Ibn al-Jawzi said in Talbees,
The heart is like a fort that is surrounded by a wall and the wall has gates from which it can be torn down. In it lies the mind. The angels frequent that fort and next to that fort are places where the desires lie. And the devils enter into this surrounding area without being prevented from doing so. And the war exists between the inhabitants of the fort and the inhabitants of the surrounding areas. The devils never stop circling the fort and looking for an opening where the guard is heedless and from where he can tear down the fort. It is obligatory for the guards to be completely aware of all of the gates of the fort that must be guarded as well as all of its weak points from which destruction can come. The guard cannot take a break because the enemy never takes a break. A man said to al-Hasan al-Basri, “Does Iblees sleep?” He answered, “If he were to sleep we could then have a rest.” The fort is lit by the remembrance of Allah and faith in Him. In it is a polished looking glass through which [the guardians] can then see anything that passes by. The first thing that Satan does is to blow smoke into the fort to make its walls black. This causes rust and damage in the fort. Sound thought repels Satan and remembrance of Allah cleans the looking glass. The enemy has carriages and sometimes they are able to enter the fort. The guards may come upon them and force them to leave. Perhaps they may enter due to the heedlessness or carelessness of the guards. Perhaps, due to the smoke and the rust, Satan enters through any way and he is not perceived. Perhaps the guard is injured by the heedlessness or is taken prisoner and led to the following of the desires. And perhaps he becomes like the jurist who does evil.’
The heart is like a fort that is surrounded by a wall and the wall has gates from which it can be torn down. In it lies the mind. The angels frequent that fort and next to that fort are places where the desires lie. And the devils enter into this surrounding area without being prevented from doing so. And the war exists between the inhabitants of the fort and the inhabitants of the surrounding areas. The devils never stop circling the fort and looking for an opening where the guard is heedless and from where he can tear down the fort. It is obligatory for the guards to be completely aware of all of the gates of the fort that must be guarded as well as all of its weak points from which destruction can come. The guard cannot take a break because the enemy never takes a break. A man said to al-Hasan al-Basri, “Does Iblees sleep?” He answered, “If he were to sleep we could then have a rest.” The fort is lit by the remembrance of Allah and faith in Him. In it is a polished looking glass through which [the guardians] can then see anything that passes by. The first thing that Satan does is to blow smoke into the fort to make its walls black. This causes rust and damage in the fort. Sound thought repels Satan and remembrance of Allah cleans the looking glass. The enemy has carriages and sometimes they are able to enter the fort. The guards may come upon them and force them to leave. Perhaps they may enter due to the heedlessness or carelessness of the guards. Perhaps, due to the smoke and the rust, Satan enters through any way and he is not perceived. Perhaps the guard is injured by the heedlessness or is taken prisoner and led to the following of the desires. And perhaps he becomes like the jurist who does evil.’
3 comments:
subhanAllah that is very true..may Allah protect us from the plots of shaytan..Ameen
this blog is so beautiful, yazz. mashaAllah.
Great posting brother. I was looking for that quote from Ibnul Qayyim in English
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