Among his teachers are Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, Shihab Nabulsi, Imad al-Din Shirazi, Fatima bint Jawhar, Abu Bakr bin Abdul Da’im, Qadi Taqi al-Din Sulayman, and others.” However, it emerges from the totality of Allamah Ibn al-Qayyim’s writings, as well as the brief and lengthy speeches of others about him, that his knowledge and scholarly contributions flourished and were completed when, at the peak of his youth, at the age of 21, he joined the group of students of Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah.
Continues…
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