Dispelling Anxiety
... a discourse by Hakim Ibn Hazm al Andalus
Arshad Gamiet / Royal Holloway Univ.of London / 1 Feb 2002
“As-salámu
'alaikum wa rahmatul láhi wa barakátuh!” [Wait
for adhán]
“A-úthu
billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem. Bismilláhir
rahmánir raheem.
Al
hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wanasta’eenahu, wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi,
wana’oothu Billaahi min shuroori an-fusinaa, wamin sayyi aati a’maalinaa.
May-
Yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa, lahu waliyan murshida.
Wa
ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill-Alláh, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna
Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh!”
My
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islám,
For today’s
khutbah, I would like to share with you the words of a great Jurist and Scholar
of Islamic Spain, Hakim Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi. His discourse is entitled:
“The Treatment to be given to Souls, and the
Reform of Vicious Characters”… I have paraphrased this to read:
“Dispelling Anxiety”
"The
pleasure which a prudent man has from his own good sense, [the pleasure which] a
scholar [enjoys] from his knowledge, a wise man from his wisdom, the pleasure of
anyone who works hard in ways pleasing to Almighty Allah, is greater than
the pleasure which the gourmet has from his food, a drinking man from his
tipple, a lover from the act of love, a conqueror from his conquest, a reveller
from his amusements [the player from his game] or a commander from giving
orders. The proof of this is that the wise man, the prudent man, the scholar,
the practising Muslim and all those that we have mentioned are capable of
enjoying these pleasures as much as the man who indulges in them. They have the
same feelings, and desires as those who hasten to satisfy them. But they have
deliberately refrained and turned away from them, preferring to seek after moral
excellence. None can judge these two [kinds of pleasure] except someone who has
known both, not someone who has known one and not the other.
[As things happen one after the other] If you look deeply into worldly matters
you will become melancholy and will end by reflecting upon the ephemeral nature
[the passing nature] of everything here below, and the fact that truth lies only
in striving for the hereafter, since every ambition to which you might cling
will end in tears; either the goal is snatched from you, or you have to give the
attempt up before you reach it. One of these two endings is inevitable except in
the search for Alláh, the Almighty and Powerful. Then the result is always
joy, both immediate and eternal. The immediate joy is because you stop worrying
about the things that usually worry people; this leads to an increase in the
respect paid to you by friends and enemies alike. The eternal joy is the joy of
Paradise.
I have tried to
find one goal, which everyone would agree to be excellent and worthy of being
striven after. I have found one only: to be free from anxiety. When I reflected
upon it, I realized that not only do all agree in valuing it and desiring it,
but I also perceived that, despite their many different passions and aspirations
and preoccupations and desires, they never make the slightest gesture unless it
is designed to drive anxiety far away. One man loses his way, another comes
close to going wrong, finally another is successful - but he is a rare man, and
success is rare, [O, all-knowing Allah ].
Dispelling
anxiety is a goal upon which all nations agree from the time when the Almighty
created the world until the day when this world will pass away and be followed
by the Day of Judgment. - All actions are directed to this goal alone, to dispel
anxiety. In the case of every other objective there will always be some people
who do not desire it.
For example,
some people are not religious and do not take eternity into account.
There are some who by nature and inclination prefer obscurity to fame [the
obscurity of satisfied passion].
There are some
who have no interest in amassing a fortune, preferring abstinence to ownership;
this was the case with many of the Prophets. Allah 's peace be upon them -
and those who followed their example, ascetics and philosophers. There are some
who by nature dislike sensual pleasures and scorn those who seek after them,
such as those men we have just mentioned, and who prefer to lose a fortune
rather than gain one. Some prefer ignorance to knowledge; in fact most of the
people that you see in the street are like this. These are the objectives of
people who have no other aim in life. Nobody in the whole world, from the time
of its creation until its end, would deliberately choose anxiety, and would not
desire to drive it far away.
Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Islam, in Súra Yunus[ch10]v62. The Holy Qur'án says,
“Alaa,
inna Awliyaa Alláh, laa ghawfun alayhim walaa hum yah zanoon…”
“Behold, on
the Friends of Alláh, there is no fear/anxiety, and no grief.”
Further on in Súra
Al ‘Ala, ch87, v14-17 we read, “Qad aflaha man tazakkaa, wathaka
ras-marabbihee fasal-laa.”
“But those will prosper, who purify themselves, and glorify the Name of their Guardian-Lord, and lift their hearts in prayer.”
“Bal tu’-thiroonal hayaatad dunyaa, wal aakhiratul khairoo wa ab-qaa.”
“No,
behold, you prefer the life of this world; But the life hereafter is better and
more enduring.”
“Alhamdu lillahi
Rabbil ‘Aalameen. Was-salaatu was-salaamu alaa Khairil mursaleen.
