Combining Reliance on Allah with the Heart’s Attachment to the Created
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Sometimes I ask a person for a need and I wish to rely on Allah, but my heart remains attached to that person, expecting him to give it to me, and I do not achieve reliance on Allah. He says: How do I combine the two?
The Shaykh:
This matter requires strong faith and reliance on Allah. Whoever is granted faith in Allah and reliance on Allah does not attach himself to the created beings. He does not criticize them if they fall short in his right, nor does he praise them if they are generous with him. Rather, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, in the athar, in the athar: that you praise them. As in the athar: that if they give you something, you praise them, and if they withhold something, you criticize them. Yet they have nothing in their hands; it is Allah who gave you or withheld from you.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, does the servant sin?
The Shaykh:
So do not praise people for what Allah has given you, and do not criticize them for what Allah has not given you. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Sometimes I ask a person for a need and I wish to rely on Allah, but my heart remains attached to that person, expecting him to give it to me, and I do not achieve reliance on Allah. He says: How do I combine the two?
The Shaykh:
This matter requires strong faith and reliance on Allah. Whoever is granted faith in Allah and reliance on Allah does not attach himself to the created beings. He does not criticize them if they fall short in his right, nor does he praise them if they are generous with him. Rather, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, in the athar, in the athar: that you praise them. As in the athar: that if they give you something, you praise them, and if they withhold something, you criticize them. Yet they have nothing in their hands; it is Allah who gave you or withheld from you.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, does the servant sin?
The Shaykh:
So do not praise people for what Allah has given you, and do not criticize them for what Allah has not given you. Yes.
Source
شرح إغاثة اللهفان من مصائد الشيطان لابن القيم، بداية من الوجه السابع : أن اعتماد العبد على المخلوق وتوكله عليه يوجب له الضرر من جهته هو ولا بد — islamhouse.com (47:27)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.