Zād al-Maʿād - Ibn al-Qayyim - (1/46)

Zād al-MaʿādIbn al-Qayyim

By this (1), the signs of a servant’s happiness or wretchedness may be recognized, for a pure person has an affinity (2) only with what is pure and is pleased only with it. Only in it does he find repose, and only through it does his heart find reassurance. His speech (3) consists of pure words, for these alone ascend to Allah. He has the strongest aversion to obscenity in speech, indecency, foul language, lying, backbiting, tale-bearing, slander, false statements, and every kind of corrupt speech.

Likewise, he is drawn only to the purest deeds: those whose goodness is affirmed by sound human nature and the laws revealed to the prophets, and endorsed by sound minds. Revealed law, reason, and human nature thus agree on their goodness. Such deeds include worshipping Allah alone without associating anything with Him, preferring His pleasure to one’s own desires, striving to earn His love, and showing kindness to His creatures as much as possible. He does to them what he would like them to do to him (4), treats them as he would like (5) them to treat him, and spares them what he would wish them to spare him. He gives them the same sincere counsel he gives himself and judges their affairs as he would wish his own to be judged. He bears the harm they cause him without burdening them with harm from himself. He refrains from attacking their honor and does not retaliate in kind for their attacks on his own. When he sees good in them, he makes it known; when he sees bad, he conceals it. He makes allowances for them as far as he can, without invalidating any revealed law or contradicting any command or prohibition of Allah.

His character, too, is marked by the finest and purest qualities, such as forbearance, dignity, tranquility,

(1) k and ʿ read: “fa-bi-hādhā (thus, by this).” (2) Someone altered it in s to “yunāsibuhu (has an affinity with it),” as in mb and n. (3) j and q read: “al-kalām (speech).” (4) n adds after it: “bihi (to him).” (5) “yuʿāmiluhum bi-mā yuhibbu an (treats them as he would like …)” is omitted from the al-Risāla edition.

وبهذا (١) يُعلَم عنوانُ سعادة العبد وشقاوته، فإنَّ الطيِّبَ لا يناسب (٢) إلا الطيِّبَ، ولا يرضى إلا به. ولا يسكن إلا إليه، ولا يطمئن قلبه إلا به. فله من الكلِم (٣) الكلِمُ الطيِّب الذي لا يصعد إلى الله إلا هو. وهو أشدُّ شيء نفرةً عن الفحش في المقال، والتفحُّش واللسان البذيء، والكذب والغيبة والنميمة، والبَهْت وقول الزور، وكلِّ كلام خبيث. وكذلك لا يألف من الأعمال إلا أطيبها. وهي الأعمال التي اجتمعت على حسنها الفِطَر السليمة مع الشرائع النبوية، وزكَّتها العقول الصحيحة، فاتفق على حسنها الشرع والعقل والفطرة، مثل أن يعبد الله وحده لا يشرك به شيئًا، ويؤثر مرضاته على هواه، ويتحبَّب إليه بجهده، ويحسن إلى خلقه ما استطاع، فيفعل بهم ما يحبُّ أن يفعلوه (٤)، ويعاملهم بما يحبُّ أن (٥) يعاملوه به، ويدَعهم مما يحبُّ أن يدَعوه منه، وينصحهم بما ينصح به نفسه، ويحكم لهم بما يحبُّ أن يحكم له به، ويحمل أذاهم ولا يحمِّلهم أذاه، ويكُفَّ عن أعراضهم ولا يقابلهم بما نالوا من عرضه. وإذا رأى لهم حسنًا أذاعه، وإذا رأى لهم سيئًا كتمه، ويقيم أعذارهم ما استطاع فيما لا يبطل شريعةً، ولا يناقض لله أمرًا ولا نهيًا. وله من الأخلاق أيضًا أطيبها وأزكاها، كالحلم والوقار والسكينة،

(١) ك، ع: «فبهذا». (٢) غيَّره بعضهم في ص إلى «يناسبه»، كما في مب، ن. (٣) ج، ق: «الكلام». (٤) بعده في ن: «به». (٥) «يعاملهم بما يحبُّ أن» ساقط من طبعة الرسالة.