The
Heaven of This World
By Ibn Al Qayyim
on Ibn Taymiyyah
From Ibn al-Qayyim's
Al-Wabil as-Sayyib
I heard the Sheikh of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah - may
Allah sanctify his soul - say,
'Truly, there is a Heaven in this world,
[And] whoever does not enter it,
Will not enter the Heaven of the next world.'
And once he said to me,
'What
can my enemies do to me?
I have in my breast both my Heaven and my Garden.
If I travel they are with me, and they never leave me.
Imprisonment for me is a religious retreat [khalwa].
To be slain for me is martyrdom [shahada]
And to be exiled from my land is a spiritual journey [siyaha].'
During his imprisonment in the fortress, he
would say, 'I could not be more grateful for this blessing were I to have
this entire fortress in gold'; or, 'I could never repay them for the
good that has come to me in [this prison].'158
And in prostration he would say, whilst in a
state of imprisonment 'O Allah, help me in my gratitude to You,
remembrance of You and the most comely worship of You' as much as Allah
willed. 159
Once he said to me, 'The real prisoner is
someone whose heart is imprisoned from his Lord; the true captive is someone
captured by his passions.' And when he entered the fortress and was
inside its walls, he gazed upon them and recited the verse, 'And a
wall between them is struck which has a gate. On the inside there is a mercy,
on the outside punishment.' 160
Allah knows, I have never seen anyone who had a
better life than his. Despite the difficulties and all that expunges comfort
and luxury, nay, things completely opposite to them; despite intimidation and
oppression, Ibn Taymiyyah had a purer life than anyone could. He was the most
generous, the strongest of heart and the most joyful of soul, with 'the
radiance of bliss' on his face.161 When we were seized with fear and our
thoughts [about Allah's decree] turned negative, and the earth grew narrow for
us, we would go to him. No sooner did we look at him and hear his words than
all these [feelings] would leave us, to be replaced by relief, strength,
certainty and tranquility.
So glory be to the One who lets His servants
witness His Heaven well before they meet Him, who opens its doors to them in
this world of deeds and who gives them something of its refreshment, its
breeze and its perfume - that they might seek it and hasten towards it with
all their strength. A gnostic once said, 'If kings and the sons of kings
knew what we had, they would try to take it from us by the sword!' Another
said:'How pitiful, the wordly people! They leave this life without ever
having tasted the sweetest thing in it.' When asked what that was, he
replied, 'The love of Allah, the knowledge of Allah and the remembrance of
Allah,' or words to
that effect.162 Another said: 'There are times when the heart dances in
joy.' And another said, 'There are times when I say, If the people of
Heaven have anything like this, how truly sweet their lives!' To
love Allah, to know Him intimately, to remember Him constantly, to find peace
and rest in Him, to make Him alone the [ultimate] object of love, fear, hope
and trust; to base one's act on His control of His servant's cares,
aspirations and will - such is the world's Heaven, and such is a blessing with
which no other blessing can compare.
It is by this that the hearts of those who love
Allah are gladdened and that the gnostics find life. As their hearts are
gladdened by Allah, so others are gladdened by them. For whoever finds his
source of gladdness in Allah, gladdens all hearts; whoever does not, finds
nothing in this world but restlessness. Anyone with life in his heart will
confirm this. But someone whose heart is dead will only estrange you from
Allah; and so seek intimacy [with Allah] without him, when you can, for his
mere presence will estrange you. If you are tested by him, show him only your
outer aspect, but leave him behind in your heart. Depart from him with your
soul and do not let him distract you from the one who is most important to
you. Know that the greatest of all losses is the involvement with someone who
weakens your relationship and standing with Allah, cutting you off from Him,
wasting your time, dispersing your heart, weakening your resolve and dividing
your aspirations. Therefore, if you are tested with this [kind of situation] -
and it is inevitable that you will be - then bear up for the sake of Allah,
and acknowledge Him as much as you are able. Draw near to Allah by whatever of
it pleases Him. Make your association [with wordly people] a profit not a
loss. Be like the man travelling along, whom another invites to stop: seek to
take him along with you. When he comes along, lead him but be not lead by him.
And if he refuses, and you have no hope that he will journey, then [at least]
do not let him detain you. Rather, hasten on, pay him no heed. Do not [even]
turn in his direction, for he is a highway robber regardless.
Protect your heart and be careful of how you
spend your day and your night.
Let not the sun set on you before you reach
camp, 'lest you be carried off'.
Nor let the dawn find you abandoned in the camp
after the caravan has moved on, and the time is nigh for you to reach them.
163