Al-Fawāʾid - Ibn al-Qayyim - (الكتاب/274)

Al-FawāʾidIbn al-Qayyim

nor devote his heart and very core to a created being when speaking to him, while in Allah’s service offering only his body and tongue, bereft of heart and spirit; nor give precedence to his own desire over the will of his Lord. All this stems from the absence of awe for Allah in the heart.

Whoever is like that, Allah will not cast into people’s hearts any respect or reverence for him; rather, He will strip their hearts of the dignity and awe they might have felt. Should they defer to him only out of fear of his harm, that is a deference born of aversion, not of love and exaltation.

Among the tokens of reverence for Allah is to feel ashamed that He should look upon one’s secrets and innermost thoughts and find there what He detests. Another token is to feel greater modesty before Him in private than one would feel before the most eminent of people.

The point is this: if a person does not honor Allah, His Speech, and the knowledge and wisdom He has bestowed on him, how can he expect others to honor and revere him?

The Qur’an, sacred knowledge, and the words of the Messenger—peace and blessings be upon him—are dispatches from the Truth: alerts, restraints, and warnings sent to you. Grey hair as well is a standing admonisher, a deterrent, an awakener within you. Yet neither what has come to you has admonished you, nor what has arisen within you has counseled you—and despite that you still seek respect and veneration from other people!

You are like a man stricken by calamity that neither admonishes nor restrains him, yet he wants others to take admonition and be restrained simply by observing his calamity: the beating has not deterred him, yet he wants onlookers to be deterred!

One who merely hears of exemplary punishments, penalties, and signs inflicted on others is not like one who sees them with his own eyes—so what of the one who finds them in himself? “We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves” [Fussilat: 53]. His signs in the horizons are heard and known; His signs within the self are witnessed and seen. We seek refuge in Allah from abandonment.

ورسوله، ولا يُعطي المخلوق في مخاطبته قلبَه ولبَّه ويعطي الله في خدمته بدنه ولسانه دون قلبه وروحه، ولا يجعل مراد نفسه مقدمًا على مراد ربه، فهذا كله من عدم وقار الله في القلب. ومن كان كذلك فإن الله لا يُلقي له في قلوب الناس وقارًا ولا هيبة، بل يُسقِط وقارَه وهيبته من قلوبهم، وإن وقَّروه مخافةَ شره؛ فذاك وقارُ بغضٍ لا وقارُ حب وتعظيم. ومن وقار الله أن يستحيي من اطلاعه على سِرِّه وضميره فيرى فيه ما يكره. ومن وقاره أن يستحيي منه في الخلوة أعظم مما يستحيي من أكابر الناس. والمقصود أن من لا يُوقِّر الله وكلامَه وما آتاه من العلم والحكمة كيف يَطلب من الناس توقيَره وتعظيمه؟! القرآن والعلم وكلام الرسول ﷺ صلاتٌ من الحق وتنبيهاتٌ وروادعُ وزواجر واردةٌ إليك، والشيب زاجرٌ ورادعٌ وموقظٌ قائمٌ بك؛ فلا ما ورد إليك وعظك، ولا ما قام بك نصحك، ومع هذا تطلب التوقيرَ والتعظيم من غيرك!! فأنت كمصابٍ لم تؤثر فيه مصيبته وعظًا وانزجارًا، وهو يطلب من غيره أن يتعظ وينزجر بالنظر إلى مُصابه؛ فالضرب لم يُؤثِّر فيه زجرًا، وهو يريد الانزجار ممن نظر إلى ضربه!! من سمع بالمَثُلات والعقوبات والآيات في حق غيره ليس كمن رآها عيانًا في غيره؛ فكيف بمن وجدها في نفسه؟! ﴿سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ﴾ [فصلت: ٥٣]؛ فآياته في الآفاق مسموعة معلومة، وآياته في النفس مشهودة مرئية؛ فعياذًا بالله من الخذلان.