Character Archives - AlJumuah Magazine

Translations from Ibn Al-Qayyim’s Madarij Al-Salikin (Steps of the Seekers)

The Proper Way to Contemplate the Quran THREE THINGS AID proper contemplation (tafakkur): (1) Thinking of the transience and shortness of this life and avoiding long hopes; (2) reflecting on the Quran;and (3) avoiding corruptions that ail the heart. To recognize…

Translation from Ibn Al-Qayyim’s Madarij Al-Salikin (Steps of the Seekers) | The Station of Remembrance (Thikr) | Part 3

On Remembering to Invoke Allah When One Forgets THE AUTHOR OF Manâzil Al-Sâ’irîn, ʿAbdullâh Al-Anṣârî Al-Harawi [d. 482/1089] said: “Allah Almighty said: Yet remember your Lord, if you forget (Sûrat Al-Kahf, 18:24), “that is, when you forget other than Him, and forget yourself…

Translations from Madarij Al-Salikin (Steps of the Seekers) by Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim

Rulings regarding Repentance (1) “All is well that ends well.” The sins of a person may outnumber and nullify his earlier good deeds; if, however, he repents sincerely, his earlier good deeds return to his account. This is because his good deeds…

Translation from Madarij Al-Salikin (Steps of the Seekers) by Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim

The Servant and His Relationship with the Angel and with the Devil ONE OF THE punishments that sinful deeds are bound to inflict on the servant is that they keep him away from the angel put in charge of him, who is…

The Exemplary Patience of Prophet Ayyûb/Job ( ﷷ ﺳﻼﻢ )

Since time immemorial, Almighty Allah has sent many prophets to mankind to preach the oneness of Allah and to guide people who had, time and time again, deviated from the true religion of islâm (islâm = submission to the one God) as…

Character, Character, Character: Living By the Book

This article, dear reader, is a message of hope and action. Our life on this earth is short; the real life is what Allah (I) has prepared for the believers in Jannah. To enter Jannah, we have to pass the test of…

Translations from Ibn Al-Qayyim’s Madarij Al-Salikin (Steps of the Seekers) | The Station of Adab (Etiquette) – 1

THE AUTHOR OF Al-Manâzil states: Al-Adab is to be wary of the extremities of exaggeration (ghuluww) and neglect (jafâ’), realizing the harm of transgression. This is one of the best definitions, for transgressing to either extremity is lack of adab. Al-Adab is to…

The Ramadân Muslim

The surge of spiritual energy, the feeling of goodness within your soul, the hopes of doing good – the time of Ramadân! Undoubtedly the best kickstart a Muslim can get in trying to set aright their wrongs, rectify bad habits, or simply…

Translations from Madarij Al-Salikin (Steps of the Seekers) of Imam Ibn Al-Qaiyym: On the Deeper Meanings of Gratitude – Part 2

THE AUTHOR OF Manazil Al-Sa’irin [Shaykh Al-Harawi Al-Ansari] says the following of gratitude (shukr, sometimes better translated as ‘thankfulness’): Gratitude is the name for the recognition of a blessing, and it leads to the recognition of the Giver. This is why Allah,…

Translations from Madarij Al-Salikin (Steps of the Seekers) of Imam Ibn Al-Qaiyym: On the Deeper Meanings of Gratitude – Part 1

THE LEXICAL MEANING of the Arabic word ‘shukr’ [root: sha ka ra, represented by the English letters ‘s’ ‘k’ ‘r’, respectively] is “appearance of the effect of food on the body of an animal.” It is said: shakarat al-dabbatu tashkuru shukran: “The…