Enjoy your life , Essays (high school) of Art

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Contents

Publisher’s Foreword

It so happened that in the year 2007, I was in the city of the Prophet . It has been my old habit that whenever I travel to a city, I always make it a point to visit all its bookstores. When it comes to books, the city of Madinah is in its own league. In the bookstores of Madinah, one is bound to come across all the newly published literature − and shopping for books is, of course, my favourite pastime. The staff who work at most of the bookstores near the Prophet’s Mosque know me on a personal basis, as a large number of Darussalam’s publications are available at these stores.

One day, when I was visiting one of these bookstores, I looked at the shelves and noticed a book called, ‘ Enjoy Your Life ’. Just as I was about to pick it up, Abu ‘Abdullah greeted me, hugged me, and asked, ‘When did you arrive? How long are you here for?’ Meanwhile, I reached out for the book… Abu ‘Abdullah, who is originally from Yemen, has been involved in the book market for a long time. He is one of the many Darussalam distributors. He noticed the book in my hand and said, ‘This book is excellent. If you were to publish its translation, it would be considered a valuable addition to the international Islamic book collection.’ He continued as he held my hand, ‘This book has made a record

number of sales.’

Some time later, in my hotel room, I began reading the book. As I continued reading, I became more and more captivated by it. There is no doubt that the subject of the book itself was the thing that most interested me.

Solutions to all the problems of the Muslim nation are present in the life of Allah’s Messenger . His life is certainly an example for us to follow and a model for us to refer to at all times. No matter what problem arises in our lives, if we look to the Proph- et’s Seerah for a solution, we will surely find it.What makes this book outstanding is that it deals with our social problems in light of the Prophetic lifestyle. The work is filled with incidents from the Seerah, Islamic history, and the author’s own experiences. By reading this book and implementing it practically, all of us can make our lives more enjoyable and more tranquil.

This book includes remedies for despondency and numer- ous tips on how to keep worries and stress at bay.The author of this book, Dr. Muhammad bin ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-‘Arifi is a well known scholar and lecturer from Saudi Arabia. His audiences are left mesmerised during his lectures as he has such a unique way of speaking that even us, the non-Arabs, are enchanted by his words. A visit to any of the Islamic audiocassette shops in this land gives proof to the popularity of this talented lecturer, and a single hearing of any of his lectures guarantees addiction!

When I returned to Riyadh from Madinah, I requested one of our Egyptian Darussalam associates, Muhammad Shakir Qadhi, to establish contact with Dr. Al-‘Arifi and to request permission

wrote this work from the very depths of his heart, and one re- ally must read it to realise and acknowledge the beauty of it.This book was published in Arabic in Sha’ban 1428AH, correspond- ing to August 2007, and within the span of one year, it had sold 100,000 copies.

As mentioned previously, Dr. Muhammad al-‘Arifi is indig- enously from Saudi Arabia. He is from the famous Arab tribe known as Banu Khalid (Banu Makhzum) − it goes without men- tioning that Banu Khalid are the descendants of the famous sol- dier, Mujahid and Companion of the Prophet, Khalid bin al-Walid

• may Allah be pleased with him. Dr. Muhammad bin ‘Abd ar-Rah- man al-‘Arifi was born in the year 1970. He graduated from Saudi universities where he acquired his PhD. The title of his PhD re- search thesis was “Ara’ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya fi al-Sufiyya
• Jam’ wa Dirasah” (The Views of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah on Sufism – a Compilation and Study).

Currently, he is a founding and dignitary member of various Da’wah organisations, as well as being a member of their advisory committees. He is also a member of the advisory board for many international organisations. Aside from being a visiting professor in various Saudi and foreign universities, he is also a professor in King Saud University of Riyadh. He has been delivering Friday sermons for over twenty years in different mosques in Saudi Arabia. Currently, he delivers his Friday sermons in al-Bawaardi mosque, which is a major mosque located in the south of Riyadh. Every Friday, so many people attend, that it is impossible to find a parking space anywhere in the vicinity of the mosque. Once I had the opportunity of praying the Friday prayer behind Dr. Al-

