Ibn al-Qayyim: Seeking Allāh’s Pleasure Leads to Enmity and Harm from People
Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) said:[1]
It is well-known that whoever seeks the pleasure of Allāh will face the enmity and harm of people, and their attempts to destroy him. This is Allāh’s way in His creation, otherwise, what is the sin of the prophets and messengers and those among people who enjoin justice, and who uphold Allāh’s religion, who defend His Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger?
Whoever seeks Allāh’s pleasure will inevitably be shown enmity by the dregs and worthless of the world, the lowly ones, the ignorant, the people of innovations and sinfulness, and the people of false leadership, and all who oppose his guidance.
See an illustration: Shaykh Muḥammad Amān al-Jāmī Assaulted by Surūrīs During a Lecture In a Mosque (1990s).
Comment
What is the sin of those who call to the foundations of the Sunnah, from which is obedience ot the legitimate ruler, absence of rebellion, and adherence to the fatāwā of the senior scholars in affairs of war and bloodshed, in veneration of the sanctity of life, and the stability and security of Muslim lands? What is the sin of those who explain that praising and directing others to innovators aids in the destruction of Islām? What is the sin of those who warn from the agitators, who incite against legitimate authority? What is the sin of those who support the jihād of the ruler against the Khārijites and rebels? It is only the people of false leadership who—in opposition to his (صلى الله عليه وسلم) guidance—show enmity to the likes of these and seek to defame them and ruin them.
Note
Recently, an attempt was made to split South Yemen into two and involved the activities of the Khārijite Hānī bin Burayk and a former government appointed regional leader turned rebel, Aidarous al-Zubaidi.
Some shaykhs from Aden—some of who are reported to have taken wealth from Hānī and are advocated for by ʿArafāt al-Muḥammadī—supported the call to secession and a separate southern state, while attacking those who did not agree with them and who had advised them against these activities due to their opposition to the Sunnah. They were also advised to remain behind the Saudi-led coalition.
They attacked Shaykh ʿAlī al-Ḥudhayfī who had patiently called to the Sunnah and endured their harm for six years, since 2019. They belittled him and worked intrigues against him and blatantly lied against him. His writings in this regard were even mocked by being described as something “not even children would write”.
However, Shaykh ʿAlī was right all along, and he had called for them to stick to the fatwā of Shaykh Rabīʿ of remaining with the Saudi coalition, yet he was attacked by people of false leadership and opposers of the Sunnah in this matter.
So Shaykh ʿAlī has a share of this speech of Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله), as do all People of the Sunnah who seek Allāh’s pleasure by upholding the foundations of Sunnah and Salafiyyah. They are deserving of being supported and having their honours defended—as this is from the rights of Islām, Sunnah and Salafiyyah—not for any worldly attachments, but for the sake of the truth and the justice that Allāh enjoins, loves and is pleased with.
Arabic text:
Footnotes
1. Madārij al-Sālikīn (2/287)2. This second sentence from the speech of Ibn al-Qayyim was posted on social media by one of the contemporary liars and mischief-makers.