The 40th Syarah of Wisdom – Syarah al-Hikam - Ibnu Athoilah

 

 

The 40th Syarah of Wisdom – Syarah al-Hikam

رُبَّمَا كُنْتَ مُسِيْئًا فَأَرَاكَ الْإِحْسَانَ مِنْكَ صُحْبَتُكَ مَنْ هُوَ أَسْوَأُ حَالًا مِنْكَ

“ You may do bad things, but your friendship with people who are worse off makes you look good. ”

Shaykh Ibn 'Atha'illah said:

رُبَّمَا كُنْتَ مُسِيْئًا فَأَرَاكَ الْإِحْسَانَ مِنْكَ صُحْبَتُكَ مَنْ هُوَ أَسْوَأُ حَالًا مِنْكَ.

“ You may do bad things, but your friendship with people who are worse off makes you look good. ”

Your association with stupid people will only make you mad , and make you commit disobedience to Allah, because maybe you will do despicable things and you believe what you are doing is good, you are willing to do it, and rejoice with it, then you become 'jub and happy with your friend's compliment. Thus, be you people who are affected by the tricks of the devil and the tricks of your passions. So, find a friend who hates this world and loves the hereafter.

"If you have not been able to be kind to Allah because of the perfection of His attributes, then be kind because of His friendship with you. Doesn't He always give you something good? And doesn't He always give you all the pleasures?"

A brief description of these 40 wisdoms is that, with regard to being kind to Allah, there are 2 types of people as follows:

First , people who are immediately devoted to Allah because they know Allah's beautiful attributes. He knows that Allah is Most Compassionate, Compassionate, Most Merciful, Forgiving, Most Good, Most Holy, Most Beautiful, Most Wise, etc.

That knowledge went straight to his heart, his faith, and seeped into his heart. Therefore, this type of person is immediately kind to Allah without waiting for Allah to bestow real goodness on him. He believes that Allah is Most Gracious, so he is kind to Allah, even though he has not been blessed with material wealth by Him. He believed and believed that Allah was wise, so he thought well of Allah, even though now he is still faced with many difficulties, etc.

Second , the type of person who cannot be kind to Allah, until he sees clear evidence of Allah's goodness to him. He may know that Allah is Gracious, Merciful, Wise, Forgiving, etc

But this type of person cannot be kind to Allah until he really gets sustenance. This type of person cannot be kind to Allah unless he can really escape the difficulties he faces, etc

Ibn Athaillah said: be kind to Allah, both as the first and second types of people. If you can't be kind to Allah with the first type, then be kind to Allah with the second type

And, if you are the second type of person, then after you reflect, you will find the fact  that doesn't Allah always pour out His grace on you? Haven't God's blessings been bestowed upon you?

As a result, even though you are the second type of person, after thinking about Allah's good treatment, you have no choice but to be kind to Him. How come? We can't even count the outpouring of His smallest blessings? How can we not be kind to Him?

No creature is able to count His favors, let alone repay them. If we understand all this, is it possible for us to think badly of God? Could it be that God is planning something bad for us?

Not. Again not. So from here we will realize, that everything that is ordered and prohibited, is for our good. We become aware that Islamic law was revealed for the benefit of mankind, the benefit of the world and the hereafter.

In the end, we will obey the Shari'a, because we are sure that the benefits will come back to us, either now or later.

May we all be blessed with blessings to always be kind to Allah....

Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh