𝙂𝙄𝙑𝙀 𝙇𝙄𝙁𝙀 𝙏𝙊 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙍𝙏
𓆩♡𓆪 A Reminder to Reflect and Take Heed 𓆩♡𓆪
➖➖➖
Ibn Abī al-Dunyā رحمه الله mentioned in his book At-Tafakkur wal-Iʿtibār that some of the wise people said:
أَحْيِ قَلْبَكَ بِالْمَوَاعِظِ ، وَنَوِّرْهُ بِالْفِكْرِ ، وَمَوِّتْهُ بِالزُّهْدِ ، وَقَوِّهِ بِالْيَقِينِ ، وَذَلِّلْهُ بِالْمَوْتِ ، وَقَرِّرْهُ بِالْفَنَاءِ ، وَبَصِّرْهُ فَجَائِعَ الدُّنْيَا ، وَحَذِّرْهُ صَوْلَةَ الدَّهْرِ وَفُحْشَ تَقَلُّبِ الْأَيَّامِ ، وَاعْرِضْ عَلَيْهِ أَخْبَارَ الْمَاضِينَ ، وَذَكِّرْهُ مَا أَصَابَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَهُ ، وَسِرْ فِي دِيَارِهِمْ وَآثَارِهِمْ ، وَانْظُرْ مَا فَعَلُوا ، وَأَيْنَ حَلُّوا ، وَعَمَّ انْقَلَبُوا
“Give life to your heart with admonition, illuminate it with reflection, discipline it through asceticism, strengthen it with certainty, humble it through remembrance of death, make it aware of mortality, show it the calamities of this world, warn it about the trials of time and the constant changes of life, present to it the stories of those who came before, and remind it of what befell them. Walk through their dwellings and آثار, look at what they did, where they ended up, and what became of them.”
This beautiful counsel is quoted by Imām Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله in his Tafsīr under Sūrah al-Ḥajj 22:46.
🔸 Reflect Before It Is Too Late
Allah ﷻ says:
أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَتَكُونَ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ يَعْقِلُونَ بِهَا أَوْ آذَانٌ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا ۖ فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى الْأَبْصَارُ وَلَٰكِن تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُورِ
“Have they not travelled through the land so that they may have hearts to understand and ears to hear? For indeed, it is not the eyes that are blind, but it is the hearts within the chests that are blind.”
[Al-Ḥajj 22:46]
True blindness is not necessarily the loss of physical sight.
A person may have perfect eyesight yet fail to see the lessons around him.
He may see people growing old, yet forget that he too will grow old.
He may attend funerals, yet forget that one day he will be carried.
He may walk past the ruins of those who came before, yet fail to ask:
Where are they now?
🔸 Learn From Those Who Came Before
Allah ﷻ repeatedly calls us to look at the fate of earlier nations.
Their strength did not save them.
Their wealth did not remain with them.
Their homes eventually became empty.
Their lives came to an end.
The wise person looks at these lessons and says:
“What can I learn before it becomes my turn?”
The purpose of remembering history is not simply to know what happened—it is to take ʿibrah.
🔸 Keep Your Heart Alive
Give your heart life through:
📖 Admonition — listen to reminders.
💭 Reflection — think deeply about Allah's signs and your own life.
🌿 Zuhd — do not allow the temporary world to control your heart.
🤲 Yaqīn — strengthen yourself with certainty in Allah ﷻ.
⚰️ Remember Death — remember that this life has an ending.
🌎 Reflect on the World — recognize how quickly circumstances can change.
📜 Study the Past — learn from those who lived before us.
🌿 A Final Reminder
Do not allow your heart to become so distracted by the world that you stop learning from it.
🌿 Look around you.
🌱 People are born.
🍂 People grow old.
💰 People become wealthy.
💔 People lose everything.
💪 People become strong.
🌿People become weak.
🏠 People build homes.
🍂 People leave them.
And eventually, everyone returns to Allah ﷻ.
So let us be people of Reflection, Remembrance, and ʿibrah.
May Allah ﷻ give life to our hearts, illuminate them with beneficial reflection, strengthen them with yaqīn, and grant us the ability to recognize the lessons before us.
آمِينَ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ
