Slave of Desires

  

“If one attains (what he desires), he is pleased & if he is unable to attain it, he becomes discontented.  Such a person is a slave ['abd] to the things he desires.  He is a slave of it, since true slavery & servitude are the enslavement & servitude of the heart.”

-Ibn Taymiyyah [d. 728H/1328CE]

[Ibn Taymiyyah's Essay on Worship, pp. 100-101]

Forgetting The Unpleasant Things That Have Passed

 

Among the necessary causes of happiness and cessation of grief and worry, is striving to remove the things that bring about grief, and acquire those that bring about happiness. This is achieved by forgetting the unpleasant things that have passed and he has no power to bring them back, and knowing that occupying his mind with them is meaningless; in fact it is ...

A sign (of a person) having love for Allaah

Rabee’ Ibn Anas (Rahimahullaah) said,

“A sign (of a person) having love for Allaah is his increase in his remembrance of Him (Allaah), for verily you do not love something except that you increase remembrance of that (thing).”

Jaami’ al-Uloom Wal-Hikm of Ibn Rajab (Rahimahullaah) p. 444

From Allaah’s Blessings on a servant is that he be granted contentment

Sheikh Uthaimeen, (rahimahullaah) said,

 

“From Allaah’s Blessings on a servant is that he be granted contentment, whether that be regarding his residence, his clothes, his means of transport, or his children.  For when a person is content with what Allaah has given him, he will remain rich.”

Bulughul-Maraam, vol. 6, p. 272.

Deeda that are in your eyes more insignificant than a hair

One of the Companions said:

 

“You are doing deeds that are, in your eyes, more insignificant than a hair, whereas at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (‘alayhis-salaam) we would consider them to be destructive sins!” ^[1]

Ibn Rajab, the Journey to Allaah

[1] al-Bukhaaree no. 6492 on the authority of Anas

The Effects of a Pleasant Smile

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)  said,

 

“Do not look down on any act of kindness, even if it is just meeting your brother with a pleasant smile on your face.”

[Sahih Muslim]

 

Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (Rahimahullaah) said:

A Fly or a Mountain?

‘Abdullah b. Mas’ûd (Allaah be pleased with him) said:

“The believer sees his sins as if he is sitting at the foot of a mountain fearing that it might fall on him, while the sinner (fâjir) sees his sins as a fly that lands on his nose, he just waves it away.”

Al-Bukhârî, Al-Sahîh, The Book of Supplications, Chapter on Tawbah.

Ibn Hajr quotes in his commentary, Fath Al-Bârî:

Ibn Abî Jumrah said, 

“The reason for this [fear] is that the heart of a believer is illuminated; so when he sees from himself something that goes against what he illuminates his heart with, it is very distressing to him. The wisdom behind giving the example of a mountain is that a person might find some way to escape from other dangers, but if a mountain falls on a person he does not survive. In short, the believer is dominated by fear (of Allaah) due to the strength of îmân he has; he does not therefore feel falsely secure about being punished because of his sins. This is the way of the Muslim: he always fears and checks on himself, his good deeds are little to him and he fears even the small bad deeds he has done.”

‘O Allaah! Do not cause me to become famous but take me back to You!’

‘Abdullah Ibn al-Mubarak (rahimahullaah) narrated:

 

‘I was in Makkah when the people were afflicted with a drought. So they all came out to Masjid al-Haram for Istisqaa’ (prayer for rain) but they were not granted rain, & to my side was a black slave.

He said, ‘O Allaah, O Allaah. They have surely called You but You did not respond. I swear to You & take an oath by You that You will indeed provide water for us.’

Ibn al-Mubarak said, ‘By Allaah, it was only a short moment before we were granted rain.’

He continued saying, ‘The black slave departed & I followed him until he entered a house in