Al-Fawāʾid - Ibn al-Qayyim - (الكتاب/275)

Al-FawāʾidIbn al-Qayyim

Allah, exalted is He, says: “Indeed, those upon whom the Word of your Lord has proved true will never believe, even if every sign were to come to them, until they behold the painful punishment” (10:96–97).

And He says: “Even if We were to send the angels down to them, and the dead were to speak to them, and We were to gather every created thing before them face to face, they would still not believe unless Allah so willed” (6:111).

A discerning person whom Allah has graced with success needs no such extraordinary proofs. Instead, he compensates for the deficiencies of his physical frame through the virtues of his character and deeds: whenever some trace of his body is effaced, a trace of his faith is increased; whenever his bodily strength diminishes, the strength of his faith, certainty, and yearning for Allah and the Abode of the Hereafter grows.

If this is not his state, then death is better for him, for death fixes his pain and corruption at a definite limit, whereas defects and shortcomings coupled with a long life only add to his pain, anxiety, grief, and regret. Longevity is praiseworthy and beneficial solely so that one may remember, make amends, seize the available moments, and turn in sincere repentance—just as Allah, Most High, says: “Did We not grant you a life long enough for anyone who would take heed to take heed?” (35:37).

Therefore, if a long life and extended stay in this world do not bequeath a person the mending of his faults, the rectification of past neglect, and the fruitful use of his remaining breaths—working for the life of his heart and the attainment of lasting bliss—then no good lies in his continued existence. The servant is poised upon the wing of a journey, bound either for Paradise or for the Fire. If his life is long and his deeds are good, the length of his journey merely increases the delight and felicity awaiting him, for the longer the journey toward it, the nobler and deeper the yearning. But if his life is long while his deeds are evil, the length of his journey only augments his pain and torment and drags him ever lower: the traveler is either ascending or descending.

In the Prophetic hadith: “The best of you are those whose lives are long and whose deeds are good.”

قال تعالي: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ حَقَّتْ عَلَيهِمْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ (٩٦) وَلَوْ جَاءَتْهُمْ كُلُّ آيَةٍ حَتَّى يَرَوُا الْعَذَابَ الْأَلِيمَ (٩٧)﴾ [يونس: ٩٦ - ٩٧]. وقال: ﴿وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا نَزَّلْنَا إِلَيهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ وَكَلَّمَهُمُ الْمَوْتَى وَحَشَرْنَا عَلَيهِمْ كُلَّ شَيءٍ قُبُلًا مَا كَانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا إلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ﴾ [الأنعام: ١١١]. والعاقل المؤيد بالتوفيق يعتبر بدون هذا ويُتمِّم نقائصَ خِلقته بفضائل أخلاقه وأعماله؛ فكلما امتَحِىَ من جُثمانه أثرٌ زاد في إيمانه أثرٌ، وكلما نقص من قوى بدنه زاد في قوة إيمانه ويقينه ورغبته في الله والدار الآخرة. وإن لم يكن هكذا فالموت خيرٌ له؛ لأنه يقف به على حد معين من الألم والفساد؛ بخلاف العيوب والنقائص مع طول العمر؛ فإنها زيادةٌ في ألمه وهمه وغمه وحسرته، وإنما حَسُنَ طول العمر ونفعَ ليحصل التذكر والاستدراك واغتنام الفرص والتوبة النصوح؛ كما قال تعالى: ﴿أَوَلَمْ نُعَمِّرْكُمْ مَا يَتَذَكَّرُ فِيهِ مَنْ تَذَكَّرَ﴾ [فاطر: ٣٧]. فمن لم يُورِثه التعميرُ وطول البقاء إصلاحَ معايبه وتداركَ فارطه واغتنامَ بقية أنفاسه؛ فيعمل على حياة قلبه وحصول النعيم المقيم، وإلَّا فلا خيرَ له في حياته، فإن العبد على جناح سفر إما إلى الجنة وإما إلى النار؛ فإذا طال عمره وحسُنَ عمله كان طول سفره زيادةً له في حصول النعيم واللَّذَّة؛ فإنه كلما طال السفر إليها كانت الصبابة أجل وأفضل، وإذا طال عمره وساء عمله كان طول سفره زيادةً في ألمه وعذابه ونزولًا له إلى أسفل؛ فالمسافرُ إما صاعدٌ وإما نازلٌ. وفي الحديث المرفوع: "خيركم من طال عمرُه وحسُنَ عملُه،