Reconciling Ibn al-Qayyim’s statement with the hadith regarding seclusion
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Question:
This questioner says: How do we reconcile the statement of Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) that Satan commands haste with the hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): “If you see greed being obeyed and desires being followed, then stick to your own affair”?
Answer:
He means seclusion. Seclusion is of two types: good seclusion, which is when your mixing with people brings no benefit and there is danger in it for you or for an ignorant person who has no knowledge; for him, seclusion is better. As for a knowledgeable person, his mixing with people and calling them to Allah is obligatory upon him, and he does not isolate himself. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not isolate himself from the polytheists; rather, he used to go to their gatherings and their homes in Mina to call them to Allah the Exalted. The people of Makkah—he used to frequent their gathering places to call them to Allah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) did not isolate himself. If he had isolated himself, this religion would not have spread, nor would the call have spread.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh,
This questioner says: How do we reconcile the statement of Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) that Satan commands haste with the hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): “If you see greed being obeyed and desires being followed, then stick to your own affair”?
Answer:
He means seclusion. Seclusion is of two types: good seclusion, which is when your mixing with people brings no benefit and there is danger in it for you or for an ignorant person who has no knowledge; for him, seclusion is better. As for a knowledgeable person, his mixing with people and calling them to Allah is obligatory upon him, and he does not isolate himself. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not isolate himself from the polytheists; rather, he used to go to their gatherings and their homes in Mina to call them to Allah the Exalted. The people of Makkah—he used to frequent their gathering places to call them to Allah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) did not isolate himself. If he had isolated himself, this religion would not have spread, nor would the call have spread.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh,
Source
شرح إغاثة اللهفان من مصائد الشيطان لابن القيم، فصل ومن أنواع مكايده ومكره : أن يدعو العبد بحسن خلقه وطلاقته وبِشْرِه إلى أنواع من الآثام والفجور — islamhouse.com (1:11:22)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.