Al-Fawāʾid - Ibn al-Qayyim - (الكتاب/221)

Al-FawāʾidIbn al-Qayyim

just as, were the first group offered the things that delight this latter group, their souls would never allow them to accept them, pay them any attention, or fail to recoil in aversion.

The people who taste the fullest and most perfect pleasure are those whose hearts and spirits rejoice even as their bodies are granted lawful enjoyments. They partake of what is permissible in a manner that does not diminish their share of the Hereafter nor sever the sweetness of knowing, loving, and feeling intimacy with their Lord. Such are the ones about whom the Exalted said: “Say, ‘Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah that He has produced for His servants and the wholesome things of provision?’ Say, ‘They are for those who believe during the life of this world, and will be theirs exclusively on the Day of Resurrection.’” (7:32)

By contrast, the poorest of people in terms of real pleasure are those who consume worldly enjoyments in a way that bars them from the delights of the Hereafter. Concerning them it will be proclaimed, when every pleasure is finally reckoned: “You exhausted your good things in your worldly life and took your fill of them.” (46:20)

Both groups tasted the good things of this world, but they differed radically in the manner of their enjoyment. The first group enjoyed them in the way they had been licensed to do, so the delights of this world and the next were combined for them. The second group pursued the same enjoyments in whatever way passion and appetite called them—licensed or not—so worldly pleasure slipped from their grasp and the pleasure of the Hereafter eluded them. Thus neither the joys of this world endured for them, nor did the joys of the next ever reach them.

Whoever seeks lasting pleasure and a truly good life should turn worldly delights into a bridge that conveys him to the delights of the Hereafter: he should draw on them to free his heart for Allah, to will what He wills, and to worship Him, taking them as strength and assistance in that quest, not as mere indulgence of desire. And if someone has been denied many of the pleasures and good things of this world, let him regard that deficiency as an added portion saved for him in the Hereafter, allowing his soul to forego them here so that he may receive them there in full.

الأول إذا عُرِض عليه ما يلتذُّ به هذا لم تسمَحْ نفسه به ولم تلتفتْ إليه ونفرتْ نفسه منه. وأكمل الناس لذةً من جُمِع له بين لذَّة القلب والروح ولذة البدن؛ فهو يتناول لذَّاته المباحة على وجهٍ لا ينقُصُ حظّه من الدار الآخرة ولا يقطع عليه لذَّةَ المعرفة والمحبة والأنس بربِّه؛ فهذا ممن قال تعالى فيه: ﴿قُلْ مَنْ حَرَّمَ زِينَةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي أَخْرَجَ لِعِبَادِهِ وَالطَّيِّبَاتِ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ قُلْ هِيَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا خَالِصَةً يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ﴾ [الأعراف: ٣٢]. وأبخسُهم حظًّا من اللذة من تناولها على وجهٍ يحولُ بينه وبين لذَّات الآخرة، فيكون ممن يقال لهم يوم استيفاء اللَّذَّاتِ: ﴿أَذْهَبْتُمْ طَيِّبَاتِكُمْ فِي حَيَاتِكُمُ الدُّنْيَا وَاسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهَا﴾ [الأحقاف: ٢٠]. فهؤلاء تمتعوا بالطيبات، وأولئك تمتعوا بالطيبات. وافترقوا في وجه التمتع: فأولئك تمتعوا بها على الوجه الذي أُذِن لهم فيه، فجُمِعَ لهم بين لذَّة الدُّنيا والآخرة. وهؤلاء تمتعوا بها على الوجه الذي دعاهم إليه الهوى والشهوة، وسواءٌ أُذن لهم فيه أم لا، فانقطعت عنهم لذَّةُ الدنيا وفاتتهم لذة الآخرة؛ فلا لذَّةُ الدنيا دامتْ لهم ولا لذَّةُ الآخرة حصلتْ لهم. فمن أحبَّ اللذة ودوامها والعيشَ الطيب فليجعلْ لذة الدُّنيا موصلًا له إلى لذة الآخرة؛ بأن يستعين بها على فراغ قلبه لله وإرادته وعبادته، فيتناولها بحكم الاستعانة والقوة على طلبه، لا بحكم مجرَّد الشهوة والهوى. وإن كان ممن زُوِيَتْ عنه لذَّاتُ الدُّنيا وطيباتُها فليجعل ما نُقِصَ منها زيادةً في لذَّة الآخرة، ويُجِمَّ نفسَه ها هنا بالترك ليستوفيها كاملةً هناك.