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Fleeing to Allah
Part Two
On Servitude, Steadfastness, Character Refinement, & Asceticism — a journey through the inner dimensions of Islamic spiritual life, drawing on the timeless wisdom of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al Qayyim.
Chapter 7
Al ʿUbūdiyyah — The Reality of Servitude
"Indeed, the true religion is actualizing servitude to Allah in every aspect, and it is actualizing love for Allah at every level. The more complete the servitude, the more complete the servant's love is for his Lord, and the more complete the Lord's love is for His servant."
— Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH)
Every love not for Allah is void. Every action not intended for Allah's sake is void. Only what combines two characteristics is truly for Allah: it must be done sincerely for Allah, and it must conform to what Allah and His Messenger love — the obligatory and the recommended.
The Danger of Hidden Desires
Shirk Subtler Than an Ant's Crawl
The Prophet ﷺ warned that hidden polytheism in this Ummah is "more subtle than the crawling of an ant." Abu Bakr asked how to be saved, and the Prophet taught: "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from associating anything with You knowingly, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I do not know."
What Enslaves the Heart
Shaddad ibn Aws warned: "I fear most for you hypocrisy and hidden desire." Abu Dawud al-Sijistāni defined the hidden desire as the love of leadership. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Two hungry wolves let loose among sheep are not more harmful than a person's greed for wealth and honor to his religion."
The heart not purified for Allah alone becomes enslaved — to praise, to wealth, to status — following desires without guidance from Allah.
The Sweetness of True Servitude
When the heart tastes the sweetness of servitude to Allah and love for Him, nothing becomes more beloved to it than that. By this, evil and indecency are deflected from those sincerely devoted to Allah — as Allah said: "And thus We should avert from him evil and indecency. Indeed, he was of Our sincere servants."
There is nothing for the heart sweeter, more delicious, or more luxurious than the sweetness of faith — encompassing servitude, love, and sincerity to Allah. This draws the heart toward Allah until it becomes devoted, fearing Him, hoping, and worshiping Him between fear and hope.

Whoever is not purely a servant to Allah will be enslaved by other beings. If the heart is not monotheistically devoted and focused on Allah while turning away from all else, it becomes polytheistic.
Finding the Path Best Suited to You
Ibn Taymiyyah explains that each person has individual gifts and abilities for servitude — what is most virtuous for one may not be the same for another. Allah sent the Prophet ﷺ to command each person with what is best for them.
Knowledge & Teaching
Some find their path in the pursuit of knowledge, devoting their time seeking Allah's favor through learning and teaching — even dying in its pursuit, hoping to reach their goal.
Dhikr & Prayer
Others find their path in remembrance (dhikr) or prayer. Whenever they fall short, their time becomes gloomy and their chests tight — these are their provisions for the Hereafter.
Charity & Service
Some find their path in fulfilling people's needs, relieving distress, and various kinds of charity — taking benevolence as their road to their Lord.
The Absolute Servant
The exceptional one combines all paths — wherever servitude is found, he is there. His only desire: to fulfill his Lord's commands wherever and however they may be.
Ibn al Qayyim adds: "The path to Allah is one, for He is the clear truth. What pleases Him is diverse and varied according to times, places, individuals, and conditions — all of these are paths to His pleasure."
Doing What is Most Pleasing at Every Time
Ibn al Qayyim describes the most diligent of people as those who perform the worship most suited to every situation: "The best form of worship is to act according to the pleasure of the Lord at all times, doing what is required at that particular time."
During Jihad
The best worship is Jihad itself, even if it means leaving night prayers or daytime fasting.
When a Guest Arrives
The best is to fulfill their rights, even at the expense of recommended devotions. The same applies to family rights.
At Dawn (Sahar)
The best is prayer, Quranic recitation, supplication, remembrance, and seeking forgiveness.
During the Five Prayers
The best is to hasten to them at their earliest time, performing them in the most complete manner, going to the congregational mosque even if far.
Last Ten Days of Ramadan
The best is I'tikaf — staying in the mosque for solitude and spiritual retreat, according to many scholars.
The people of absolute devotion have no preference for one specific worship over another. Their aim is to seek the pleasure of Allah wherever it may be — constantly moving among the stations of servitude.
Chapter 8
Al Istiqāmah — Steadfastness & Uprightness
Two Pillars of the Upright Heart
Ibn al Qayyim says uprightness is achieved through the uprightness of one's heart and limbs. The heart becomes upright through two things:
1
Love of Allah Takes Precedence
When love for Allah conflicts with love for anything else, love for Allah must win. "How easy it is to claim this, but how difficult it is to implement. When put to the test, a person is either honored or humiliated." Allah has decreed: whoever loves something other than Him will be punished by it.
2
Veneration of Commands & Prohibitions
This arises from venerating the One who commands and prohibits. Its sign: observing their times, researching their pillars, hastening to them, and feeling sadness when any right is missed — like one who grieves missing congregational prayer, knowing he has missed a reward multiplied twenty-seven times.
