Al-Fawāʾid - Ibn al-Qayyim - (الكتاب/150)

Al-FawāʾidIbn al-Qayyim

so Satan brought about his downfall through that ignorance and drove him into unbelief because of it.
He is therefore the model for every ignorant worshipper—he lapses into disbelief without even realizing it—whereas the other one is the model for every profligate scholar who chooses this world over the Hereafter.
Allah, exalted be He, has declared that a servant’s contentment with worldly life, his sense of security in it, and his heedlessness toward understanding, reflecting upon, and acting by His signs are the very causes of that servant’s misery and destruction.
These two traits—being pleased with the world and being oblivious to the Lord’s signs—can coexist only in the heart of someone who does not believe in the Return and has no hope of meeting the Lord of all servants. Were his footing in faith in the Return firm, he would neither be satisfied with this world nor feel at ease in it, nor would he turn away from Allah’s signs.
If you observe people’s conditions, you will find that this category dominates; they are the builders and inhabitants of the worldly realm. Those who stand in opposition to them are fewest in number and feel the greatest estrangement among them: they have their own concerns while the masses have theirs; their knowledge differs from the masses’ knowledge, their aspirations differ from the masses’ aspirations, and their path differs from the masses’ path. They are in one valley, while the people are in another.
Allah the Exalted says: “Indeed, those who do not look forward to meeting Us, who are pleased with the life of this world and feel secure therein, and who are heedless of Our signs (7)—their abode will be the Fire because of what they used to earn (8)” (Yunus 7–8). He then described the opposite group, their outcome, and their final state: “As for those who believe and do righteous deeds, their Lord will guide them by their faith; rivers will flow beneath them in Gardens of bliss (9)” (Yunus 9).
Thus, these are the legacies of faith in the Return, whereas those are the legacies of denying it and being heedless of it.

فأوقعه الشيطانُ بجهله، وكفَّره بجهله. فهذا إمامُ كلِّ عابدٍ جاهل؛ يَكفُرُ ولا يَدْرِي، وذاك إمام كلِّ عالم فاجرٍ يختارُ الدُّنيا على الآخرة. وقد جعل سبحانه رِضَى العبد بالدُّنيا وطمأنينتهُ وغفلتهُ عن معرفةِ آياتِهِ وتدبُّرِها والعملِ بها سبَب شقائِهِ وهلاكه. ولا يجتمع هذان -أعني: الرضى بالدُّنيا والغفلة عن آيات الربِّ- إلَّا في قلب من لا يؤمنُ بالمعاد ولا يرجو لقاء ربِّ العباد، وإلا فلو رَسَخِ قدمُهُ في الإيمان بالمعاد؛ لما رضي بالدُّنيا ولا اطمأنَّ إليها ولا أعرض عن آيات الله. وأنت إذا تأمَّلْتَ أحوال الناس وجدتَ هذا الضرب هو الغالب على الناس وهم عُمَّارُ الدُّنيا، وأقلُّ الناس عددًا من هو على خلاف ذلك، وهو من أشدِّ الناس غُربةً بينهم؛ لهم شأنٌ وله شأنٌ، علمُه غيرُ علومهم، وإرادتُهُ غير إرادتِهم، وطريقه غير طريقهم؛ فهو في وادٍ وهم في وادٍ. قال تعالى: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ لِقَاءَنَا وَرَضُوا بِالْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَاطْمَأَنُّوا بِهَا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ آيَاتِنَا غَافِلُونَ (٧) أُولَئِكَ مَأْوَاهُمُ النَّارُ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ﴾ [يونس: ٧ - ٨]، ثم ذكر وصف ضدِّ هؤلاء ومآلهم وعاقبتهم بقوله: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ يَهْدِيهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ بِإِيمَانِهِمْ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهِمُ الْأَنْهَارُ فِي جَنَّاتِ النَّعِيمِ (٩)﴾ [يونس: ٩]؛ فهؤلاء إيمانهم بلقاء الله أورثَهم عدَم الرِّضى بالدُّنيا والطُّمأنينة إليها ودوامَ ذكرِ آياته. فهذه مواريثُ الإيمان بالمعاد، وتلك مواريثُ عدمِ الإيمان به والغفلة عنه.