Spiritual Disease and Its Cure by Imam Shams-ud-Deen Muhammad bin Abi Bakr bin Qayyim AlJ awziyyah

When a person neglects his/her own soul, he/she corrupts it and destroys it. If it is said: "How can a person neglect or forget his/her own soul? And if he/she forgets him/herself, what does he/she remember? What is the meaning of forgetting oneself?" The answer is: "Yes, a person can seriously forget his/her own soul. Allah ~ said: ( Do not be like those who forgot Allah (i.e. became disobedient to Allah), and He caused them to forget themselves. Those are rebellious to Allah) ; when they forgot their Lord, He ~ forgot them and 1

made them forget their own souls, as He ~ also said: (The hypocrites, men and women, are one from another; they enjoin (on people) Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelieve and polytheism of every kind and all that Islam has forbidden), and forbid Al-Ma 'ruf (Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and they close their hands (to giving alms). They have forgotten Allah and so Allah has forgotten them. Verily the hypocrites are Fasiqun (rebellious to Allah).) 2 Allah ~ forgets such Servants, by neglecting them and leaving them without any support, which results in their imminent destruction. As for one's forgetfulness of oneself, it is the wasting of one's chances of happiness and success. Allah ~ makes these people forget their self-defects and shortcomings, and their thoughts of removing them. He ~ also makes them forget the diseases and pains in their hearts and souls, which is one of the severest punishments from Allah ~- There is no greater punishment that forgetting oneself; neglecting the benefits and solutions, causes of happiness and refinement, and preparation for the blessed eternal life . Whoever reflects on this issue would discover that most of people have truly forgotten themselves and wasted their opportunities with Allah ~ - They have sold themselves cheaply, for the sake of base worldly desires. However, it is in their dying moments that they become aware of their loss, and it is only on the Day of Mutual Loss and Gain (at- Taghabun) that a Servant of Allah is faced with the result of the pledge he/she had committed to him/herself in this world; for every person trades in this world for the Hereafter. The losers would be those who bought this worldly life for their chance in the Hereafter; they indulged in satisfying their lowly desires and were fully committed to the achievement of that end, saying: "Take what you see but leave what you (simply) hear about." This is due to the weakness of their faith and their strong urge to fulfil their worldly desires. Allah ~ has said about such people: (Those are they who have bought the life of this world at the price of the Hereafter. Their torment shall not be lightened nor shall they be helped)3 and He ~ also said about them: (So their commerce was profitless, and they were not guided.) 4 The winners are those who sold the ending with the everlasting, the mean with the priceless, the despicable with the great. They said: "What is the value of this world, from its beginning to its end, that we should sell our chance with Allah ~ and the Hereafter for it? What could possibly could a Servant of Allah earn in it, when in reality its time is as brief as a short nap? Allah~ said: ( On the Day when He shall gather them together, (it will be) as if they had not stayed (in the life of this world and the graves) but an hour of a day)' (They ask you about the hour - when its appointed time will be. You have no knowledge to say anything about it. To your Lord belongs (the knowledge of) the term thereof. You are only a warner for those who fear it. The Day they see it, (it will be) as if they had not tarried (in this world) except an afternoon or a morning)2

(On the Day when they will see that (torment) which they are promised as if they had not stayed more than an hour in of a single day ) 3 (He (Allah) will say: "What number of years did you stay on earth?" They will say: "We stayed a day or part of a day. Ask of those who keep account." He (Allah) will say: "You stayed not but a little, if you had only known!")4 (The Day when the Trumpet will be blown: that day, We shall gather the Mujrimun (Polytheists, sinners, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) blue or blind-eyed with thirst. They will speak in a very low voice to each other (saying): "You stayed no longer than ten (days)." We know very well what they will say, when the best among them in knowledge and wisdom will say: "You stayed no longer than a day!")5 The winners are, therefore, those who realise that the eternal world of the Hereafter, is the one they should strive to achieve. Indeed, every person views his/her own self in this life; some safeguard it and others destroy it, for Allah ~ said: (Verily, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties for (the price) that theirs shall be Paradise. They fight in the Cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. It is a promise, in truth, which is binding on Him in the Torah, Injeel (Gospel) and Qur'an; and who is truer to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain which you have concluded. That is the supreme success.)6 If you are interested in this trade, then give this price (be one of) ( those who turn to Allah in repentance, worship Him, praise Him, fast, bow down (in prayer), prostrate themselves (in prayer), enjoin (on people) Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism of all that Islam has forbidden), and observe the limits of Allah, and give glad tidings to the believers.) 7 Sins remove present blessings and block incoming blessings The presence of Allah's Blessings is preserved by observance of His Commands; for every aspect of Graciousness is earned by obeying Him ~- Allah ~ has produced a cause behind and an obstacle to everything: a cause to enhance it, and an obstacle to cancel it. So He ~ made the reason for attracting His Blessings the performance of the Islamic obligations, but made the objection to receiving His Blessings the rejection or negligence of those obligations. Sins keep the sinner away from the angel appointed to him A sinner cannot get any help from his protector (the appointed angel) because he is kept far away from his Lord , according to the nature of his sin. Even a single lie may keep him/her a great distance from his/her angel, and so he/she is at the mercy of his arch enemy (Satan). The Prophet ~ said: "When a man lies, the angel moves a mile from him due to the bad odour of what he had produced." 1 Allah~ said: (Verily, those who say: "Our Lord is Allah (Alone)," and then they stand firm, on them the angels will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): "Do not fear, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised! We have been your friends of this world and are so in the Hereafter ... ")2 When his Lord supports him, the best and most beneficial of Allah's Creation would also support him; Allah ~ said: (Remember when your Lord revealed to the angels: "Verily, I am with you so keep firm, those who have believed ... ")3 There is nothing ever more beneficial to the believer than the company of an angel, who is his/her supporter during his/her life and death, in his/her grave of isolation. He repels his enemy (Satan) from him, and promises him glad tidings, and urges him to keep believing in the truth. The Prophet ~ said: "Satan exercises his influence upon the son of Adam, as does an angel. The influence of Satan is that he the promise of evil and denial of truth. And the influence of the angel is that he gives the promise of good and the affirmation of truth. Thus he who perceives this (i.e. good promise) should praise Allah but he who finds other than it, should seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed. "4 When the angel is much closer to the Servant of Allah, he places the right words in his tongue, but when he is far from him, the devil speaks to his tongue. The Prophet ji; said: "Allah has placed truthfulness in Umar's tongue and he utters it. " 5 Sins keep the son of Adam away from his appointed angel, whose company and support would otherwise have brought him happiness. The angel defends the Servant of Allah and replies to anyone who abuses him. It was reported by Abu Hurayrah that two men had a dispute in the presence of the Messenger of Allah ~- While one of them abused the other, the Prophet kept watching and smiling. When the other responded to the abuse, the Prophet ji; got up and left. So the man caught up with the Prophet and commented: "He was reviling me while you were sitting, but when I replied to some of what he had said you became angry, got up and went away." The Prophet ji; replied: "There was an angel with you replying to him, but when you replied to him a devil descended." Some Companions said: "There are (also) those (angels) with you who do not leave you, so be aware of them and honour them." Allah ~ said: (But verily, there are angels appointed over you, in charge of mankind, to watch you; honourable, writing down your deeds)6 i.e. be aware of those honourable appointed angels, and beware of exposing them to anything which you regard as too shameful among you. The angels are harmed by anything that may harm the Children of Adam.