Blog | Nuruddeen Lewis

"And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you" - Ibn al Qayyim

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:56:08 -0500

“And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you” - Ibn al Qayyim

Source: AL-FAWAID: A Collection of Wise Sayings

Allah, the Almighty says,which means,
“And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know.” (AI-Baqarah, 2:216)

In this Qur’anic Verse, there are several judgments, meanings and benefits for the servant. If the servant knows that misfortune can produce a desirable thing, and that the desirable thing can produce a misfortune, he would not feel secure against the harm that can come from delight, and he would not lose hope of delight to come from harm, for he does not know the outcomes of things. Verily, it is Allah Who knows about that which the servant does not know, and in this context the following issues must be noted:

Nothing is more beneficial for him than abiding by the judgments of Allah, even if it is difficult for him at the beginning, because all its outcomes are good, delightful, and pleasurable. In the same way, nothing is more harmful for him than committing what is forbidden, even if he loves it. All its outcomes are pain, grief, evil and misfortune.

Furthermore, the mind bears little pain in comparison to the great pleasure and abundant good that it will experience, and likewise man is expected to avoid little in exchange for great rewards and preventing great pain and long term evil.

In this way, we can see that the perception of the ignorant does not go beyond the basics of life; his perception does not reach the goals, but the intelligent person always keeps his eye on the goals behind his actions in life.

The intelligent person perceives forbidden things like delicious food, which contain fatal poison. Whenever its pleasure arouses his interest, the reality of the poison would push him away from it. Also, he perceives the orders of Allah as bitter medicine that leads to good health and recovery.

Whenever its bitterness urges him not to take it, the reality of its usefulness leads him to comply. This requires knowledge that is more than the rudiments of the religion in order to understand the essential goals. It also requires strong patience to adjust oneself to it, in order to bear the difficulties that will be encountered for the sake of the goal. So if he loses certainty and patience, it would be difficult to achieve the goal, and on the other hand if his certainty and patience is strong, every difficulty would be rendered easy for him for the sake of permanent good and eternal pleasure.

There are other meanings of this verse. It also requires the servant to leave all his affairs in the Hands of the One Who knows the outcomes of all things, and to be pleased with whatever He chooses for him.

Also, the meanings of the verse include the fact that he should not propose or choose for his Lord, and should not ask Him for that which he has no knowledge of, for his harm and ruin may be in it and yet he does not know. He should simply ask his Lord to choose good for him and make him pleased with His choice, for that indeed would be the best ending. Also when he leaves all his affairs to his Lord, and is satisfied with His choice for him, Allah will support him by providing him with ability, determination and patience. He, the Almighty would also keep him away from the evil that the servant would have encountered if he had chosen for himself. He would show him some of the positive outcomes of His Choice, which he would not have attained if he had chosen for himself.

Such thinking relieves him of the burdens of trying to choose for himself as Allah frees his heart from estimations and arrangements, which fluctuate in difficulty. And in spite of this, the servant would always be surrounded by what was initially preordained for him. If he is pleased with the Choice of Allah, the preordainment would grant him what is praiseworthy, worthy of thanks and worthy of Allah’s Mercy. Otherwise, the preordainment would incur on him all that is dispraised and unworthy of Allah’s Mercy, because it was his own choice. When he truly leaves his affairs to Allah and truly becomes pleased with that, he would be surrounded by kindness and care in the preordainment, and he would be under the care and kindness of Allah. His Kindness protects him from that which he fears and His Care makes it easy for him to bear that
which He preordained.

When the preordainment is implemented upon the servant, the greatest cause of its implementation would be his trying to avoid it. Therefore, there is nothing more beneficial for him than submission.

Video

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:40:06 -0500

AJ Jacobs: My colossal task burden When AJ Jacobs learned...

Fri, 28 May 2010 15:15:50 -0500

AJ Jacobs: My colossal task burden

When AJ Jacobs learned multitasking was bad for you, he decided to kick his chronic addiction to mental juggling. Get ready for Operation Focus…

"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle."

