When Given Be Thankful, When Tested Be Patient, When You Sin Seek Forgiveness Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Rājihī
الشيخ عبدالعزيز الراجحي
To Proceed: The Imām, Shaykh al-Islām, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb – May Allāh the Most High have mercy on him – said: “I ask Allāh the Most Generous, Lord of the Great Throne to protect you in this world and the Hereafter, and to make you blessed wherever you may be. And (I ask) that He make you from those who when they are given, are thankful; when they are tested, are patient; and when they sin, they seek forgiveness (from Allāh). For Indeed these three characteristics are the true signs of prosperity.”
Shaykh al-Rājihī: The treatise, which “The Four Rules” of Imām Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, may Allāh have mercy on him, is a tremendous treatise even though it is short. It is called the “Four Rules” because it consists of four fundamental rules by which one may distinguish polytheists (Mushrikūn) from Muslims. They are four rules that will help you differentiate between a believer and a disbeliever; and clarify the difference between a polytheist (mushrik) and a monotheist (Muwaḥḥid).
In the first part of the treatise, the Imām and reviver (Mujaddid) says, “I ask Allāh the Most Generous, Lord of the Great Throne to protect you in this world and the Hereafter, and to make you blessed wherever you may be. And (I ask) that He make you from those who when they are given, are thankful; when they are tested, are patient; and when they sin, they seek forgiveness (from Allāh). For Indeed these three characteristics are the true signs of prosperity.”
The author begins his treatise by supplicating and seeking a means to Allāh through His Lordship and Attributes. He seeks a means to Allāh His Name al-Karīm (i.e. the Most Generous), and His Lordship of the Great Throne. He is supplicating for you, O student of knowledge, as He asks Allāh to protect you in this world and the next, and make you blessed wherever you may be. This is from sincerity of this Imām, may Allāh have mercy on him, since it is due to his sincerity that he is teaching you and supplicating for you.
He asks Allāh, whilst seeking a means to Him through His Name al-Karīm, and His Lordship of the Great Throne, to protect you in this world and the next. And whoever Allāh protects in this world and the next will experience true happiness and prosperity, and never be miserable after that. The author also asks Allāh to make you blessed wherever you may be. In whatever place you settle, He will make you blessed.
Lastly, he asks Allāh to make you from those who when they are given, are thankful; when they are tested, are patient; and when they sin, they seek forgiveness (from Allāh). This is since these three characteristics are the true signs of prosperity. This means that a person constantly revolves around these three states – either he is experiencing a blessing and should thus be grateful; or he is experiencing a calamity and should thus be patient; or he has fallen into sin and should thus be repentant and seeking Allāh’s forgiveness.
If a person receives a blessing in his life, he should be grateful and thank Allāh for it with his heart, i.e. he should acknowledge that it is from Allāh. He should thank Allāh for it with his tongue, by praising Him for it and attributing it to Him. And he should thank Allāh with his limbs, by using them to please Allāh. This is being grateful with one’s heart, tongue and limbs.
When a person experiences a calamity, he should be patient. This entails that he withholds himself from despairing, restrain his tongue from complaining, and prevent his limbs from angering Allāh. This is the patient one. A person who is patient may withhold himself from despair by not losing hope. He must also restrain his tongue from complaining and hold his limbs back from doing something that would anger Allāh. This is truly a person that is patient. And when he sins, he repents and seeks Allāh’s forgiveness.
The author sates that these three characteristics are the true signs of prosperity. What are the signs that would indicate that a person is happy and prosperous? The signs are that when he receives a blessing, he is grateful; when he is stricken with a calamity, he is patient; and when he falls into sin, he repents and seeks forgiveness.
If a person is this way, then you should know that these are the signs that show that he is happy, since a person constantly revolves around these three states. Either he is experiencing a blessing and needs to give thanks for it, or he is experiencing a calamity or catastrophe and needs to be patient, or he has committed a sin and error and needs to repent and ask for forgiveness.
Arabic Source: Audio excerpt from ‘An Explanation of the Four Rules’ by the noble Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Rājihī
شرح القواعد الأربع لفضيلة الشيخ عبد العزيز الراجحي
Translation Source: al-Ibaanah Publishing (with slight edits)
0 Comments