Ten Means to Earning Allaah’s Love – By Imaam Ibnul Qayyim [may Allaah have mercy upon him]
In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.
Recitation of the Qur’aan, reflecting upon it, seeking to understand its meaning and what is required from that. (a)
Seeking to get close to Allaah through the supererogatory acts of worship after fulfilling the obligations. (b)
Constant remembrance of Allaah in all situations. (c)
Giving precedence to what Allaah loves over what you love when you find yourself in a state in which evil desires are about to gain the upper hand. (d)
The heart paying attention to the Names and Attributes of Allaah and seeking the knowledge related to them. (e)
Recalling Allaah’s benignity and kindness. (f)
The heart’s feeling of complete submission, humility, servitude and need in the presence of Allaah. (g)
Worship during the last third of the night when Allaah descends. (h)
Sitting with the truthful people. (i)
Distance from every reason that will come between your heart and Allaah. (j)
[Source: An Madaarij As-Saalikeen 2/218-219. Publisher: Daar Al-Manaar. 1st Edition 1424AH. 2003. paraphrased]
Footnotes:
Footnote a: listen to “Seeking Cure with the Quraan – by Shaikh Abdulilah Lahmami [may Allaah preserve him]: https://learnaboutislam.co.uk/2011/01/seeking-cure-with-the-quraan/
Footnote b: From Abū Hurayrah (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) who said: The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said: Allāh, the Exalted, says, “Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I shall be at war with him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory deeds until I love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.” https://www.nawawis40hadith.com/nw/hadith/38/the-awliy%C4%81%CA%BE-of-all%C4%81h
Footnote c: https://salaficentre.com/2021/08/10/the-intent-behind-dhikr-by-imaam-ibnul-qayyim/
https://salaficentre.com/2019/11/16/seven-tremendous-benefits-of-dhikr-by-shaikh-abdur-razzaaq-al-badr-hafidhahullaah/
Footnote e: https://www.salafisounds.com/the-names-attributes-of-allaah-by-abu-talhah-dawood-burbank/ – by Shaikh Abu Talhah [may Allaah have mercy upon him and his wife]
Footnote f: https://salaficentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Fed-up-or-Bored-With-a-Blessing.pdf
Footnote g: https://salaficentre.com/2021/08/26/destructive-self-sufficiency-and-the-two-types-of-neediness/
Footnote h: Shaikh Abu Iyaad [may Allaah preserve him] stated that Shaykh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah [may Allaah have mercy upon him] gives a lengthy explanation of this – which is another of the doubts of the Jahmiyyah – in his book “Sharh Hadeeth in-Nuzool”, towards the end of it (p.320 onwards), and the essence of it is is that this question only arises when it is presumed that the kaifiyyah of Allaah’s Descent is like the descent of created beings, for when you presume that, then this doubt arises. So as Imaam Malik said, as mentioned by Br. Moosaa, regarding Istiwaa and as Abu Ja’far at-Tirmidhi (the faqih of Bagdhad, d. 295H) said,as mentioned by ad-Dhahabi in al-Uluww (p. 231), regarding the nuzool: quote: the Nuzool is ma’qool (understood), and the kayf is majhool (unknown), to have faith in it is obligatory and asking about it is an innovation. And in summary, we hold that:
– Allaah descends without Him leaving the Throne, He remains above the Throne
– Allaah descends without coming under or beneath the heaven – and as the Salaf said to the Jahmiyyah who raised such doubts in relation to the nuzool, “We believe in a Lord who does whatever He wills”
– To all people in all parts of the earth, alongside the variation in the night and day, Allaah’s descent is for them during the last third of their night – and we are not able to understand the kaifiyyah of that – just like we are not able to understand the kaifiyyah of how Allaah will do the hisaab (accounting) of all the people at the same time.
Ibn Taymiyyah says, “As for the nuzool that is not of the type of the nuzool of the (created) bodies of the servants, then it is not impossible that it occurs at the same time for a great number of the creation … and this is like His reckoning of His servants on the Day of Judgement, He will reckon all of them within a single hour, and all of them will be alone with Him, just like a man is alone with the moon on a clear night, and He will make him affirm his sins, and that one being reckoned will not see that He is reckoning others besides him” (p.334)
And then Ibn Taymiyyah brings ahaadeeth in this regard, and he also mentions the hadeeth of Allaah responding ot the servant when he recites al-Faatihah in the prayer, so Allaah says, “My servant praised me” and so on, and this is to every one who prays, at the same time, and likewise Allaah sees everyone all at the same time, and he provides for everyone all at the same time, so likewise, the nuzool – if we remove that presumption of “kayf” that is prohibited which is that the nuzool is like that of the created bodies – then we are not subject to this doubt, and then we are able to affirm it for Allaah without tashbeeh and tamtheel and without any caution in that.
And in all of this there is sufficiency for the believer who affirms what Allaah affirmed for Himself without takyeef and without ta’teel and without tamtheel. [salafitalk.net]
Sifatun Nuzool [Allaah’s Descent To The Lowest Heaven (In a Way That Befits His Majesty) During The Last Third of The Night]
Footnote i: Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “A man is upon the religion of his best friend, so let one of you look at whom he befriends.” [Tirmidhee 2378] Muhammad Ibn Munkadir used to say, ”A righteous companion is better than loneliness & loneliness is better than an evil companion.” [Bahjatul Majaalis 1/48′ by Ibn Abdul Barr]
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