The Short Path to Uprightness
Ibn al Qayyim outlines two steps:
  1. Guard your fleeting thoughts. All corruption originates from neglected thoughts — they are the seeds of Shaytan in the soil of the heart. Repelling thoughts is easier than repelling firm desires, just as extinguishing a spark is easier than fighting a blaze.
  1. Genuinely prepare to meet Allah. He who prepares for meeting Allah finds his heart detached from the world, passions extinguished, and aspirations focused on Allah. This is the key to all good deeds, states of faith, and stations of the spiritual journey.
Guarding the Thoughts — Ten Means
Ibn al Qayyim provides ten means for preserving one's thoughts from corruption:
01
Allah's Watchfulness
Decisive knowledge that Allah is watching your heart and knows the details of your thoughts.
02
Shyness of Him
Your shyness of Allah — that He would see such thoughts in the heart He created for His knowledge and love.
03
Fear of Falling
Fear that you might fall from His favor due to these thoughts, and that they may consume the faith in your heart without you realizing.
04
Thoughts Cannot Coexist
Bad thoughts and thoughts of faith, love, and turning to Allah are opposites — they cannot coexist in the same heart without one overpowering the other.
05
Replace, Don't Just Empty
Empty the heart of corrupt thoughts by filling it with thoughts of faith, love, reliance, and fear of Allah — otherwise emptying both types is a loss.
Chapter 9
Character Refinement — The River Parable
Ibn al Qayyim presents a profound parable: a river flowing toward inhabited land, threatening destruction. People divided into three groups in response — mirroring three approaches to the soul's natural forces of desire and anger.
Group One: Dam It
They tried to stop and restrain the river entirely. But it builds up and breaks through with even greater destruction — like those who try to suppress natural traits through rigid spiritual exercises, only to have them resurface more powerfully.
Group Two: Cut the Source
They tried to eliminate the river at its spring. But nature resisted — whenever blocked in one place, it springs from another. These people became so preoccupied with the river that they neglected agriculture and building.
Group Three: Redirect It
The wisest group diverted the river to fertile land, producing fruits and vegetation. They redirected the soul's forces — desire, anger, eagerness — toward what pleases Allah, extracting the pearl from its shell.

Ibn Taymiyyah said: "The soul is like a refuse dump — the more you dig into it, the more appears. If you can build a covering over it and pass beyond it, do so." Another scholar added: "Make your concern the journey itself, ignoring the snakes and scorpions on the road — only kill what blocks your path, then continue."
Redirecting the Soul's Forces
The messengers came to divert the soul's natural forces from reprehensible courses to praiseworthy ones. Ibn al Qayyim illustrates how condemned traits contain pearls:
Arrogance → High Aspiration
The same force that produces pride and oppression also produces high aspiration, dignity, zeal, and supremacy over the enemies of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ saw Abu Dujānah strutting between battle ranks and said: "This is a gait Allah hates — except in a place like this."
Envy → Noble Competition
Envy is not condemned when redirected to praiseworthy emulation. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Envy is not allowed except in two cases: one given wealth who spends it rightly, and one given the Quran who recites it day and night." Allah commands: "So let those strive who want to strive."
Eagerness → Pursuit of the Hereafter
The strength of eagerness is not condemned — only its misdirection. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Be keen on what benefits you, and seek help from Allah and do not be lazy." Attach eagerness to what purifies the soul for the Hereafter.
Stinginess → Guarding Time & Deeds
Stinginess becomes praiseworthy when one is miserly with their time, breaths, and share from Allah — not squandering them, and spending wealth in charity before death rather than leaving it for heirs.
The purification of souls is entrusted to the messengers — not achieved through invented exercises and seclusions. The messengers are the physicians of the hearts. There is no path to purification except through them, by pure compliance and submission.
Chapter 4
Al-Zuhd — The Reality of Asceticism
"Renounce the worldly life and Allah will love you, and renounce what is in the hands of people and they will love you."
— The Prophet ﷺ, as reported by Sahl b. Sa'd
"The affair of this Ummah was set aright by asceticism and certainty, and its latter part was destroyed by stinginess and over-expectancy."
— The Prophet ﷺ, as reported by ʿAbd Allah b. ʿAmr
Al-Hasan al-Basri described the earliest Salaf: "By Him besides whom there is no deity, they had more vision about their religion with their hearts than you have about your worldly life with your eyes. They renounced what Allah made lawful more than you renounce what He made unlawful."
Defining Al-Zuhd — Voices of the Salaf
The scholars of the early generations offered rich and varied definitions of asceticism. What unites them is the heart's orientation:
"Asceticism is to abandon what does not benefit in the Hereafter."
— Ibn Taymiyyah
"Asceticism in the world is to shorten one's scope of worldly expectations — not to eat coarse food nor wear rough clothing."
— Sufyan al-Thawri
"Asceticism is to empty the heart from the world, not the hand."
— Ibrahim b. Adham
"Asceticism is looking at the world with the eye of demise, so it diminishes in your eyes, making it easier to turn away from it."
— Ibn al-Jallā
"Asceticism: leaving what occupies you from Allah."
