Sharh Riyad as-Saliheen by Ibn Uthaymeen — Volume 2 (شرح رياض الصالحين) — Page 8

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

شَرْحُ رِيَاضِ الصَّالِحِينَ مِنْ كَلَامِ سَيِّدِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

A commentary on Riyadh as-Salihin, drawn from the words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

يَنْتَهِكُ حُرُمَاتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، فَيَغَارُ الْإِنْسَانُ لِرَبِّهِ؛ فَلَا يَسْمَعُ أَحَدًا يَسُبُّ اللَّهَ أَوْ يَشْتِمُ اللَّهَ أَوْ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِاللَّهِ إِلَّا غَارَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَأَنْكَرَ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى وَلَوْ رَفَعَ أَمْرَهُ لِوَلِيِّ الْأَمْرِ؛ لِأَنَّ هَذَا مِنَ النَّصِيحَةِ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

When the sacred limits of Allah are violated, a believer feels a sense of protective jealousy for his Lord. He cannot hear anyone insult, revile, or mock Allah without feeling compelled to denounce it, even if that means reporting the matter to the authorities. Such action is a sign of sincere devotion to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.

وَمِنَ النَّصِيحَةِ لِلَّهِ: أَنْ يَذُبَّ عَنْ دِينِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الَّذِي شَرَعَهُ لِعِبَادِهِ، فَيُبْطِلُ كَيْدَ الْكَائِدِينَ، وَيَرُدُّ عَلَى الْمُلْحِدِينَ الَّذِينَ يُعَرِّضُونَ الدِّينَ وَكَأَنَّهُ قُيُودٌ تُقَيِّدُ النَّاسَ عَنْ حُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ، وَالْحَقِيقَةُ أَنَّ الدِّينَ قُيُودٌ وَحُرِّيَّةٌ؛ لِأَنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ يَتَقَيَّدُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَبِاللَّهِ، وَفِي دِينِ اللَّهِ، مَنْ لَمْ يَتَقَيَّدْ بِهَذَا تَقَيَّدَ لِلشَّيْطَانِ؛ وَفِي خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ؛ لِأَنَّ النَّفْسَ هَمَّامَةٌ دَائِمًا، فَلَا تَسْكُنُ نَفْسُ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا، بَلْ لَا بُدَّ أَنْ تَكُونَ لَهَا هِمَمٌ فِي أَيِّ شَيْءٍ: إِمَّا فِي خَيْرٍ، وَإِمَّا فِي شَرٍّ.

Sincerity towards Allah also means defending the religion He established for His servants. One must dismantle the schemes of those who plot against it and refute the skeptics who portray faith as a set of chains that restrict human freedom. In truth, religion is both a restriction and a liberation. A person is bound to Allah, by Allah, and within His religion; those who refuse this binding will inevitably find themselves bound to Satan and following his path. The human soul is restless by nature; it never stays still, as it is always driven by some ambition, whether for good or for evil.

وَمَا أَحْسَنَ قَوْلَ ابْنِ الْقَيِّمِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ فِي "النُّونِيَّةِ"، حَيْثُ قَالَ: هَرَبُوا مِنَ الرِّقِّ الَّذِي خُلِقُوا لَهُ وَبُلُوا بِرِقِّ النَّفْسِ وَالشَّيْطَانِ

How beautifully Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, expressed this in his Nuniyyah: They fled from the servitude for which they were created, only to be afflicted by the servitude of the self and Satan.

هَرَبُوا مِنَ الرِّقِّ الَّذِي خُلِقُوا لَهُ وَهُوَ عِبَادَةُ اللَّهِ، قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿ وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ ﴾ [الذَّارِيَاتِ: ٥٦]، لَكِنَّهُمْ هَرَبُوا مِنْ هَذَا الرِّقِّ الَّذِي هُوَ كَمَالُ الْحُرِّيَّةِ وَكَمَالُ السَّعَادَةِ إِلَى رِقِّ النَّفْسِ وَالشَّيْطَانِ.

They fled from the servitude they were created for—the worship of Allah. Allah Almighty says: {I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me} [Adh-Dhariyat: 56]. Yet they abandoned this servitude, which is the very essence of freedom and happiness, and chose instead to be enslaved by their own desires and by Satan.