Mon, 24 May 2010 22:13:31 -0500

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”

- Abraham Lincoln

Malcolm Gladwell talks about the importance of stubbornness and collaboration in problem-solving, and how long it takes to master any challenge. Introduced by David Remnick. From “2012: Stories from the Near Future,” the 2007 New Yorker Conference. Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2007/gladwell#ixzz0nl7qkYZ3

Wed, 12 May 2010 18:04:04 -0500

Malcolm Gladwell talks about the importance of stubbornness and collaboration in problem-solving, and how long it takes to master any challenge. Introduced by David Remnick. From “2012: Stories from the Near Future,” the 2007 New Yorker Conference. Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2007/gladwell#ixzz0nl7qkYZ3

P90x! Day 1: 5.2.10

Wed, 05 May 2010 12:54:21 -0500

P90x! Day 1: 5.2.10

"The bars of West Hollywood, London, and New York are awash with people throwing their lives away in..."

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:37:24 -0500

“The bars of West Hollywood, London, and New York are awash with people throwing their lives away in the desperate hope of finding a shortcut, any shortcut. Meanwhile the competition is at home, working their asses off.”

- Notes on “Ignore Everybody” by Derek Sivers

Embracing a Life of Solitude

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 23:06:30 -0500

Embracing a Life of Solitude

Tea Notes

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:43:06 -0500

Black tea generally should be made with water at a full, rolling boil, 212 degrees.

Oolong tea (also known as wulong tea) should be made with water a little bit below boiling, between 190 and 203 degrees. The water should be steaming rapidly and there should many bubbles rising in the kettle, but not really breaking the surface.

Green teas should be made with slightly cooler water, between 160 and 180 degrees. The steam should be wafting or gently swirling out of the kettle.

White teas should be made with even cooler water, anywhere from 150 to 160 degrees, when you see the very first hint of steam.

Puerh teas are very different, I have had them made with cooler water, similar to a green tea. But my favorite method is to make them with boiling water and steep them a long time.

Herbal teas should typically be made with boiling water.

Different teas also require different steeping times.

Black teas steep 4-6 minutes. Darjeelings are the exception, they should be steeped 2-3 minutes.

Oolong teas (also known as wulong tea) vary dramatically and you need to experiment or follow the suggested steeping instructions on the bag. Many oolongs (wulongs) are perfect at 3-4 minutes, some need 6-8 minutes.

Green teas should typically be steeped for much less time, 2-3 minutes.

Whites teas typically should be steeped around 2 minutes, although some can be steeped much longer with good results.

Puerh teas should be steeped at least 7-8 minutes. I like to steep Puerhs up to 20 minutes.To keep puerh hot, while steeping 20 minutes, simply cover your pot with a
tea cozy or even wrap it with a dish towel. It will stay piping hot.

Herbals typically should be steeped a minimum of 4-6 minutes, some for up to 10 minutes.

Video

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:21:39 -0600

"1. Belonging. It is important that each member of my family feel that they are loved, that they..."

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:43:24 -0600

“1. Belonging. It is important that each member of my family feel that they are loved, that they belong and that they matter. Being a cohesive family could mean that you spend every spare minute together doing family activities but keep in mind that everyone is different. Creating a strong family unit is great but each person should be allowed the space and freedom to explore the activities they think they may enjoy. People are more courageous and more willing to take chances if they know they have a safe place to come back to when things don’t quite work out. Coming together for special occasions and holidays and just spending time together as a family is what helps build that sense of belonging.”

- Sherri Kruger

"Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest."

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:00:18 -0600

“Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest.”

- Leo Babauta in The Power of Less

If You Have The Ability To Practice Five Things, You Will Never Have To Worry About Being Amongst The Sinners Again!!!

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:14:44 -0600

A man came to Ibrahim Ibn Adham (Rahimahullah), who was one of the scholars whose words were profound cures for the heart, and said:

“I have repeatedly transgressed against myself by commiting sin; give me something that will inhibit me from continuing like this?

So Ibrahim said: “If you have the capacity to practice five things, you will never have to worry about being amongst the sinners again.” The man was athirst for this admonition so he said: “Ibrahim give me these five things!” So he said:

“Firstly: If you want to disobey Allah, then don’t eat anything from the provisions He facilitated for mankind!” The man was amazed at this comment and asked: “How can you say this Ibrahim while all of the provisions are from Allah?!” So he said: “Well if you know this, then how do you have the audacity to eat from His provision while you are disobedient Him?!!” So the man said: “No, you’re right, we shouldn’t have! Give me the second one!”

