Consideration to Recollection
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Faraj ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Jawzy ( r.a. ) wrote, in Thib ar-Ruhani , that thinking is needed to remember what was forgotten, and to think about future benefits. However if thinking is about that which is not fruitful, it will be harmful, and if it is excessive it will exhaust the body. The hypocrites say, “Scholars should leave thinking for some time, lest they exhaust their bodies.” However, a wise person should not stop thinking about what he can attain. However when a layman thinks of becoming the caliph, that he is as knowledgeable as Imam Abu Hanifah Nu’man ibn Tsabit ( r.a. ) or Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi’i ( r.a. ), that he is an ascetic exactly like Shaykh Bishr ibn Harits al-Hafi ( q.s. ) and Shaykh Abu Mahfuzh Ma’ruf ibn Firuz al-Karkhi ( q.s. ), to have the wealth of Sayyidina ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn ‘Awf ( r.a. ); these thoughts exhaust the body, especially if h...