— Abu Sulaymān al-Dārānī
Ibn al Qayyim summarizes the consensus: "What those with intimate awareness have agreed upon is that asceticism is the heart's journey from the homeland of the world to the abodes of the Hereafter." It relates to six things a servant must renounce: money, appearances, leadership, people, the self, and all that is besides Allah.
Imam Ahmad's Three Levels of Zuhd
This comprehensive framework from Imam Ahmad encompasses all prior definitions of the scholars. Al-Shafi'i attested to Imam Ahmad's leadership in eight things — one of them being asceticism. True zuhd is not about forbidding the permissible or wasting wealth, but about trusting what is in Allah's hand more than what is in your own.
Four Categories of Zuhd
Ibn al Qayyim outlines four main categories, each building upon the last:
Renouncing the Forbidden
Obligatory upon every Muslim. If violated, the cause for punishment is definite unless counteracted by sincere repentance and Allah's pardon.
Renouncing the Disliked & Superfluous
Recommended asceticism — leaving what is religiously disliked and overindulgence in permissible passions. Its degrees vary according to what is abstained from.
Renouncing the World as a Whole
Not disposing of worldly possessions, but removing the world entirely from the heart. Asceticism is not to leave the world from your hand while it is in your heart — it is to leave it from your heart, even if it is in your hand.
Renouncing the Self
The most difficult category — "slaughtering the self without a knife." It means not getting angry for the ego, not defending or avenging it, not honoring it when it disobeys. This is the first down payment of the dowry of love.
Three Things That Authenticate Zuhd
What Makes Renunciation Real
Ibn al Qayyim identifies three forms of knowledge that make renunciation of the world easy and stable:
  1. Knowing the world is fleeting — a shadow, an illusion. Allah named it "the enjoyment of deception." The Prophet ﷺ said: "I am in the world like a rider who halts in the shade of a tree, then resumes his journey."
  1. Knowing the Hereafter is greater — the Prophet ﷺ said: "The worldly life compared to the Hereafter is as if one of you put his finger in the sea — let him see what it returns with."
  1. Knowing that decree is fixed — renouncing the world does not prevent what is preordained for you, and avarice cannot bring what has not been decreed. The intelligent person does not accept wasted toil.
Three Causes of Deficiency in Zuhd
Renouncing what benefits you — abandoning what gives strength for the journey. True zuhd is renouncing what does not benefit, not what does.
Tainted motivation — renouncing the world out of boredom, exhaustion, or being bothered by its people rather than out of love for Allah and the Hereafter. If the world became pleasant, such a person would return to it.
Noticing one's own zuhd — the epitome of asceticism is to renounce even seeing your asceticism. Focus on divine grace, not on your own spiritual state. Turn away from it while seriously engaged in your journey.
Renouncing Sins Comes Before All Else
"The knowledgeable person does not command people to abandon the world — for they are unable to abandon it — but rather he commands them to abandon sins while remaining established in their worldly life. Abandoning the world is a virtue; abandoning sins is an obligation. How can one be commanded with virtue who has not yet established what is mandatory?"
— Ibn al Qayyim
If abandoning sins is difficult, strive to endear Allah to people by mentioning His favors, blessings, kindness, and the attributes of His perfection. Hearts are naturally inclined to love Him — when attached to His love, abandoning sins becomes easy.
Yahya ibn Mu'adh said: "The wise person's pursuit of the world is better than the ignorant person's abandonment of it." The knower calls people to Allah from their worldly life, making the response easy — while the ascetic calls them by demanding they abandon the world, making the response difficult.
The Obligation First
Abandoning sins is a farīḍah (obligation). No one should be called to the virtue of zuhd before they have established this foundation.
The Path of Love
Endear Allah to hearts through His Names, favors, and majesty. Love of Allah makes the abandonment of sins natural and willing, not forced.
The Highest Zuhd
The ultimate renunciation is giving the self entirely to the Beloved — surrendering it to the Lord, constantly presenting it for His acceptance. All prior levels are means to this station.
Conclusion — Overcoming Obstacles on the Spiritual Journey
The spiritual journey demands that we flee to Allah with sincerity, steadfastness, refined character, and a heart emptied of the world. Ibn al Qayyim's warning rings clear: whoever knew the path to Allah, then abandoned it — turning to desires and pleasures — "falls into pits of punishment, has his heart deposited in the prisons of distress, and is tormented in his life with a torment that none else could execute."
Actualize Servitude
Make every action sincerely for Allah and in conformity with what He and His Messenger love.
Guard Your Thoughts
Repel corrupt thoughts early — replace them with thoughts of faith, love, and turning to Allah.
Redirect, Don't Suppress
Channel the soul's natural forces toward what pleases Allah rather than fighting an endless war against human nature.
Renounce What Doesn't Benefit
True zuhd is leaving what does not benefit in the Hereafter — not forbidding the permissible, but emptying the heart of attachment to all besides Allah.

"They were only prevented from reaching their objective because they neglected the principles. So whoever neglects the principles is prevented from reaching the destination." — A saying of the Salaf, quoted by Ibn al Qayyim