So Ibrahim said: “Secondly: If you want to disobey Allah, then don’t live in His earth!” the man was amazed at this comment, more so than he was the first comment, so he said: “How can you say that Ibrahim when all of the earth belongs to Allah?!” So Ibrahim said: “If you know this, then how do you have the audacity to live in His earth while you are disobedient to Him?! The man said: “No, you’re right, we shouldn’t have! Give me the third one!”

So Ibrahim said: “Thirdly: If you want to disobey Allah, then choose a place to disobey Him, where He can’t see you!” The man said: “How can you say this Ibrahim, when Allah knows the secrets of the heart and what is hidden! He hears the crawling of an ant on a smooth boulder in the depths of the darkness of the night!” So Ibrahim said: “Well if you know this, then how can you have the audacity to disobey Him?!” He said “No, you’re right, we shouldn’t have! Give me the fourth one!”

So Ibrahim said: “Fourthly: If the angel of death comes to take your soul, say to him: “wait on taking my soul until a later time!” So the man said: “How can you say this Ibrahim when Allah says:

“When their appointed time comes it will not be delayed nor will it be hastened before its time” (Surah Al A’raf 7:24)

So Ibrahim said: “Well if you know this, then how can you expect to be successful at the time of your death when you are disobeying Allah?!” The man said: “Yes, you’re right, give me the fifth one!” So Ibrahim said: “Fifthly: When the Zabaaniyah i.e. the angels who guard the Hell Fire, come to escort you to the Hell Fire, then don’t go with them!” The man couldn’t handle the fifth one and started crying while he was saying: “Enough Ibrahim! Enough! I seek Allah’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance!!!” He remained steadfast on obedience to Allah until his demise. _

Translator’s Note: This narration is taken from a book called Hilyat ul Awliyaa by Abu Nu’aim Al Asbahani (Rahimahullah) and it is a book filled with narrations about amazing events during the time of the Salaf. Some of these narrations may not be authentic or we may not know the authenticity of them, however the scholars use them in the realm of what is called At Targheeb wat Tarheeb (i.e. encouragement (to be obedient to Allah) and discouragement (from disobedience to Allah) and they have stipulated 4 conditions for using these narrations and I will provide them below for the reader’s clarification:

The First: The narration can not be used to establish and/or substantiate a legislative Islamic ruling. As the Islamic rulings in Islam are established and/or supported by authentic unequivocal and concrete texts from the Qur’an, Authentic Sunnah and the Ijma’a (i.e. Consensus) of the Sahabah and the Salaf us Salih (i.e. Righteous Predecessors)

The Second: The narration can not be attributed to the Prophet (Sallahu alaihi wa salam) or the narrator unless the Isnad (i.e. chain of narrators) is affirmed by those scholars who are proficient in that respective field. So that is why the scholars will say when narrating these types of narrations “It was reported….” Or “it was mentioned about…” but they will never say such and such said.

The Third: The class of the narration has to be clarified when quoted so as not to mislead the reader and/or listener to believe that it is authentic if it is not authentic.

The Fourth: It can only be used in the realm of what the scholars call At Targheeb wat Tarheeb, as it was mentioned before.

Translated by Abu Az Zubayr Shadeed Muhammad on Tuesday December 29, 2009
1431H./1/12 in the city of Riyadh, the Capital of Saudi Arabia
http://www.rawdah.org/read-5Things.html

"Forget the folklore. People can take a scientific approach to develop expertise."

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:04:10 -0600

“Forget the folklore. People can take a scientific approach to develop expertise.”

- The Making of an Expert by K. Anders. Ericsson

"Find a well-informed coach."

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:03:47 -0600

“Find a well-informed coach.”

- The Making of an Expert by K. Anders. Ericsson

"Invest time wisely. Engage in ‘deliberate’ practice."

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:03:34 -0600

“Invest time wisely. Engage in ‘deliberate’ practice.”

- The Making of an Expert by K. Anders. Ericsson

"There are no shortcuts. It will take at least a decade."

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:03:13 -0600

“There are no shortcuts. It will take at least a decade.”

- The Making of an Expert by K. Anders. Ericsson

"Experts are always made, not born."

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:02:53 -0600

“Experts are always made, not born.”

- The Making of an Expert by K. Anders. Ericsson

The Making of an Expert by K. Anders Ericsson

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:57:13 -0600

The Making of an Expert by K. Anders Ericsson

Video

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:25:28 -0600