TIMELESS SEEDS OF ADVICE pdf download

Timeless Seeds of advice by B. B. Abdulla – The Sayings of Prophet Muhammad Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn al-Jawzi, and Other Prominent Scholars in Bringing Comfort and Hope to the Soul

TIMELESS SEEDS OF ADVICE

A selection of beautiful and practical pieces of advice from the Quran, the Prophet PBUH, and Islam’s great scholars on repentance, guidance, and purification. This book is designed to serve as a source of hope and strength for those going through difficult times while providing numerous important pieces of knowledge and guidance for all readers and all times

From the Book

Whoever desires goodness, then let him take account of himself and reproach himself day and night in self-development. Nothing is more beneficial than reflecting upon the Quran which is a love letter composed to you from Allah Himself.

The root of happiness in this world is contentment. By being content, you are led to the doors of gratefulness. By being content, you are patient and satisfied with the decrees of your Master, Allah.

By being grateful, you take that a step further and are not only content, but happy, and grateful for the state you are in.

 As for the reward of the patient ones, Allah © says: “Say, [God says], believing servants, be mindful of your Lord!

Those who do good in this world will have a good reward-God’s earth is _wide—and those who persevere patiently will be given a full and unstinting reward.” [Quran 39:10]

Ibn al-Qayyim said: “From the perfection of Allah’s iḥsān (excellence and bounty) is that He allows His servant to taste the bitterness of the break before the sweetness of the mend. He does not break His believing servant except to mend him. And He does not withhold from him except to give to him. And He does not test him (with hardship), except to cure him.” Allah جل جلاله says: “if you are grateful, I will give you more and more.” [Quran 14:7]

 Ibn al-Qayyim also said: “There is no joy for the one who does not bear sadness, there is no sweetness for the one who does not have patience, there is no delight for the one who does not suffer and there is no relaxation for the one who does not endure fatigue.” Allah جل جلاله says in His Book: “Do not lose hope nor be sad.” [Quran 3:139] “And your Lord is going to give you, and you will be satisfied.” [Quran 93:5] “Is Allah not enough for His servant?” [Quran 39:36]

 Ibn al-Qayyim writes: “He who has tested the servant is the Most Wise, the Most Merciful and He did not test him with the affliction to destroy, punish or overwhelm him. Rather, the affliction is merely a test of his patience, his contentment with Allah, and his faith. In addition, Allah wants to hear the servant’s pleas, supplications, and humility before Him, his seeking refuge with Him, his heart’s humility before Him, and his explaining his sadness to Him (alone).”

 “If the human knew the pleasure of meeting Allah and being near Him, he would feel grief for being distant from Him.”

For everything you lose there is a replacement but for Allah جل جلاله; if you lose Him there is no replacement. The main connection between us and Allah جل جلاله is the ṣalāh (daily prayers). Each ṣalāh not only renews our pledge as servants of Allah جل جلاله the Almighty but it establishes our direct connection to Allah جل جلاله.To this effect, ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb said: “Hold onto your ṣalāh because if you lose that, you will lose everything else.”

Thus as Yasir Qadhi says: “if you ever find yourself rushing through salat (prayer) to make it to another engagement, it is time to reorganize your priorities.”

Allah جل جلاله mentions His book: “and Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.” [Quran 8:33] Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said: “Allah has informed us that He will not punish those who (sincerely) seek forgiveness (for their sins); that is because seeking forgiveness wipes away the sin, which is the reason for being punished, therefore (seeking forgiveness) repels the punishment.

 A man came to al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and said: “O Abū Saʿīd, I complain to you of the hardness of my heart!” Al-Ḥasan said: “Discipline it with dhikr.”

“Those who have faith and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of God– truly it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace– those who believe and do righteous deeds: joy awaits these, and their final homecoming will be excellent.’’ [Quran 13:28-29]

The most beautiful thing is that He knows what you are about to tell Him and yet He still listens. This is beautifully illustrated in Mūsā’s story. Allah جل جلاله says: ‘‘Mūsā, what is that in your right hand?’’ [Quran 20:17]

Mūsā replies: ‘‘It is my staff,’ he said, ‘I lean on it; restrain my sheep with it; I also have other uses for it.’’ [Quran 20:18]

Allah جل جلاله, despite knowing it is a staff, still asks and wants to hear His servant’s voice and reply. Although Allah جل جلاله knows what is bothering you and what your problems are, He wants you to talk to Him, through the believer’s most powerful weapon: dua.

Luqmān said to his son: “O my beloved son, do not delay repentance for indeed punishment can come unexpectedly.”

Ibn al-Qayyim said: “Do not belittle a small sin, for the biggest of fires can be caused by the smallest of sparks.

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said: “Remembrance of Allah for the heart is like water for the fish; and what will be the state of the fish when it is separated from water?” “Is there anyone who has achieved closeness to God and not found that with Him is everything that they need and desire?

Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī said: “Sell this life for the next and you win both of them. Sell the next life for this and you lose both of them.”

Mālik b. Dīnar said: “Whoever proposed to the world should know that the world would not be satisfied until he gives up all of his dīn as dowry.” Abū Hurayra reported that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “A place in Paradise as small as a bow is better than all that on which the sun rises and sets.”

He also said, “A single endeavor in Allah’s Cause in the afternoon or the forenoon is better than all that on which the sun rises and sets.

Abū Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Richness does not lie in the abundance of (worldly) goods but richness is the richness of the soul (heart, self).”

 The richness of the soul emanates from the worship of Allah alone and in following the Sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. The good deeds one performs are likened to a tree in the Quran: “[Prophet], do you not see how God makes comparisons? A good word is like a good tree whose root is firm and whose branches are high in the sky, yielding constant fruit by its Lord’s leave– God makes such comparisons for people so that they may reflect” [14: 24-25]

“Goodly word refers to testifying to lā ilāha ilallāh, (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah), while the goodly tree is a believer (whose root is firmly fixed), indicates that lā ilāha ilallāh, (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah) is firm in the believers’ heart. The branches refer to the believer whose good works ascend to heaven by day and by night and at all times.”

The saying goes: “O Allah, I never knew heartbreak until I disobeyed You and I never knew happiness until I obeyed You.”