AL-HIKAM 35th WISDOM OF WISDOM

35th WISDOM OF WISDOM 

 لَا تَرْفَعَنَّ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ حَاجَةً هُوَ مُوْرِدُهَا عَلَيْكَ فَكَيْفَ يَرْفَعُ غَيْرَهُ مَا كَانَ هُوَ لَهُ وَاضِعًا     مَنْ لَا يَسْتَطِيْعُ أَنْ يَرْفَعَ حَاجَةً عَنْ نَفْسِهِ فَكَيْفَ يْسْتَطِيْعُ أَنْ يَكُوْنَ لَهَا عَنْ غَيْرِهِ رَافِ

 "Don't ask anyone other than Him. He is the one who fulfills your wish. How can anything other than Him change something that He has decreed? How can a person who is unable to free himself from need free the needs of others?”

 

Shaykh Ibn 'Atha'illah said

 لَا تَرْفَعَنَّ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ حَاجَةً

 "Do not beg other than Him."

O murīd, do not hope in other than Allah.

To get rid of trials such as sickness or poverty, but you only have to hope and ask Allah to remove them.

  "The root of all immorality, negligence and lust is the pleasure of lust. And the root of all obedience, vigilance and purity is that you are not content with lust. Friendship with ignorant people who do not obey their desires is better for you than friendship with pious people who submit to their desires. What kind of knowledge is carried by the pious who submits to his lust? On the other hand, what ignorance can be attributed to an ignorant person who does not indulge his desires?”

In essence, to gain the pleasure of Allah, one must not obey his desires, on the contrary, people who obey their desires will get the wrath of Allah. Of course it's obvious. What we need to clarify now is, what is meant by "lust"?

What is meant by "lust" is the animal nature that exists in man, the impetus for his desires. The meaning of "lust" is what is meant in the following verses of the Koran   QS. 12 : 53

"And I do not absolve myself (from guilt), because verily lust always commands evil, except lust which is given mercy by my Lord. Verily, my Lord is Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

So what is meant by "lust" here is the instinct, character, drive, and character possessed by humans and all animals, the explanation above is clear, as discussed in the previous chapter. Now, let's ask about the following:

[a] What is the basis for Ibn Athaillah to say that the root of immorality, negligence and lust is according to lust? and what is the basis that obedience comes from disobedience / disobedience to lust?

[b] what is the reason that following one's lust is the root of sin, and not obeying one's lust is the root of obedience?

[c] How do you prevent Muslims from following their desires, so that they can gain the pleasure of Allah?

Answers to questions

[a], the foundation of Ibn Athaillah is the following verse   QS.04:49

"Don't you pay attention to people who think themselves clean? In fact, Allah cleanses whom He wills and they do not do anything wrong. "

And strengthened by the following verse ~ QS. 53: 32

"(That is) those who stay away from major sins and heinous acts apart from minor faults. Verily, your Lord is wide in His forgiveness. And He knew better (about) you when He made you from the ground and when you were still a fetus in your mother's womb; So don't call yourself holy. He is the one who knows best about the pious."

The answer to the question in point [b], regarding the reasons for following one's lust as the root of immorality, is as follows:

That lust, as we know, is an animal potential that lies within each of us, consider the following verse ~QS. 03:14

"Made beautiful in (the view of) humans the love of what they want, namely: women, children, wealth of many kinds of gold, silver, horses of choice, livestock and fields. That is the pleasure of living in this world, and with Allah is a good place to return (heaven).”

That is, God creates lust in every human being, if man succeeds in fighting his lust, does not obey his lust, then he will be facilitated to obey God. On the other hand, if a human being is complacent with the lust that is inherent in him, he will surely fall into disobedience. That's why the prophets, saints, scholars, all try to fight the lust within themselves

Next, here is the answer to point [c]: how can we not indulge our passions? The answer is that Allah has provided a cure for every disease He has created. It has been explained earlier, that humans have the character to be happy to obey their desires. That's why humans are weak in the face of their own passions, tend to follow their passions.

The Qur'an describes the character of humans who are weak and have no power whatsoever, as follows ~ QS. 04: 28

"God wants to give you relief, and humans are made weak."

Well, if humans know that they are weak to fight the power of lust that is hidden in them. So a human who is fully aware of this, of course he will not be arrogant and determined. On the other hand, he will always be humble before Allah, begging Him to be saved from bad desires, by acting in such a way, he will become a true servant of Allah. Don't be a slave to your lust.

So, if obeying lust is the principle of disobedience, then what good is a knowledgeable person who is immersed in his lust? That is why Ibn Athaillah warns us to avoid such knowledgeable people. Danger!

On the other hand, what is so bad about ignorance accompanied by vigilance and disobedience to one's desires? Making friends with this type of person is certainly very beneficial for us, can guide us to piety to Allah.

Peace be upon you, and Allah mercy and blessings