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Purification of the Soul – Ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi

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Purification of the Soul – Ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi Imam Ahmad Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi [d. 689H] The PURIFICATION of the SOUL A textbook on Self-Development being a translation of his work ‘MukhtasarMinhaj al-Qasidin’ “He who purifies it has succeeded and he who stunts it has failed.” [QUR’AN (91): 9-10] The Purification of the Soul A textbook on Self-Development by Imam Ahmad Ibn ‘Abdu’] Rahman Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi [d. 689H] Dar as-Sunnah Publishers BIRMINGHAM First Published in Great Britain, June 2020 / Dhu’l-Qa‘dah 1441H by Dar as-Sunnah Publishers DAR AS-SUNNAH PUBLISHERS PO. Box 9818, Birmingham, B11 4WA, United Kingdom W: www.darassunnah.com E: [email protected] E:; [email protected] © Copyright 2020 by Dar as-Sunnah Publishers All rights reserved Worldwide. No part of this publication may be reproduced including the cover design, utilized or transformed in any form or means, electronic of mechanical, including photocopy, recording of any information storage and retrieval system, now known or to be invented without the express permission in writing from the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other then that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. British Library Cataloguing in publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Title: The Purification of the Soul by Imam Ahmad Ibn ‘Abdu’l Rahman Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdist Translated from the original Arabic ISBN 1-904336-65-5 Paper-back Published and Typeset by: Dar as-Sunnah Publishers First Edition, 1441 “#/2020 While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book neither the authors, translators, not Dar as-Sunnah Publishers, shall have any liability with respect to any loss or damages caused nor do the views expressed in this book are necessarily held by the publisher directly or indirectly by the instructions or advice contained in this book. Content AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION 13 THE FIRST FOUNDATION On Repentance (al-tawba) 15 1.1. An Exposition on the Divisions of Sins 18 1.2. Another Division: Minor and Major 19 1.3. How the Levels in the Afterlife are Distributed to Good and Evil Works Committed in the Worldly Life 22 1.4, What Turns the Minor Sins into Major Sins 26 1.5. The Conditions of Repentance 29 1.6. The Prerequisites of Repentance 35 1.7. Types of People Who Are in Continual Repentance 35 1.8. What the Repentant Person Should Do 39 1.9. Repentance as a Remedy and the Way to Break the Habit of Sin 39 THE SECOND FOUNDATION On Patience and Thankfulness (al-sabr wa’l-shukr) 45 2.1. The Divisions of Patience 48 2.2. The Etiquettes of Patience 54 2.3. On Patience as a Remedy and what is gained by Resorting to It 58 2.4. On the Merit of Thankfulness 60 2.5. Thankfulness with Heart, Tongue and other Limbs 62 2.6. Thankfulness is Not Realised except with Understanding of what Allah Loves 64 2.7. The Nature of the blessings and their Divisions 69 2.8. An Exposition of Allah’s Abundant Blessings which Cannot Be enumerated 70 2.9. The Blessings of Allah in the Methods through which food reaches us 72 2.10. Marvels of Food and Treatment 77 2.11. Causes which turn people away from Thankfulness 79 2.12. On what Patience and Thankfulness share 83 2.13 Which is better: Patience or Thankfulness? 90 THE THIRD FOUNDATION On Hope and Fear (al-raja’ wa’l-Rawf) 92 3.1. The Essence of Hope 92 3.2. The Excellence of Hope 96 3.3. The Treatment of Hope and the Way in which the state of Hope is obtained 97 3.4. Fear and its Levels 102 3.5, Fear is Allah’s'Threat 104 3.6. The Divisions of Fear 105 3.7. Excellence of Fear and Hope: Which is Superior? 106 3.8. The Treatment Leading to Fear 109 3.9. The Intensity of Fear of the Angels 116 3.10. The Intensity of Fear of the Prophets 117 3.11. The Intensity of Fear of the Prophet Muhammad (38) 119 3.12. The Intensity of Fear of the Companions 119 3.13. The Intensity of Fear of the Successors 121 THE FOURTH FOUNDATION On Asceticism and Poverty (al-zuhd wa’l-faqr) 124 4.1. Poverty 125 4,2. The Merit of Poverty, its Preference over Sufficiency ....127 4.3. The Manners of the Poor with his Poverty 132 4.4, The Manners of a Poor when Accepting Gifts 133 4.5. An Exposition on the Prohibition of Asking without a Need, and the Manners of the Desperately Poor When he Asks 134 4.6. States of Those Who Ask 137 4.7. The Nature and Merits of Asceticism, with a Mention of its Levels and Divisions 137 4.8. The Levels of Asceticism and its Divisions 139 4.9, A Detailed Explanation of Asceticism and How it is a Dire Necessity of Life 141 4.10. The Characteristics of Asceticism 146 THE FIFTH FOUNDATION On Faith in Divine Unity and Reliance (at-tawbid wa’l-tawakkul 149 5. 