وَالنَّفْسُ - نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شَرِّهَا - تَسْتَرِقُ الْإِنْسَانَ وَتُمْلِي عَلَيْهِ الْهَوَى فَيَكُونُ خَاضِعًا لِهَوَاهَا، وَإِذَا غَلَبَ الْهَوَى؛ زَالَ الْعَقْلُ، وَكَمَا قَالَ الشَّاعِرُ (٣): (١)

The soul—may Allah protect us from its evil—enslaves a person, dictating its whims until one becomes a servant to their own desires. When desire takes control, reason vanishes, just as the poet said (3):

أَخْرَجَهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ: كِتَابُ الْمَنَاقِبِ، بَابُ صِفَةِ النَّبِيِّ، وَرَقْمُ (٣٥٦٠)، وَمُسْلِمٌ: كِتَابُ الْفَضَائِلِ، بَابُ مُبَاعَدَتِهِ لِلْآثَامِ وَاخْتِيَارِهِ مِنَ الْمُبَاحِ أَسْهَلَهُ وَانْتِقَامِهِ لِلَّهِ عِنْدَ انْتِهَاكِ حُرُمَاتِهِ، رَقْمُ (٢٣٢٨)، مِنْ حَدِيثِ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا. (٢)

(1) Recorded by Al-Bukhari in the Book of Virtues, Chapter on the Description of the Prophet (3560), and by Muslim in the Book of Merits, Chapter on his avoidance of sins, his preference for the easiest permissible choice, and his seeking retribution for the sake of Allah when His sacred limits were violated (2328), from the hadith of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her.

نُونِيَّةُ ابْنِ الْقَيِّمِ - الْكَافِيَةُ الشَّافِيَةُ (ص: ٣٠٨). (٣)

(2) Ibn al-Qayyim's Nuniyyah, Al-Kafiyah ash-Shafiyah (p. 308).

هُوَ دِيكُ الْجِنِّ عَبْدُ السَّلَامِ بْنُ رَغْبَانَ وَالْبَيْتُ فِي دِيوَانِهِ (ص: ١١١).

(3) This is Dik al-Jinn, Abd al-Salam ibn Raghban; the verse is found in his Diwan (p. 111).

Vocabulary · المفردات (28 verbs · 37 nouns)

• انْتَهَكَ — to violate
• غَارَ — to be protective
• سَمِعَ — to hear
• سَبَّ — to insult
• شَتَمَ — to abuse
• اسْتَهْزَأَ — to mock
• أَنْكَرَ — to deny
• رَفَعَ — to raise
• ذَبَّ — to defend
• شَرَعَ — to legislate
• أَبْطَلَ — to invalidate
• رَدَّ — to reply
• عَرَضَ — to expose
• قَيَّدَ — to restrict
• تَقَيَّدَ — to be restricted
• سَكَنَ — to be still
• كَانَ — to be
• حَسُنَ — to be good
• قَالَ — to say
• هَرَبَ — to flee
• خَلَقَ — to create
• بَلِيَ — to be afflicted
• عَبَدَ — to worship
• عَاذَ — to seek refuge
• اسْتَرَقَّ — to enslave
• أَمْلَى — to dictate
• غَلَبَ — to overcome
• زَالَ — to vanish
• حُرْمَة — sanctity
• إِنْسَان — human
• رَبّ — lord
• أَحَد — one
• أَمْر — authority
• وَلِيّ — guardian
• نَصِيحَة — advice
• دِين — religion
• عَبْد — servant
• كَيْد — plot
• كَائِد — plotter
• مُلْحِد — atheist
• قَيْد — restriction
• نَاس — people
• حُرِّيَّة — freedom
• حَقِيقَة — truth
• شَيْطَان — devil
• خُطْوَة — step
• نَفْس — soul
• هَمَّامَة — constantly aspiring
• أَبَد — eternity
• بُدّ — escape
• هِمَّة — ambition
• شَيْء — thing
• خَيْر — good
• شَرّ — evil
• قَوْل — saying
• نُونِيَّة — poem ending in nun
• رِقّ — slavery
• عِبَادَة — worship
• جِنّ — jinn
• إِنْس — mankind
• كَمَال — perfection
• سَعَادَة — happiness
• هَوَى — desire
• خَاضِع — submissive
• عَقْل — intellect