The Soul of the Son of Adam

Ibn Qayyim رحمه الله wrote in his highly esteemed book, Al Fawa'id:
"How perfect is Allah! In the soul of man is the pride of iblis, the jealousy of Qabil, the insolence of the people of 'Ad, the tyranny of Thamud, the temerity of Namrud, the arrogance of Pharoah, the wrongdoing of Qarun, the trickeries of the people of Sabt, the rebelliousness of Al-Walid, the ignorance of Abu Jahal, and the impudence of Haman. The soul of man also has many characteristics of beasts. He has the avarice of a crow, the gluttony of a dog, the display of the peacock, the filth of the hog, the malice of the camel, the predatory nature of the lion, the venom of the snake, the frivolity of the ape, the greed of the ant, and the deception of the fox."

The rigid training of the soul exercises these conditions; however, if one allows any of these traits to linger and prevail, one then becomes akin to the ones cursed by Allah and akin to the beasts possessing lowly characteristics. A person who allows these traits to dominate his soul is not that commodity in the contract described by Allah (the Exalted):

"Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers their lives."
(Qura'an 9:111)

Such a commodity (soul) must be refined by faith and purified by repentance and attentiveness in worship. The commodity must also be protected from defects or from being destroyed so as to allow the buyer to accept it.

(From Gems and Jewels, compiled by Abdul-Malik Mujahid)

May our souls be from the ones Allah chooses to purchase. Aameen.

The Shade of Allah...

It is narrated by Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah (RadiAllahu anhu) that Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam) said:"Seven people will be shaded by Allah under His shade on the day when there will be no shade but His. They are:
(1) A just ruler
(2) A young man who has been brought up in the worship of Allah (alone) sincerely from childhood.
(3) A man whose heart is attached to the mosque (ie, who offers the five fardh salats in jama'at in the mosque).
(4) Two persons who love each other only for Allah's sake, and they meet and part in Allah's cause only.
(5) A man who refuses the call of a charming woman of noble birth for illegal sexual intercourse with her, and says: 'I am afraid of Allah'
(6) A person who practises charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (ie, nobody knows how much he has given in charity).
(7) A person who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes get flooded with tears.

May Allah make us be from those who are blessed to stand under His shade on the day when there will be no shade except the shade of His throne. [Aameen]