Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyyah

Ikhlaas (sincerity) cannot coexist in a heart which [embraces] the love of praise and commendation, [nor] the yearning [to obtain] that which is possessed amongst the people, save in the [manner] that fire and water, or a lizard and fish may coexist.

If your soul informs you to quest for Ikhlaas, turn first towards your yearning and slaughter it with a knife [in a state] of desperation. Then turn [in a state of] asceticism upon praise and commendation, the asceticism of the [one] who loved the Dunya for the sake of the Hereafter. If your quest in the [act] of slaughtering the yearning, and [the acquisition of] asceticism [against] praise and commendation is successful, your [journey] shall be facilitated in your [quest] for Ikhlaas.

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Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah

And Allah ta`ala said:

“Believers! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger and those charged with authority among you; if you differ in anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger (for judgment) if you truly believe in Allah and the Last Day: that is best and most suitable for final determination.” [4:59]

Allah ta`ala is requiring obedience to Him and to His Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam). He starts the aayah with an address to the “believers”, hinting that what is required thereafter is a consequence of that name with which they are addressed.

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Requirements of the Journey
by Imâm Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

One of the best ways of mutual support (in righteousness and piety) is to help one another on the journey of migration to Allâh and to ar-Rasûl (peace be on him) with hands, tongues and hearts, and by teaching, educating and caring. A person having the attitude toward al-`Ibâd (the worshippers) of Allâh will see prosperity rush to him from all directions. Allâh will move toward him the hearts of His `Ibâd, will open for his heart the gates of knowledge, and will make smooth for him the path bliss. Conversely, one with an opposite attitude will receive opposite consequences.

If one then asks,

“You have described a very great journey and a very important matter; but what provisions should be taken along? What’s the way to follow? And what are the means to be used for transportation?”

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The Supplication and Al-Qadar
Imaam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah

Here there occurs a very popular question and it is:

If the thing that is being supplicated for is already decreed for the servant, then there is no doubt that it is going to come to pass for him, regardless of whether he supplicates for it or not. And if it has not been decreed for him, then it will not come to pass, regardless of whether he asks Allaah for it or not.

There is one group that perceives this question to be valid and so they have abandoned the supplication and are of the view that there is no benefit in doing it. These people, along with their excessive ignorance and misguidance are in clear contradiction, for if we were to follow their opinion, it would require us to reject all the different means for attaining something (desired).

So it can be said to one of them:

If satisfying your appetite and quenching your thirst were already decreed for you, then there is no doubt that they are going to come to pass, whether you eat and drink or you don’t. And if they were not decreed for you, they will not come to pass, whether you eat and drink or you don’t.

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Three Distinctions Often Confused
Ibn al-Qayyim al Jawziyyah

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 them. Ibn al-Qayyim points out some of these fine details and distinctions that should be made.

i) Self-Respect vs. Vanity

“Self-respect is to make your soul rise above the petty and insignificant things that cause people to bend their necks pursuing. So, he prevents himself from this.

This is different from arrogance, which is a characteristic that is born from two things: being impressed with oneself and belittling others. So, arrogance is born from these two things, and the first (i.e. self-respect) is born from two things: honoring oneself and making it noble…

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