From the Greatest of Sins: Being Bored of Allah's Blessings

[Abu Sabaya]

From the Greatest of Sins:

Being Bored of Allah's Blessings



Ibn al-Qayyim said:

"From the greatest of sins which are hidden - and widely practiced - is that the servant is enjoying a blessing that Allah has blessed him with and chosen for him, then that servant becomes bored of it and seeks to exchange it for what he thinks - due to his ignorance - is better for him than it, and His Lord continues to be merciful to him and does not prevent him from this blessing, and He excuses him due to his ignorance and this bad choice that he has chosen for himself. When he reaches the limit in scorning this blessing and his boredom with it overcomes him, Allah removes this blessing from him. So, if he is given what he sought in exchange for that blessing, and he sees the immense difference between what he was previously enjoying and and what he has now been given instead of it, his anxiety and regret increase and he requests a return to what he previously had. So, if Allah desires good and guidance for His servant, He allows him to bear witness that what he had was a blessing from the blessings of Allah upon him, and He causes him to become pleased with that blessing and to give thanks to Allah for it. If his soul then whispers to him to again seek to exchange that blessing for something else, he makes istikharah to His Lord, the istikharah of the one who is ignorant of what is in his best interests and unable to attain them. He turns his affairs to Allah, requesting of Him to help him make the best decision.

And there is nothing more harmful to the servant than to become bored of the blessings of Allah, because he does not see it as a blessing, and he does not thank Allah for it, and does not become happy because of it. Rather, he belittles it, complains about it and considers it to be a disaster - all this while it can well be from the greatest of Allah's blessings upon him.

Most people have a feeling of enmity towards Allah's blessings upon them, and they do not percieve that this opening that Allah has given them is actually a blessing, and they exert the utmost effort in repelling it and pushing it away out of ignorance and oppression. So, how many are those whom Allah's blessings comes to one of them, and they rise to repel and fight against it? And how many are those whom the blessing comes to one of them and he strives to push it away and brush it to the side out of ignorance and oppression?

Allah - the Exalted - says: {"And this is because Allah would not change a blessing that He has blessed a people with unless they change what is within themselves."} [al-Anfal; 53]

The one who is devoid of logic loses his chance * Until the affair passes him by. Then, he blames predestination."


['al-Fawa'id'; p. 248]

[Abuz Zubair]

From the Greatest of Sins:

Being Bored of Allah's Blessings

I think the title itself is hard-hitting. the rest is even more so.

JK!

[StudentofKnowledge]

MashaAllah! That was very inspirational. We ask Allah to give us the ability to thank Him for His blessings.

[Umm Ahmed]

Does anyone know of a lecture to remind us of Allaah's blessings ?

[Niqaabis]

Jazaak Allaahu khairan

May Allaah help us take heed of our blessings before they are taken away from us aameen

[Abu Bubu]

Does anyone know of a lecture to remind us of Allaah's blessings ?

This is a fantastic lecture by Ahmad Ali called Glory of Allah:
Part 1 (http://kalamullah.com/Ahmad%20Ali/Glory%20Of%20Allah%201.mp3) | Part 2 (http://kalamullah.com/Ahmad%20Ali/Glory%20Of%20Allah%202.mp3)

[Mustafa al-Muhaajir]

The Greatest Blessing

Written by the martyred Shaykh, Abdullāh bin Muhammad Ar-Rashūd

May Allāh have Mercy upon him

At-Tibyān Publications


My Mujāhid Brother:

The Muslim feels much happiness with the blessings that Allāh causes to transpire to him and motivate him and remind him of the greatness of Allāh’s bounty upon him. And although not every blessing is a blessing in reality - for it might be a trial for the slave and an enticement for him, or other than that - there remains the blessing of the honors that are indisputably nothing but the Grace which our Lord, عزّ وجل, bestows upon the best of His creation, and the most beloved of them to Him was our Prophet Muhammad, صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Indeed it is the blessing of “maintaining steadfastness” and not being affected by the misguidance and deception of those who are astray, as Allāh Ta’ālā says,

وَلَوْلاَ فَضْلُ اللّهِ عَلَيْكَ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لَهَمَّت طَّآئِفَةٌ مُّنْهُمْ أَن يُضِلُّوكَ وَمَا يُضِلُّونَ إِلاُّ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَضُرُّونَكَ مِن شَيْءٍ وَأَنزَلَ اللّهُ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَعَلَّمَكَ مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ تَعْلَمُ وَكَانَ فَضْلُ اللّهِ عَلَيْكَ عَظِيمًا

Had not the Grace of Allāh and His Mercy been upon you (O Muhammad), a party of them would certainly have made a decision to mislead you, but (in fact) they mislead none except their own selves, and no harm can they do to you in the least. Allāh has sent down to you the Book (The Qur’ān), and Al-*Hikmah (the Prophet’s Sunnah), and taught you that which you knew not. And Ever Great is the Grace of Allāh unto you (O Muhammad) [1]

And in the Chapter that follows it, Allāh عزّ وجل says, warning His Prophet about these misguided pursuers of Fitnah:

