Al-Fawāʾid - Ibn al-Qayyim - (الكتاب/127)

The one who truly knows Allah complains to Him alone.

The most accomplished of those who know Him is the one who directs his complaint to Allah about himself, not about other people; he laments the causes that have enabled others to gain power over him, ever mindful of the Almighty’s words:
“Whatever affliction befalls you is because of what your own hands have earned” [al-Shura 30];
“Whatever ill befalls you is from yourself” [al-Nisa 79];
“Why is it that, when a calamity struck you after you had inflicted twice as much, you said, ‘Where did this come from?’ Say, ‘It is from your own selves.’” [Al ʿImran 165].

Thus there are three levels:

The lowest: to complain about Allah to His creation.
The middle: to complain about His creation to Him.
The highest: to complain about yourself to Him.

A Noble Principle

Allah the Exalted says,
“O you who believe! Respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which will give you life, and know that Allah stands between a person and his heart, and that to Him you will be gathered. (24)” [al-Anfal 24].

This verse contains several points. First: beneficial life is obtained only by responding to Allah and His Messenger. Whoever fails to respond possesses no real life, even though he may have an animal life shared with the lowliest of creatures.

True, wholesome life belongs to the one who responds to Allah and the Messenger both outwardly and inwardly. These are the living—even when they die. Others are dead, even though their bodies appear alive.

= Al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 260.

والعارفُ إنما يشكو إلى الله وحده. وأعرفُ العارفين من جعلَ شكواه إلى الله من نفسه لا من الناس؛ فهو يَشكو من مُوجبات تسليطِ الناس عليه؛ فهو ناظرٌ إلى قوله تعالى: ﴿وَمَا أَصَابَكُمْ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فَبِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيدِيكُمْ﴾ [الشورى: ٣٠]، وقوله: ﴿وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِنْ نَفْسِكَ﴾ [النساء: ٧٩]، وقوله: ﴿أَوَلَمَّا أَصَابَتْكُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَدْ أَصَبْتُمْ مِثْلَيهَا قُلْتُمْ أَنَّى هَذَا قُلْ هُوَ مِنْ عِنْدِ أَنْفُسِكُمْ﴾ [آل عمران: ١٦٥]. فالمراتبُ ثلاثةٌ: أخسُّها: أن تشكوَ الله إلى خلقه، وأعلاها: أن تشكوَ نفسَك إليه، وأوسطها: أن تشكو خلقه إليه. قاعدة جليلة قال الله تعالى: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَينَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيهِ تُحْشَرُونَ (٢٤)﴾ [الأنفال: ٢٤]. فتضمنت هذه الآيةُ أمورًا: أحدُها: أن الحياة النافعة إنما تَحصُلُ بالاستجابة لله ورسوله؛ فمن لم تَحصُلْ له هذه الاستجابةُ فلا حياةَ له، وإن كانت له حياةٌ بهيميَّهٌ مشتركةٌ بينه وبين أرذلِ الحيوانات. فالحياةُ الحقيقيَّةُ الطيبةُ هي حياةُ من استجابَ لله والرسولِ ظاهرًا وباطنًا؛ فهؤلاء هم الأحياءُ وإن ماتوا، وغيرُهم أمواتٌ وإن كانوا أحياء الأبدانِ.

= الأخبار (٢/ ٢٦٠).