1. Exposition on the Merits of Reliance 149 5.2. Exposition on the States of sawakkulin Allah, its Criteria and Deeds 151 5.3. Explanation of the Actions of the Those Reliant on Allah 153 THE SIXTH FOUNDATION On Love, Longing, Intimacy and Contentment (al-mababba wa'l-shawg wa'l-uns wa’l-rida) 160 6. 1. An Exposition that the Noblest and Loftiest Pleasure is Knowledge of Allah 166 6.2. Exposition of the Causes that Strengthen Love of Allah 171 6.3. Exposition of what ‘Longing for Allah’ means 176 6.4. Exposition of the Meaning of Allah’s Love for Man 178 6.5. The Distinguishing Marks of Man’s Love for Allah 180 6.6. Exposition of the Meaning of Intimacy with Allah and Contentment with Allah’s Decree 185 6.7. Exposition on Contentment and Opposing Desire 189 6.8. An Exposition that Supplication is not in Conflict with Contentment [with Divine Decree] 194 THE SEVENTH FOUNDATION On Intention, Sincerity and Truthfulness (al-niyya wa’l-ikhlas wa’l-sidgq) 198 7.1. Intention, its Nature, Merit and Related Issues 199 7.2. Actions are divided into Three Categories 202 7.3. Sincerity, its Merits, Reality and Degrees 207 7.4. Exposition of the Reality of Sincerity 209 7.5. Exposition on the Judgement of the Tarnished Act and the Worthiness of the Reward for it 211 7.6. On Truthfulness, its Merit and Reality 212 THE EIGHTH FOUNDATION On Self-Reckoning and Vigilance (mubasaba wa’l- muraqaba) 217 8.1. The First Station: Conditioning of the Soul (musharata) 219 8.2. The Second Station: Concerning Vigilance (muraqaba) 223 8.3. The Third Station: Accountability after worship (muhasaba) 225 8.4. The Fourth Station: Concerning Punishment of the Self for its Shortcomings (wu ‘agaba) 227 8.5. The Fifth Station: Self-Striving (wujahada) 229 8.6. The Sixth Station: Concerning reproving the Self and Reprimanding it (#uGtaba) 231 THE NINTH FOUNDATION On Contemplation (al-tafakkur) 234 9.1. Exposition on the Essence of Contemplation and its benefits 236 9.2. Contemplation on Allah’s Essence is forbidden 239 THE TENTH FOUNDATION On the Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife (dhikr al-mawt wa-ma ba‘dahu) 243 10.1. The Excellence of the Remembrance of Death 245 10.2. The Cause of Lengthy Hopes 248 10.3. People’s Diverse Ranks in Lengthy Hopes 250 10.4. Agonies of Death and the States Preferable upon its Advent 252 10.5. The Death of the Messenger of Allah (3) 253 10.6. The Death of Aba Bakr al-Siddiq (radiyAllahu ‘anhi) 258 10.7. The Death of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiyAllahu ‘anhi) 259 10.8. The Death of “Uthman Ibn ‘Affan (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) 261 10.9, The Death of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (radiyAllabu ‘anbu)....262 10.10. On Sayings of those Near Death among the Companions 263 10.11. Visiting the Graveyard 264 10.12. On the True the Nature of Death 267 10.13. Exposition on the Grave 270 10.14. Concerning the Circumstances of the Deceased from the time when the Horn is Blown to his Final Residence in Paradise or Hell 273 10.15. Hellfire and from it Allah’s Refuge is Sought 277 10.16. Loving Allah’s Messenger (38) 279 10.17. Description of Paradise, we ask Allah from His Virtue to Grant us Entry Therein 281 10.18. The Wide Scope of Allah’s Mercy 283-288 AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, Most Merciful Shaykh al-Imam, al-Zahid, al-‘Abid, alAwhadal-‘Allamah Najmuddin Abu’l-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Shaykh a/lmam al-‘Alim al-Amil al-Zahid al-‘Abidal-Allamah TVzzuddin Abi ‘Abdu’llah Muhammad Ibn Shaykh al-Imam al- Alim al-Amil al-Zahid al-Abid al-“Allamah Shaykh ul-Islam Mufti ul-Anam, Sayyid ul-Ulama wa’l-Hukkam, Shamsuddin Abt Muhammad ‘Abdu’l-Rahman ibn Shaykh al-Imam al-“Alim al-‘Amil al-‘Arif al-Zahid al-Wari‘ Shaykh ul-Islam Abii ‘Umar Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi al-Hanbali said: All praise is due to Allah Whose Mercy covers all of his servants and has specified those who have obedience with guidance to the path of guidance and has granted them, by His Luif Subtlety and Gentleness), to righteous actions and they have gained success by reaching the intent.
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