وَأَنِ احْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءهُمْ وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَن يَفْتِنُوكَ عَن بَعْضِ مَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ إِلَيْكَ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللّهُ أَن يُصِيبَهُم بِبَعْضِ ذُنُوبِهِمْ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ النَّاسِ لَفَاسِقُونَ

And so judge (you O Muhammad) between them by what Allāh has revealed and follow not their vain desires, but beware of them lest they turn you far away from some of that which Allāh has sent down to you. And if they turn away, then know that Allāh’s Will is to punish them for some sins of theirs. And truly, most of men are Fāsiqūn (rebellious and disobedient to Allāh) [2]

And despite the fact that the believer of all time periods understands the greatness of this virtue, it is the believer during the period of estrangement (Ghurbah) that [reaches] the highest degree of absorption and understanding of the greatness of this Divine blessing, especially when he sees the plenitude of those around him who lapsed without attaining what [they] sought after - and there is no Might or Power except with Allāh. So these situations increase the believer in faith and in deference, and they increase him in his turning to and his need of Allāh, and they increase him in contempt and scorn for himself.

Exactly as the Companions, may Allāh be pleased with them, used to act.

So you see, for example, the guided and directed Imām, the legal expert, [the one] who was given the glad tidings of Paradise and Deliverance - ‘Umar Bin Al-Khattāb, may Allāh be pleased with him, was copious in his weeping over himself and his fear over himself from the sources of hypocrisy, so he would say to Hudhayfah, may Allāh be pleased with him, “I ask you by Allāh, did the Messenger of Allāh count me as one of the hypocrites?”

And Ibn Abī Mulaykah said, “I met thirty of the Prophet’s companions, صلى الله عليه وسلم, and all of them feared for himself from hypocrisy.”

So because of this, they were, may Allāh be pleased with them, the best of the people in action, and the most copious of them in fear, and the most severe of them in accounting themselves due to the glorification of Allāh that was established in their hearts, and their knowledge of His being entitled to a hundred times the worship and submission that the slaves perform.

And due to this Divine consciousness in their hearts, may Allāh be pleased with them, the Messenger of Allāh, صلى الله عليه وسلم, made their methodology the standard next to which no other is acknowledged. So in the Hadīth, “‘And this Ummah will divide into 73 sects, all of them in the Hellfire except one.’ So they [the Companions] said, ‘Which one is it, O Messenger of Allāh?’ He said, ‘Those who were upon what I and my companions are upon today’” [3]. And because of this, the one who seeks to take an example should take them as an example, may Allāh be pleased with them, especially if the strangeness of the Religion heightens and the helpers and the supporters are few in number.

[Umm Ahmed]

This is a fantastic lecture by Ahmad Ali called Glory of Allah:
Part 1 (http://kalamullah.com/Ahmad%20Ali/Glory%20Of%20Allah%201.mp3) | Part 2 (http://kalamullah.com/Ahmad%20Ali/Glory%20Of%20Allah%202.mp3)

Ok Looking forward to listening . JazakAllaahu Khayran.

[ibnislam]

وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَى لَن نَّصْبِرَ عَلَىَ طَعَامٍ وَاحِدٍ فَادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُخْرِجْ لَنَا مِمَّا تُنبِتُ الأَرْضُ مِن بَقْلِهَا وَقِثَّآئِهَا وَفُومِهَا وَعَدَسِهَا وَبَصَلِهَا قَالَ أَتَسْتَبْدِلُونَ الَّذِي هُوَ أَدْنَى بِالَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ اهْبِطُواْ مِصْراً فَإِنَّ لَكُم مَّا سَأَلْتُمْ وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الذِّلَّةُ وَالْمَسْكَنَةُ وَبَآؤُوْاْ بِغَضَبٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُواْ يَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَيَقْتُلُونَ النَّبِيِّينَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ ذَلِكَ بِمَا عَصَواْ وَّكَانُواْ يَعْتَدُونَ

And (remember) when you said, "O Musa (Moses)! We cannot endure one kind of food. So invoke your Lord for us to bring forth for us of what the earth grows, its herbs, its cucumbers, its Fum (wheat or garlic), its lentils and its onions." He said, "Would you exchange that which is better for that which is lower? Go you down to any town and you shall find what you want!" And they were covered with humiliation and misery, and they drew on themselves the Wrath of Allah. That was because they used to disbelieve the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allah and killed the Prophets wrongfully. That was because they disobeyed and used to transgress the bounds (in their disobedience to Allah, i.e. commit crimes and sins). 2:61

[Dawn]

that was great, thanks.

[Abu Sabaya]

And (remember) when you said, "O Musa (Moses)! We cannot endure one kind of food. So invoke your Lord for us to bring forth for us of what the earth grows, its herbs, its cucumbers, its Fum (wheat or garlic), its lentils and its onions." He said, "Would you exchange that which is better for that which is lower?Ibn Hazm made a funny comment regarding the Jews in this incident in 'al-Fisal' (1/178), saying:

"...and onions, whose smell compares to other smells just as their brains compare to other brains..."

[UmmAbdulMalikStorm]

Jazakallah khair for this thread Abu Sabaayaa. I really needed to read that. Infact ive printed it out and stuck it on the wall :)