A brief excerpt from Imaam
Ibnul-’Uthaymeen’s explanation of
Riyaadus-Saaliheen demonstrating the importance
of sacrifice as a means to attain piety and
sincerity.
As for renouncing the love of praise and
commendation then this is made easy by your
knowing that there is no one who can praise you
such that it would benefit you, or censure and
vilify you such that it would harm you save
Allaah alone.
Sincerity cannot coexist in a heart that
contains the love of praise and commendation and
the yearning to possess that which is owned by
the people save in the manner that fire and
water or a lizard and fish may coexist.
If your soul directs you to seek sincerity then
first turn your attention towards your yearning
and slaughter it with the knife of renunciation.
Then turn your attention towards praise and
commendation and forsake it with the asceticism
of those who loved the world for the sake of the
Hereafter. When your slaughtering of your
yearning and the renunciation of praise and
commendation becomes firm then attaining
sincerity will become easy for you.
If it is asked: what may facilitate the act of
slaughtering ones yearning and renouncing the
love of praise and commendation?
I would reply: as for slaughtering your yearning
then this is made easy by you having certain
knowledge that there is nothing that one would
desire except that its treasures are in the Hand
of Allaah alone and none has power over it save
Him. There is no one who may bestow these things
to a servant except for Allaah.
As for renouncing the love of praise and
commendation then this is made easy by your
knowing that there is no one who can praise you
such that it would benefit you, or censure and
vilify you such that it would harm you save
Allaah alone. This is what occurs in the hadeeth
in which the Arab said to the Prophet (sallallaahu
’alayhi wa sallam), "my being praised is
adornment and my being vilified is disgrace," to
which the Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam)
said, "that is (for) Allaah."
[Reported by at-Tirmidhee [no. 3266] with a
saheeh isnaad from Baraa`a bin Aazib (RA).]
So renounce the praise of one whose praise
cannot beautify you and the vilification of one
whose censure cannot disgrace you! Instead
desire the praise of the One whose commendation
contains perfect beauty and the One whose
censure contains total disgrace. This cannot be
attained except after patience and certainty for
when there is no patience and certainty then you
are like one who wished to traverse an ocean
without a vessel to carry him!
Allaah said,
"Be patient! Indeed the Promise of Allaah is
true and let not those who are devoid of
certainty discourage you from conveying (the
message)." [al-Rum (30):60]
"We have made from amongst them leaders, guiding
under Our Command when they were patient and
believed in Our Signs with certainty."
[al-Sajdah (32):24]
[Taken from 'An Explanation to Riyaadh
as-Saaliheen' Vol1, Trans. Abu Sulaymaan and
modified.] Al-Fawaa`id [218-219] of Imaam
Ibnul-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, may Allaah have mercy
upon him.]
