The 41st Lecture of Wisdom – Lecture of al-Hikam - Ibnu Athoilah

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Assalamualaikum Mr. Wb   

The 41st Lecture of Wisdom – Lecture of al-Hikam

مَا قَلَّ عَمَلٌ بَرَزَ مِنْ قَلْبٍ زَاهِدٍ وَ لَا كَثُرَ عَمَلٌ بَرَزَ مِنْ قَلْبٍ رَاغِبٍ

" It is not called a little 'charity that comes from the heart of the ascetic. And it cannot be called a lot of 'charity that comes from a greedy heart. ” 

Shaykh Ibn 'Atha'illah said:

مَا قَلَّ عَمَلٌ بَرَزَ مِنْ قَلْبٍ زَاهِدٍ وَ لَا كَثُرَ عَمَلٌ بَرَزَ مِنْ قَلْبٍ رَاغِبٍ

" It is not called a little 'charity that comes from the heart of the ascetic. ”

It cannot be called a little, 'charity that comes from a heart that is zuhud or does not like the world.

'Charity that comes out of the heart of a person who is zuhud is noble even though his deeds are only small according to his zhāhir , but noble according to his essence. Because, 'the deeds of those who are zuhud are safe from riyā' , doing 'charities because they want to be praised by society and are safe from the goal of getting worldly treasures, are also safe from turning away from Him, in contrast to the 'charities of people who love the world.

وَ لَا كَثُرَ عَمَلٌ بَرَزَ مِنْ قَلْبٍ رَاغِبٍ.

And it cannot be called many 'charities that come from a greedy heart. ”

Can not be called much, a 'charity that comes from the heart of people who love the world.

Indeed, the 'charity that comes out or comes from the heart of the person who loves the world is considered small, even though it is seen that the 'charity' is a lot. Because in essence, 'the deeds of people who love the world are not safe from riyā' , do 'charities because they want to be praised by society, and turn away from Allah, because their hearts are inclined to the world. Therefore, narrated from Ibn Mas'ūd, actually Ibn Mas'ūd said: "The prayer of two rak'ahs that originates or is performed by a person who is zuhud who is 'ālim is more important than the 'ibādah of an 'ābid (expert of 'ibādah) who is diligent. worship all his life.” Shaykh Ab 'Abdillah al-Qusyairī ra said: "A man asked the shāliḥ: "I have done various 'charities' of worship and why haven't I found the sweetness of worship in my heart yet?" The pious person replied: "You do not find the sweetness of worship, because you love the daughter of Satan ya'ni world, and surely his father (Ibls) visits his son in his house, and his house is your heart, and when Satan wants to enter your heart he desires to destroy all the commands of your heart or all your limbs.” Shaykh Abū Muḥammad ibn Sahal ra said: "Tomorrow on the Day of Judgment there will be no sight that is more important than the vision of the ' ālim zāhid." Ya'ni, the 'ālim person who does not love the world in his heart.

"Until Whenever God will not leave us"

"The most amazing miracle is the person who runs away from what cannot be separated from him and seeks what does not last for him"

"Indeed, it is not the eyes of the head that are blind, but the eyes of the heart that are in the chest that are blind."

The basic conclusion from the kalam hikmah this time is more or less like this:

What a strange person who abandons God in order to pursue the world. Although God is always with him, while the world leaves him. The only entity in this universe that does not leave us forever is Allah SWT.

God is always with us in any condition. Whether you want Islam, infidels, ungodly, and wherever you are in the world, God is always with us. God is always with us, both when we are in this world, in the grave or later on the day of retribution. Even if God does not leave us.

What is the meaning of the statement that God will always be with us? Of course it does not mean that Allah SWT is with us in a physical sense like we are with the beloved people around us.

God is not the same as his creatures in any way. لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ (الشورى  : 11)

So what does that statement mean? God's knowledge, power, help, love and forgiveness will always be with us. All that will never leave us until any time, even in the case of unbelievers or those of us who often disobey Him.

Furthermore , what is meant by something that will definitely leave us?

The answer is, everything other than Allah SWT will definitely leave us. Whatever it is. Apart from Him will not continue to accompany us. In time, everything other than God will definitely leave us. However, we hold it tight. Starting from the pleasures of the world, wealth, rank, wife, children, social status, all of that will definitely leave us.

Nothing is eternal, other than the Holy One. He is with us in life and death. In the grave and the afterlife. The strange thing is, we are willing to leave the eternal God because we are busy chasing the relative pleasures of the world.

The basic logic of all these statements is as follows:

That our intellect and external vision know that everything other than God begins from a state of non-existence and then becomes existence. The law of nature that we have known so far is that all entities that begin from a state of non-existence then exist. Someday it will definitely return to its original condition; that is, the condition does not exist.

The flow of the process is like this--None-There-Weak-Strong-Strengthening-Weak-Weakening-None. The beginning and the end are the same; that is, there is none.

