Zād al-Maʿād - Ibn al-Qayyim - (2/427)

Zād al-MaʿādIbn al-Qayyim

And the root of all sins is helplessness. A person fails to employ the means of obedience and the means that restrain him (1) from sins and stand between him and them, so he falls into sin. Thus this noble hadith, in which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, seeks refuge, encompasses the roots and branches of evil, its beginnings and ends, and its inlets and outlets. It includes eight traits, grouped into four associated pairs (2). He said:

“I seek refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow.”

These two are a pair. The distress that enters the heart falls into two categories according to its cause: if its cause is something in the past, it produces sorrow; if it is the anticipation of something in the future, it produces anxiety. Both stem from helplessness. What has passed cannot be warded off by sorrow (3), but rather by contentment, praise, patience, faith in divine decree, and the servant’s saying: “Allah has decreed, and He does whatever He wills.”

Nor can what lies ahead be warded off by anxiety. If a person has a way to avert it, he must not fail to do so. If he has no way to avert it, he must not panic over it. Rather, he should dress for it, equip himself for it, and make the preparations appropriate to it. He should shelter behind the strong shield of affirming Allah’s oneness, relying on Him, casting himself before the Lord Most High, surrendering to Him, and being content with Him as Lord in everything. He should not be content with Him as Lord only in what he loves, but not in what he dislikes. If that is how he is, then he has not accepted Him as Lord (4) without reservation, and so the Lord does not accept him as His servant without reservation.

(1) The printed edition reads “tubʿiduhu (keeps him away),” while the manuscripts read “tʿwdh.” Perhaps the reading I have adopted is correct. (2) Sād and Jīm read “qarīnatayn (two companions, feminine dual).” Qāf and Bā read “qarībān (two close ones).” (3) Sād, Jīm, Kāf, and Mīm-Bā read “al-huzn (sorrow).” (4) “Fīmā yuhibbu … rabban (in what he loves … as Lord)” is omitted from Kāf because the copyist’s eye skipped ahead.

وأصل المعاصي كلِّها العجزُ، فإنَّ العبد يَعجِز عن أسباب الطَّاعات، وعن الأسباب الَّتي تَعوقُه (١) عن المعاصي وتَحول بينها وبينه، فيقع في المعاصي، فجمع هذا الحديث الشَّريف في استعاذته ﷺ أصولَ الشرِّ وفروعَه، ومبادئَه وغاياتِه، ومواردَه ومصادرَه، وهو مشتملٌ على ثمانِ خصالٍ، كلُّ خصلتين منها قَرِينانِ (٢)، فقال: «أعوذ بك من الهَمِّ والحَزَن»، وهما قرينانِ، وإنَّ المكروه الوارد على القلب ينقسم باعتبار سببه إلى قسمين، فإنَّه إمَّا أن يكون سببه أمرًا ماضيًا فهو يُحدِث الحزنَ، وإمَّا أن يكون توقُّع أمرٍ مستقبلٍ فهو يُورِث الهَمَّ، وكلاهما من العجز، فإنَّ ما مضى لا يُدفَع بالحزن (٣)؛ بل بالرِّضا والحمد والصَّبر والإيمان بالقدر، وقولِ العبد: قدَّر الله وما شاء فعل. وما يستقبل لا يُدفَع أيضًا بالهمِّ، بل إمَّا أن يكون له حيلةٌ في دفعه فلا يَعجِز عنه، وإمَّا أن لا يكون له حيلةٌ في دفعه، فلا يَجزَع منه، ويلبس له لباسَه، ويأخذ له عُدَّتَه، ويتأهَّب له أُهبتَه اللَّائقة به، ويَستجِنُّ بِجُنَّةٍ حَصينةٍ من التَّوحيد والتَّوكُّل، والانطراح بين يدي الربِّ تعالى، والاستسلام له، والرِّضا به ربًّا في كلِّ شيءٍ، ولا يرضى به ربًّا فيما يحبُّ دون ما يكره، فإذا كان هكذا لم يَرضَ به ربًّا (٤) على الإطلاق، فلا يرضاه الرَّبُّ له عبدًا على الإطلاق.

(١) في المطبوع: «تُبعده» وفي النسخ: «تعوضه». ولعل الصواب ما أثبته. (٢) ص، ج: «قرينتين». ق، ب: «قريبان». (٣) ص، ج، ك، مب: «الحزن». (٤) «فيما يحب ... ربًّا» ساقطة من ك بسبب انتقال النظر.