The one who is [truly] imprisoned is the one whose heart is imprisoned from Allah and the captivated one is the one whose desires have enslaved him.
Ibn TaymiyyahRead
The sign of the people of bid’ah is that they do not follow the salaf.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of adhering to traditional Islamic teachings as a measure of faith.
Ibn Taymiyyah highlights the significance of the salaf, the early generations of Muslims, as a standard for understanding and practicing Islam. He suggests that those who deviate from these teachings, referred to as 'bid’ah' or innovation, indicate a lack of commitment to foundational principles of the faith.
In practice
In a lecture about maintaining Islamic orthodoxy, one could use this quote to stress the importance of following the traditions of the salaf.
The one who is [truly] imprisoned is the one whose heart is imprisoned from Allah and the captivated one is the one whose desires have enslaved him.
Whatever is not done by the permission of Allah will not happen, and what is not done for the sake of Allah will not benefit or remain.
Remembrance is to the heart what water is to the fish. And what is the state of a fish that leaves water?
The more humble, needy, and subdued you are before Allah, the closer you will be to Him.
If you do good in secret, Allah will shower His good on you in public.
Make tawba not just for sins you've committed, but also for obligations you haven't fulfilled.
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We are dependent not so much on Earth, the third planet orbiting the sun, as on Gaea, the integrated system that includes, sustains and is shaped by life.
Naming our murder weapons after victims of our crimes: Apache, Tomahawk... It's as if the Luftwaffe were to call its fighter planes 'Jew' and 'Gypsy.'
Where are my sensations? They have melted into... me, and what is this me, this self, but the sum of these evaporated sensations?
When I was 7 years old, I announced that I was going to write a book about pollution. I didn't get around to it until I was 29, but I always recognized that pollution was a theft. That it was a way of stealing something from the public - the common earth.
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