Neither Slumber, Nor Sleep overtakes Allaah

– Sheikh ibn Uthaimeen

In His Saying:

{ لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ}  

‘Neither slumber, nor sleep overtakes Him’,

Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى did not say (what means): “He does not sleep,” instead He said: {لا تأخُذُهُ} (which means) “does not overtake Him” in order to comprise the sleep which overcomes and that arising by choice. If you say, “Does not sleep,” it would imply that He does not sleep by choice. However, Allaah, سُبحانه وتعالى does not sleep neither by ghalabah (overcoming) nor by choice, because sleep is an imperfect attribute which contradicts both the perfection of the Self and the perfection in relation to others.

The person who is given to sleep misses a lot of his work because of His sleeping. Consider, for example, the case of a person who has many people working for him and he sleeps a lot. He is unable to reckon with nor manage the business or other related matters. This is an imperfection with respect to others.

As regard to self-perfection, sleep is a deficiency because it  indicates that the person’s body got tired and thus he needed the sleep as a rest from what has passed, as well as a means to renew his activity to engage in what will come ahead. That is the why the people of al-Jannah do not sleep — because of the perfection of their lives and bodies. No illness or the like touches them.

If someone says, “We know that the person who does not sleep is unable to do so because of some kind of sickness or a defect, while you say that the lack of sleep is a perfection. Explain.”

Seven Phases of Shaitaan to destroy the son of Adam

 

 Ibnul-Qayyim (رحمه الله) said:

“Shaitaan tries to destroy the son of Adam in one of seven phases. Some of them are more intense than others. Shaitaan would not try to destroy him in the next phase until he fails to destroy him in a previous one.

These phases are:

1/ The phase of disbelief in Allaah.

His Deen, His perfect attributes, and in what Rasulullah [صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم] informed us about, and the fact that we will be resurrected. If Shaitaan is successful in misleading the slave in this phase, his enmity towards him would diminish and he would take rest. If the slave succeeds, and survives in this phase, Shaitaan would try to destroy him in the next phase.

2/ The phase of Bid’ah (religious innovation)

Whether it pertains to believing in other than the truth which Rasulullah [صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم] was sent with or by worshipping other than Allaah; such as worshipping idols, and the like. Shaitaan enjoys that one succumbs in this phase, for Bid’ah conflicts with the nature of the Deen and compels one to reject it. Furthermore, the one who observes innovated religious practices would not repent from his actions; rather, he would invite people to his Bid’ah! Observing innovated religious practices would compel one to forge lies against Allaah and speak without knowledge; thus it openly clashes with the Sunnah. Observing minor Bid’ah practices would lead one to observing major Bid’ah practices. In this manner, a person would eventually exit the folds of Islam. Scholars and people of knowledge alone know the real dangers of Bid’ah practices. If a person succeeds and survives in this phase by adhering to the Sunnah, and understanding its texts as the Pious Predecessors understood them, Shaitaan would seek to destroy him in the next phase.

3/The phase of major sins

If he is able to destroy the slave in this phase, he would beautify the deed that he is doing and probably compel him to say the following: “No sin would harm the Tawheed (creedal belief) as no good deed would benefit a man who has committed Shirk (i.e. to associate partners with Allaah)? If the person is successful and survives this phase, Shaitaan would seek to destroy him in the next phase.

Beautiful Description of Tawakul on Allaah

Sheikh ul Islaam Imâm Ibnul Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah Rahimahullah said: 

“The condition of the one who relies on Allaah is like the condition of the one who is given a dirham by a king, then it gets stolen from him; so the king says to him: ‘I have many times as much as that, so don’t worry. When you come to me, I will give you from my treasures much more than that.’ Thus if (this person) knows the truthfulness of the king’s statement, and trusts him, and knows that his treasures are full of that, then what he missed will not make him sad.”

[Madaarij us-Saalikeen, Tawakkul; Vol.1, pg.527]

Oh you who believe, stand out firmly for Justice....

Ignorance & Knowledge

Ibnl-Qayyim (رحمه الله) stated:

‘Allaah is not disobeyed except by way of ignorance and Allaah is not obeyed except by way of knowledge.’

{ Miftaah Daaris Sa-‘aadah 1/321}

Thank Allaah For Favouring You With The Sunnah

Ibnul Qayyim (رحمه الله) stated: 

‘I entered upon one of our companions and there was a matter that happened with him which caused him to cry. So, I asked him about it and he said: “I remembered that which Allaah has bestowed upon me of favour from the Sunnah, knowing it, being free from the doubts of the people and their false principles, being given success to have clear intellect and sound natural disposition towards that which the Messenger came with. 

Ignoring wicked Speech of others about you....

A Time when Duaas are answered??

Sit for a short while before you sleep and do this...

Ibnul-Qayyim رحمه الله said,

“Avoid those things that necessitate the punishment of the grave.

And from the most beneficial of them is that when a man wants to sleep, he sits for an hour, for the Sake of Allaah, calling himself to account over the things that he has lost and gained during that day of his. Then, between him and his Lord, he renews his sincere repentance over those things that he lost, and sleeps on that repentance, firmly resolving not to return to the sin when he wakes up–and he does this every night.

So if he dies on that night of his, he would have died upon repentance and if he wakes up, he will wake up going towards action, pleased with the postponement of his appointed time so that he can turn to his Lord and set right what he missed out on.

And there is nothing more beneficial for the servant than this sleep, especially when he follows that [i.e., his resolve to renew his repentance] up with the remembrance of Allaah, performing those sunnan which have been reported from the Prophet of Allaah (صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم) when going to bed, [doing so] until sleep overtakes him.

How to purify and soften the heart

  

Sheikh Bin Baaz رحمه الله said:

“Whoever takes care of his time by doing Dhikr (remembrance) of Allaah, reciting the Qur’aan, accompanying the good people, and distancing himself from the ignorant and bad company will purify and soften his heart.”

Majmoo` Fataawa of Shaikh Bin Baaz (5/244)