The Cure for Laziness

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

Imam Abu al-Faraj ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Jawzy (r.a.) wrote, in Thib ar-Ruhani, the cure for laziness lies in motivating and urging the endeavour by fearing that one may miss the goal, or be blamed, or fall into regret, lest one does not make an effort.  For the regret of a negligent person when he sees the reward of a hard worker is the greatest punishment.  Also, a person of sound mind should reflect on the negative consequence of indolence, for many a time has leisure lead to regret. 

Whoever sees that his neighbour has travelled, returning with profits, his regret will be many times greater than the satisfaction of leisure, similarly if one person becomes brilliant in knowledge and another does not due to his laziness.  The intended purpose of these examples is to explain that the pain of missing something exceeds the satisfaction of laziness. 

Wise people are unanimous that wisdom is not reached by relaxation and idleness.  Therefore, whoever knows the fruits of laziness will avoid it, and whoever is aware of the fruits of hard work will endure the hardships of the path.  Moreover an intellectual knows that he was not created in vain, rather he, in this world, is like a hired labourer, or a merchant. 

The span of lifetime in this world, which is practically the life one is given to perform good deeds, and the span of time one is to spend in the grave is like a single moment compared to the eternal dwelling in Paradise or in the Hellfire. 

From amongst the best cures for indolence is reading and reflecting on the biographies of those who strove.  Therefore, Imam al-Jawzy (r.a.) wonders at he who would prefer idleness in the sowing season and leaves yielding for the harvesting season. 

It was narrated that Shaykh Abu Ya’qub Farqad ibn Ya’qub as-Sabakhi al-Baswri (q.s.) said, “You put on the garment of leisure before you started working.  Have you not noticed that when a worker starts working, he wears his cheapest garment; when he is done, he takes a shower, and puts on two clean garments.  On the other hand, you wore the garment of leisure, before you even started working.”