The plants were not there in the beginning. Then there is, continues to grow in a weak condition, then gets stronger, big, gets stronger, then starts to weaken (withers), continues to weaken and finally dies/is not there. The rotation cycle that occurs in the sun/moon is also the same.

The process of human life is also like that and all other things are like that. Everything will not exist as in the original condition that does not exist.

Consider this verse:

"And We have appointed for the month of manzilah-manzilah, until (after he reaches the last manzilah) he returns as an old bunch." (Yasin: 39)

What wisdom can we take from all these very rational explanations?

The wisdom that can be taken is that we learn that everything that starts from a non-existent condition will definitely have an end point. So that we will not be deceived and dazzled by that thing. Do not shed hope on something that will one day disappear or disappear.

History proves that before us there were many nations living in this world. But are there any that can survive until now? Do not have!

Consider this verse:

"And give an example to them (humans), the life of the world is like rainwater that We send down from the sky, then the plants on the face of the earth become fertile because of it, then the plants become dry blown away by the wind. And is Allah, Almighty over all things.” (Al-Kahfi; 45)

Also note this verse:

"Know that the life of this world is only a game and something that neglects, adornment and boasting among you and boasting about the abundance of wealth and children, like the rain whose crops amaze the farmers; then the plant becomes dry and you see it turns yellow and then crumbles. And in the hereafter (later) there is severe punishment and forgiveness from God and His pleasure. And the life of this world is nothing but deceptive pleasure.” (Al-Hadid: 20)

When we already know that all things in this universe will leave us while God does not. then dedicate all the struggles of this life only to the Eternal Being. The essence that will never leave us. Believe in God's help. Don't have the slightest feeling of worry about Him. Try to always be like that.

In matters of sustenance, believe that God has taken care of all our needs. Don't worry! He knows best about our needs. Let go of the worries that always haunt our minds to not believe in God's help. Reduce little by little our greedy tendencies in the world. Slowly reduce our dependence on the world.

Believe that the happiness offered by worldly pleasures is fake and aims to divert us from Him. Stay with God by believing in Him and serving Him. Pour all your strength to fight for His religion.

That way, one day when we leave the world, we will not regret it. In the grave we will be calm.

About the life of the world pay attention to this verse:

"And the unbelievers, their deeds are like mirages on the flat land, which the thirsty people thought was water, but when he came to the water he found nothing. And he found (the decree) of God with him, then God gave him a sufficient account of his deeds and God is very quick in His reckoning. (An-Nur: 39)

About the life of the world pay attention to this verse:

"Property and children are the ornaments of this world's life, but eternal and pious deeds are better rewarded with your Lord and better to be a hope." (Al-Kahfi: 46)

About the life of the world pay attention to this verse:

"And whatever is given to you, it is the enjoyment of worldly life and its adornment; while what is with God is better and more permanent. Then do you not understand it?” (Al-Qashas: 60)

All these verses can make us aware of our madness in the world. On the sweet bargain of worldly pleasures. That all will pass away. If we are still swayed by all the trinkets that the world offers, then what we will get is misery and endless sorrow.

But even though we are commanded not to depend on the world, it does not mean that God condemns us when we enjoy the food of the world. Not so. Even in some verses of the Qur'an, God has presented the beauty of the world for us to enjoy and be grateful for as a form of His love.

Verses that encourage us to be grateful for the pleasures of the world that have been bestowed by God.

"Indeed, for the people of Saba' there is a sign (of God's power) in their place of residence, namely two gardens on the right and on the left. (to them it was said): "Eat from the sustenance that your God (granted) and be grateful to Him. (Your country) is a good land and (your God) is the Most Forgiving God". (QS. Saba': 15)

A verse that affirms that the enjoyment of the world is a gift that we need to be grateful for

"Say: "Who forbids the ornaments from God that He has brought out for His servants and (who forbids) good sustenance?" Say: "Everything is (prepared) for those who believe in the life of this world, specifically (for them only) on the Day of Resurrection". Thus We explain the verses for those who know. " (QS. Al-A'raf: 32)

What is forbidden is when we tie our hearts to the pleasures of the world, as if happiness cannot be obtained if we do not have the world. What is prohibited is when you believe that the one who gives sustenance, help and happiness to creatures other than God is temporary.

This confidence is an indicator of our unity. The more we don't believe in the world and the more we believe in God, the more we become monotheists.

Ibn Athaillah closed his words of wisdom with "Indeed, it is not the eyes of the head that are blind, but the eyes of the heart that are in the chest that are blind."

As an affirmation that if there is a person who denies the logic that has been explained earlier, it means that he is one of the people whose eyes are blind. It may be that physically he is flawless, but the eyes of his heart are blind without a lantern. So astray and make miserable.

Wassalamualaikum wr.wb