The Aspiration (1/5)

[1] Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said in Madarij al-Salikin (2/68):  "Allah said:  He Who created death and life, to test which of you are best in action. [Surah al-Mulk 67:2] Fudayl ibn 'Iyad said [about this verse]: 'It is what is most sincere and most correct: They asked: O Abu 'Ali, what is most sincere and most correct? He replied: 'An action, if it is sincere but not correct, will not be accepted. If it is correct but not sincere, it will [also] not be accepted; until it is both sincere and correct. Sincere means that it is exclusively for Allah, and correct means that it conforms to the Sunnah.'"

[2] Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said in Madarij al-Salikin   (2/70): "It has been said: 'Sincerity is to forget the creation seeing you because of contin­ ually looking towards the Creator. Whoever adorns himself before the people with what he does not possess has fallen from Allah's grace: From the words of Fudayl are: 'Leaving an action for people's sake is ostentation (riya'), whereas doing an action for people's sake is shirk. Sincerity   is where Allah saves you from both of these: Al-Junayd  said: 'Sincerity is a secret (sirr) between  Allah and His servant which not even the angel knows so as to record it; nor does Satan know so as to corrupt it; nor is the desire (hawa) aware of it so as to influence  it.' It was said to Sahl: What is the hardest thing upon the ego (nafs)? He replied: 'Sincerity, because the ego has no share of it'"

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim  said about conformity  (2/348): "The master of the spiritual faction (sayyid al-ta'ifah) and their shaykh Al-Junayd  ibn Muhammad, may Allah's mercy be upon him - said: 'The paths, all of them are closed to the creation, except for one who emulates  the footsteps  of the Messenger;  may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him: He [also [said: 'Whoever  does not memorise the Qur'an nor record the hadith  should  not be followed in this matter, because our science is confined  to the Book and the Sunnah.'  ... Abu Sulayman   al-Darant, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: 'Indeed a word of wisdom occurs to my heart as it does to the nation [of the righteous l, but I do not accept it until it is supported by two just witnesses:  the Book and the Sunnah,"

[3] Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said (1/390): "The heart, in its journey to Allah, Majestic is He, is like that of a bird: love is its head, and fear and hope are its two wings. When the head and two wings are sound, the bird flies gracefully;  if the head is severed, the bird dies; if the bird loses one of its wings, it then becomes  a target for every hunter or predator:'

[4] Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah sanctify his soul, said (2/27-28) whilst explaining the distinction between true hope and mere wishful thinking (tamanni):

"The difference between it and mere wishful thinking is that mere wishful thinking involves laziness wherein the person neither exerts himself, nor strives [to achieve what he wishes for]. Hope, however, entails striving, exertion and beautiful reliance. The first is like the one who wishes that the earth would plant and sow its own seeds for him. The second is like the one who [actually] tills the soil, plants the seeds and then hopes that crops will grow. This is why the gnostics ('arifun) are agreed that hope is not correct, except if accompanied by action. Shah al­Kirmani said: 'The sign of sound hope is good obedience:  And hope is of three types; two are praiseworthy and one type is blameworthy and mere delusion. The first two are the hope of a person who does an act of obedience  for Allah, upon a light from Allah, hoping in its reward; and like someone who commits a sin, then repents from it, hoping for Allah's forgiveness,  pardon, kindness, magnanimity, clemency  and generosity. The third [type] is like a person who persists in sinning and transgressing the limits, yet hopes for Allah's mercy without doing any action [to warrant it]. This is delusion, mere wishful thinking and false hope.