Muhammadin-nabeey-yil Ummiy-yee, wa-‘alaa aalihee, wasah-bihee, aj-ma’een.
Ammaa ba’ad:
Innalláha wa
malaaikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal latheena ámanu sallú alayhi
wasalli mú tas leema. Allahumma salli alá Muhammad, wa ala áli Muhammad, kama
salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim. Allahumma barik ala Muhammad, wa alaa
áli Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali ibrahim. Fil ála meen,
innaka hameedun majeed.”
Second
Khutbah:
Sub’
hanallahi wal hamdu lillah, wala hawla wala quwwata illah billah yu althi yual
theem
Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Islám,
To continue the
discourse of Hakim Ibn Hazm, on the universal need to dispel anxiety:
When I had
arrived at this great piece of wisdom, when I had discovered this amazing
secret, when Allah the Almighty had opened the eyes of my mind [my spirit] to
see this great pleasure, I began to search for the way which would truly enable
me to dispel anxiety, that precious goal desired by every kind of person,
whether ignorant or scholarly, good or evil. I found it in one place alone, in
the action of turning towards Allah the Almighty and Powerful, in pious works
performed with an eye to eternity.
Thus the only reason that someone chases after riches is to dispel the anguish
of poverty. The only reason that someone seeks fame is to dispel the anxiety of
seeing someone else outdo him. The only reason that someone chases after
pleasures is to dispel the anxiety of missing them. The only reason someone
chases after knowledge is to dispel the anxiety of being ignorant about
something.
People enjoy
listening to other people's conversation and gossip only because it dispels the
anxiety of being alone and isolated. People eat, drink, make love, wear clothes,
play games, build a shelter, mount a horse, go for a walk, only in order to
avoid the reverse of all these actions and every other kind of anxiety.
In all the
actions listed here, anyone who pauses to reflect will see that anxieties
inevitably occur. For example, problems which arise in the course of the action,
the impossibility of performing the impossible, the fleeting nature of any
achievements, and the inability to enjoy something because of some difficulty.
There are also bad consequences which arise from every success: fear of one's
rival, attacks by the jealous, theft by the covetous, loss to an enemy, not to
mention criticism, sin and such things. On the other hand, I have found that
actions performed with an eye on eternity are free from * every kind of * fault,
free from every stain, and a true means of dispelling anxiety. I have found that
the man who is striving for eternity may be sorely tested by bad fortune on his
way but does not worry; on the contrary, he is glad, because the trial to which
he is subjected gives rise to hope, which aids him in his endeavour and sets him
the more firmly on the path towards his true desire. I have found that, when he
finds his way blocked by an obstacle, he does not worry, because it is not his
fault, and he did not choose the actions that he will have to answer for. I have
seen such a man be glad, when others have wished evil upon him, and be glad when
has undergone some trial, and be glad, always [living] in a permanent state of
joy while others are permanently the opposite. You should therefore understand
that there is only one objective to strive for, it is to dispel anxiety; and
only one path leads to this, and that is the service of Alláh, the Most High.
Everything else is misguided and absurd.
Do not use your energy except for a cause more noble than yourself. Such a cause cannot be found except in serving * Almighty * Allah alone: to preach the truth, to defend womanhood, to repel humiliation, which your Creator has not imposed upon you, to help the oppressed. Anyone who uses his energy for the sake of the vanities of the world is like someone who exchanges gemstones for gravel.
There is no
nobility in anyone who lacks faith. The wise man knows that the only fitting
reward for his soul is a place in Paradise.
Shaitan sets
his traps, under the cover of finding fault with sincerity. It can happen that
someone refrains from doing a good deed for fear of being thought a hypocrite.
[If Satan whispers such an idea in your ear, take no notice; that will frustrate
him.] "
Dear Brothers
and Sisters in Islam, this concludes Hakim Ibn Hazm’s discourse on anxiety,
and how to dispel it. Words of wisdom, words that are as relevant today as they
were when they were first spoken, nearly 1,000 years ago. Scholars Ibn Hazm
not only listened to the words of The Holy Qur'án, they lived it. They not only
studied the life of Prophet Muhammad, they followed him.
May Alláh
shower His Mercy and Blessings on Nabi Muhammad sws, on his family, and on all
his noble companions, and great scholars like Ibn Hazm. O
Alláh, allow us to become worthy inheritors of this wisdom, passed down the
ages by a long line of outstanding Muslims. O Alláh enable us to dispel our
anxieties by seeking Your pleasure in everything we do. O Alláh, help us to
transform ourselves from what we are, to what you want us to be. Forgive us our
human failings, and lead us into the company of Your beloved Friends.
Let us make a
special du’a for our brother Dr Jamil Rahman and his family. Dr Jamil is going
to Syria to study Islám and Arabic. He is taking time off from his medical
career to do this…. A very good example to us all. May Alláh take good care
of him and his family and bring them all safely home to us, Inshallah.
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