‘Arifi.We arrived at the mosque very early, but despite that, we had to park very far away. The ground floor of the mosque was fully occupied, so we went up to the first floor where we were able to find a place to sit. Soon afterwards, the first floor also became congested with worshippers. Dr. Muhammad al-‘Arifi is an amazing orator. He was fortunate enough to be a student of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz bin Baz for fifteen to sixteen years, and from whom he learnt Tafseer and Fiqh. For eight years, he took les- sons from Dr. ‘Abdullah al-Jibrin in Tawheed. His other teachers include, Shaykh ‘Abdullah bin Qu’ud, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman bin Nasir al-Barrak and various other scholars. His connections with the scholars of Madinah go back very far. During his days as a stu- dent and thereafter, he learnt Fiqh from those scholars. He has memorised the Qur’an and is known for his fine recitation. He takes a special interest in Hadeeth literature and has received licences for the chains of transmission for various Hadeeth texts from a number of scholars.

More than twenty of his works in Arabic have been published and distributed in nearly a million copies. His books, which are often published in four colours, are attractive and pleasing to the eye, and available at low-cost. It is because his books deal with issues affecting the lives of everyday people, that they are acclaimed and appreciated by all. Many well-wishers make his books their choice for their donations and free distributions.

The following is a list of some of the works of Dr. Muham- mad al-‘Arifi:

• A work on Tawheed called Irkab Ma’ana, an excellent work of which 400,000 copies have been published.

receive any feedback or suggestions from our readers, and we hope you remember us in your prayers.

Your loving brother ‘Abdul-Malik Mujahid Darussalam Publishers Riyadh - Saudi Arabia August 2008

Introduction

All praise is due to Allah. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no other prophet.

As a seventeen year old, I came across a book called, ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie, which I found to be quite excellent and which I subsequently read sev- eral times. The author suggested that one should read the book once a month, which is exactly what I did. I began to apply its principles when dealing with others and witnessed amazing re- sults.

Carnegie would often mention a principle and then cite vari- ous examples of this by way of incidents related to prominent figures, such as Roosevelt, Lincoln, Joseph, and so on.

I contemplated and realised that the author’s only goal was to attain worldly happiness.What if he were to have known Islam and the etiquettes it teaches? He would surely have achieved eternal as well as ephemeral happiness! How about if he were to have turned his wonderful interpersonal skills into worship, with which he would have drawn closer to Allah? When I later discov- ered that Carnegie had committed suicide, I knew for certain that his book, despite its merits, had not benefitted him.

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They did not benefit

I remember once receiving a message on my mobile phone which read: “Dear Shaykh, what is the ruling on suicide?”

I called the sender to find a very young man on the other end of the line. I said, “I am sorry, I didn’t understand your ques- tion. Can you please repeat your question?”

He said with a grieving voice, “The question is clear. What is the ruling on suicide?”

I decided to surprise him by saying in response something unexpected, so I said, “It is recommended!”

He screamed, “What?!” I said, “How about if we discuss the best way for you to do it?”

The young man fell silent. I said to him, “OK. Why do you want to commit suicide?”

He said, “Because, I can’t find work. People do not love me. In fact, I am an utter failure...”, and thus he began to relate to me his long story in order to prove that he had failed to develop his interpersonal skills and was unsuccessful in utilising his talents. This is a problem with many people. Why do some of us feel

inferior? Why do we look at those at the peak of the mountain while thinking of ourselves as unworthy of reaching that peak as they have, or even climbing it as they did?

The one frightened of climbing mountains forever lives in the ditches Do you wish to know who will not benefit from this book, or any other similar book, for that matter? It is the unfortunate one who surrenders to his own errors and becomes satisfied with his limited skills, and says, “This is my nature. I have become too used to it now; I cannot change my ways. Everyone knows this is how I am. I can never speak like Khalid does, or have a cheerful countenance like Ahmad has, or be universally loved the way Ziyad is. That would be impossible.”

I once sat with a very old man in a public gathering. Most of those present were people with the usual skills and abilities. The old man was busy speaking to whoever was sitting next to him. He did not stand out in the crowd for any reason, except by virtue of his old age.

I delivered a lecture and during it mentioned a verdict given by the eminent Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz bin Baz. When I finished, the old man said to me with pride, “Shaykh Ibn Baz and I were col- leagues. We used to study together in a mosque under Shaykh Muhammad bin Ibrahim, about forty years ago.”

I turned around to look at him and noticed that he seemed very happy to share this information with me. He was delighted to have accompanied a successful man once in his life. I said to myself, “Poor man! Why did you not become as successful as Ibn Baz? If you knew the way to success, why did you not pursue it?

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