Softening The Heart: Kitāb az-Zuhd wa’r-Raqāʾiq

by Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak

‘There is in one of the scriptures: “Son of Adam, you call on Me but flee from Me, and you remember Me but forget Me.”’ (Ḥilyah 4:27)6

“I am too embarrassed to worship my Lord out of hope of the reward of the Garden, like a worker who only works if he is paid his wage, otherwise he does not. And I am too embarrassed to worship my Lord out of fear of the Fire, like a bad slave who only works when he is afraid, and if he does not fear, he does not work.”’ Ibn Ḥayyuwayh said, ‘But I worship Him as is His right.’ (Abū Isḥāq al-Khuttalī in Maḥabbah 88).

‘When the Hour was mentioned in front of ʿĪsā ibn Maryam , he would cry and say, “It is not befitting for the Son of Maryam to remain calm when the Hour is mentioned in front of him.”’ (Abū Nuʿaym in Ḥilyah 4:313).

‘They hope and they hope, but when that fails, they strive.’ (Ibn Abī ’d-Dunyā in Mutamannīn 92).

225. Anas ibn Mālik narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘The son of Ādam is destroyed—or the son of Ādam becomes senile—and two things still remain in him: avarice and high expectations.’ (Aḥmad 12142 and Nasāʾī in as-Sunan al-Kubrā 11765).

‘Beware of gluttony, because it hardens the heart, but overstuff yourself with knowledge. Do not laugh a lot, otherwise no good will penetrate the heart.’ (Abū Nuʿaym in Ḥilyah 7:36).

‘A Muslim does not eat with his whole stomach, and he always keeps his will by his side.’ (Dārimī 3220).

‘Do you want me to tell you what Allah Almighty will say to the believers first on the Day of Rising, and what you will say to Him first?’ ‘Yes, Messenger of Allah,’ the Companions answered. He said, ‘Allah Almighty will say to the believers, “Did you want to meet me?” They will answer, “Yes, our Lord.” He will ask, “Why?” and they will say, “We hoped for Your forgiveness and Your pardon.” He will say, “My forgiveness is mandatory for you.”’ (Aḥmad 22072, Ṭabarānī in Kabīr 20:125 and Bayhaqī in Shuʿab 1017).

‘When Allah desires good for someone, He gives him three qualities: deep understanding of the religion, self-discipline in this world and insight into his faults.’ (Baghawī 4050).

‘A judicious, generous man does three things: he carries out the obligations of Allah, he avoids evil, and he is rarely heedless. Do not underestimate three things: good which you seek, evil which you guard against and forgiveness sought for a sin too great. Beware of playing games, because you will not obtain this world by it, you will not reach the Next World by it and you will not please the King by it. The Fire was created for anger, and I warn you about the anger of Allah .’ (Kunā 1529).

‘One day Muṭarrif came to us and said, “If I were pleased with myself, I would hate you, but I am not pleased with myself.”’ (Ibn ʿAsākir in Tārīkh 58:301).

272. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘The believer is a slave caught between two fears: a past sin and the uncertainty of what Allah will do to him because of it, and his remaining life and the uncertainty of the forms of destruction he will encounter in it.’1

274. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said, ‘Hold yourselves accountable before you are held accountable, for that is easier,’ or he said, ‘Lighten your reckoning. Weigh yourselves [in deeds] before you are weighed and prepare for the greatest exposition: On that Day you will be exposed—no concealed act you did will stay concealed (69:17).’ (Ājurrī in Adab an-Nufūs 17).

The believer is a prisoner in this world who strives to free himself, and he is not sure of anything until he meets Allah. He knows that he will be taken to task for his hearing, sight, speech and his limbs. He knows that he is taken to task in all of that. (Ibn Abī Shaybah 35209).

‘Do you all want to enter the Garden?’ They answered, ‘Yes, Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Then manage your expectations, keep your deaths firm in your sights, and be truly modest before Allah.’ They said, ‘Messenger of Allah, all of us are ashamed before Allah.’ He explained, ‘Modesty before Allah is not like that. Modesty before Allah is that you do not forget the graves and the decay, you do not forget the stomach and what it holds and you do not forget the head and what it contains. Whoever desires the honour of the Next World abandons the adornment of this world. The slave is modest before Allah here, and in the Next World, he will obtain the friendship of Allah .’ (Abū Nuʿaym in Ḥilyah 8:185).

I found in one of the books that Allah Almighty says: ‘When My slave obeys Me, I respond to him before he calls on Me and I give to him before he asks Me. When My slave obeys Me, if the people of the heavens and the people of the earth were to gather against him, I would give him a way out. If My slave disobeys Me, I cut off his access to the doors of the heavens and leave him suspended in the air, and none of My creation could help him at all.’ (Abū Nuʿaym in Ḥilyah 4:38).