Origin of All Goodness

[Warmoog]

Origin of All Goodness – Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
Translated from Kitab al Fawai’d
Publisher: Dar al-Kitab al-'Arabi, Tahqiq by Dr M. Al-Iskandarani
Source: Maqasid Press

Imam Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah wrote:

The foundation of all goodness is to know that whatever Allah wills, will be, and whatever He does not will, will not be. Thereafter you will be certain that hasanat (good actions) are blessings from Him (Allah), and you will thank Him and appeal to Him not to cut you off from it. You will know that sins are from His punishment and forsaking so you will invoke Him to protect you from it and not to leave you on your own in doing good and bad deeds.

The Gnostics are all in agreement that origin of all goodness is through the tawfiq of Allah to the 'abd (servant), and the origin of all evil is His forsaking of His servant. They are all in agreement that Tawfiq is when He does not leave you on your own, and forsaking is when He abandons you and leaves you on your own devices. So if the origin of all goodness is through tawfiq which is in the hands of Allah not in the hands of the servant; therefore its key is supplication, resorting to Allah, and sincere hope and fear of Him. Whenever the servant is given this key; He desires to welcome him, and whenever He diverts him from the key, the door to goodness remains open without him.

Amir al-Mu'mineen Umar Ibn Al-Khattab said. "I do not care for the response of my supplication, but I care for the supplication, if I am inspired to supplication then the answer is with it".

According to the level of intention of the servant, his determination, his purpose and his desire in the matter, He (Allah) will aid and grant him success. Therefore the aid from Allah descends to the servants according to the level of their determination, their firmness, their desire and their fear (of him). Abandoning (of Allah) also descends upon them according to that.

Allah is the most prudent of all judges and the best knower of all those who know. He grants tawfiq (success) in the most suitable places for them, and forsaking in its suitable times, and He is the most Knowledgeable, the most Wise.

No one has been abandoned except because he has deserted being thankful, neglecting to resort to Him and supplicating to Him. No one has been victorious through the will of Allah and His aid except by being thankful, and sincerely resorting to Him and supplicating to Him. And the basis of all that is patience; and its place in iman is on the same level of the head is to the body; if the head is cut off then the body will not remain.