Awaking from the Sleep of Heedlessness by Ibn al-Jawzi

About the Book

This fourth masterpiece in the series expounds on the five stages of life:

• the first stage of encouraging and disciplining;
• the second stage of youthfulness, protecting the self and struggling against desires;
• the third of maturity;
• the fourth stage of old age;
• the fifth stage of decrepitude.

There are those who submit to Allah’s order and achieve success. Others are wasteful of time and thereby loss and regret. Whoever lives his life in accordance with Allah’s commands, will be rewarded handsomely with multiplied profits beyond imagination. The corrupt one who acts contrarily to Divine Pleasure will be destroyed.

The eternal life of unimaginable bliss in Paradise can only be realised by working towards it in this ephemeral worldly life. Whoever wastes his life is indeed a loser. Therefore a sensible person should understand the value of his life and reflect on his state, so that he captures that which can never be restored if missed. His ruin lies in wasting these golden opportunities.

About the Author

Ibn al-Jawzi was a medieval Islamic scholar, jurist, and prolific author. He was born in 1116 CE in Baghdad, Iraq, and he passed away in 1201 CE. Ibn al-Jawzi belonged to the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence.

His contributions to Islamic scholarship were extensive and covered a wide range of disciplines, including theology, history, ethics, and spirituality. Ibn al-Jawzi was known for his critical approach to Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and for his emphasis on the moral and spiritual aspects of Islam.