Al-Fawāʾid - Ibn al-Qayyim - (الكتاب/202)

Al-FawāʾidIbn al-Qayyim

to Allah. For it is only by realizing these two kinds of knowledge—both as understanding and as an abiding state—that the servant is enabled to arrive, and it is by losing them that he is cut off.

This is what they mean by the saying, “Whoever knows himself knows his Lord.”(1) Whoever recognizes his own soul for what it is—ignorant, unjust, blemished, deficient, needy, poor, abased, destitute, and nothing in itself—comes thereby to know his Lord through the very opposite of those traits. He then keeps his soul within its proper limits, never letting it overstep its station, and he extols his Lord with a portion of the praise that He deserves. The whole strength of his love, fear, hope, penitence, and trust is directed to Him alone; Allah becomes the dearest object of his love, the greatest object of his fear, and the one in whom his hope is placed above all. This is the essence of servitude. Allah alone is the One whose help is sought.

It is related that one of the sages wrote on the door of his house: “None will benefit from our wisdom except the one who knows his own soul and keeps it within its bounds. Whoever is such, let him enter; otherwise, let him turn back until he attains this trait.”

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Enduring the desire itself is easier than enduring what the desire brings about. For the desire will either produce pain and punishment, or deprive one of a pleasure more perfect than it, or waste time—the loss of which brings nothing but regret and remorse; or it will blemish one’s honor, whose preservation is more beneficial to the servant than its blemish; or it will squander wealth, whose retention is better for him than its loss; or it will lower one’s rank and standing, whereas maintaining them is better than lowering them; or it will strip away a blessing, the continuance of which is sweeter and more delightful than gratifying the desire; or it will open a way for a base person to reach you—a way he could not have found before; or it will bring about worry, grief, sorrow, and fear whose burden is far greater than the fleeting pleasure of that desire; or it will

(1) This saying is not authenticated as a marfuʿ (Prophetic) narration; it is only reported from Yahya ibn Muʿadh al-Razi. See al-Maqasid al-Hasana, p. 198.

إلى الله. فإيصالُ العبدِ بتحقيق هاتين المعرفتين علمًا وحالًا، وانقطاعُهُ بفواتهما. وهذا معنى قولهم: من عرفَ نفسه عَرفَ ربه (١)؛ فإنه من عرف نفسه بالجهل والظُّلْم والعيب والنقائص والحاجة والفقر والذُّلِّ والمسكنة والعدم؛ عرف ربَّه بضدِّ ذلك، فوقف بنفسه عند قدرها، ولم يَتعدَّ بها طورَها، وأثنى على ربِّه ببعض ما هو أهله، وانصرفتْ قوة حُبِّهِ وخشيته ورجائه وإنابته وتوكُّله إليه وحدَه، وكان أحبَّ شيءٍ إليه وأخوفَ شيء عنده وأرجاه له، وهذا هو حقيقةُ العبودية. والله المستعانُ. ويُحكى أن بعض الحكماء كتب على باب بيته: إنه لن يَنتفع بحكمتنا إلَّا من عرف نفسَه ووقف بها عند قدرها؛ فمن كان كذلك فليدخُلْ، وإلَّا فليرجِعْ حتى يكون بهذه الصفة. فصل الصبرُ على الشهوة أسهلُ من الصبر على ما تُوجِبُهُ الشهوةُ؛ فإنها إما أن توجب ألمًا وعقوبةً، وإمّا أن تقطع لذَّةً أكملَ منها، وإما أن تُضيِّع وقتًا إضاعتُهُ حسرةٌ وندامةٌ، وإما أن تَثْلم عِرضًا توفيرُهُ أنفعُ للعبد من ثَلمِه، وإما أن تُذهِبَ مالًا بقاؤُهُ خيرٌ له من ذهابه، وإما أن تضع قدرًا وجاهًا قيامُهُ خيرٌ من وضعه، وإما أن تَسْلُب نعمةً بقاؤها ألذُّ وأطيبُ من قضاء الشهوة، وإما أن تُطرِّق لوضيعٍ إليك طريقًا لم يكن يجدُها قبل ذلك، وإما أن تَجلِب همًّا وغمًّا وحزنًا وخوفًا لا يقاربُ لذَّةَ الشهوة، وإمَّا أن

(١) لا يُعرف مرفوعًا، وإنما يُحكى عن يحيى بن معاذ الرازي من قوله. انظر "المقاصد الحسنة" (ص ١٩٨).