‫بسم ﷲ الرحمن الرحيم‬

Fleeing from Allaah unto Him

Transcribed from "Ar-Risalat ut-Tabukiyyah" (The Message from Tabuk) of Imam Ibn ul-Qayyim

“From” and “To”

The heart’s hijrah requires migrating “from” one state “to” another. A person
migrates with his heart:

From loving other than Allaah to loving Him;

From offering servitude to other than Allaah to offering it to Him;
From fearing other than Allaah to fearing Him;
From having hope in other than Allaah to having hope in Him;
From relying on other than Allaah to relying on Him;
From asking and deploring other than Allaah to asking and deploring Him;
From surrendering and submitting to other than Allaah to surrendering and
submitting to Him.

This is precisely the meaning of “fleeing unto Allaah”, as Allaah ‫ سبحانه و تعالى‬Says:

‫فَفِ ﱡروا إِلَى ﱠ‬

ِ‫ﷲ‬

…Flee then unto Allaah… [Ad-Dhariyat, 50]

And indeed, the Tawheed required from a person is to flee from Allaah unto
Him!

Under this heading of “from” and “to” falls a great reality of Tawheed.

Fleeing unto Allaah

Fleeing unto Allaah ‫ سبحانه و تعالى‬includes turning to Him alone for appeal,
worship, and all that proceeds from it, such as love, fear, surrender, and
reliance. Thus, it includes the Tawheed of Ilahiyyah, which is the common
subject among the Messengers’ message (may Allaah bestow His peace upon
them all).
Fleeing from Allaah

On the other hand, fleeing from Allaah (unto Him) includes the Tawheed of
Ruboobiyyah and affirmation of Qadar. It professes that whatever one hates or
fears or evades in the creation only takes place by Allaah’s will.

Indeed, whatever Allaah ‫ سبحانه و تعالى‬Wills surely happens, and its existence
becomes mandatory by virtue of Allaah’s will. And whatever Allaah does not
Will, never happens and is impossible to exist.

Thus when one flees unto Allaah, one would actually be fleeing (unto Him)
from a thing that occurred by His will and decree. In other words, one would
be fleeing from Allaah unto Him!

One who properly understands this would then understand the meaning of the
Prophet’s ‫ صلى ﷲ عليه وسلم‬words:

“I seek refuge from You in You” 1

One would then also understand the Prophet’s ‫ صلى ﷲ عليه وسلم‬saying:

“…There is no shelter or escape from You except to You…” 2

There is nothing in the creation from which one would flee or seek protection
but is created and originated by Allaah ‫ سبحانه و تعالى‬. Therefore, one would flee
from what is mandated by Allaah’s decree, will, and creation; and one would
flee to what is mandated by Allaah’s mercy, goodness, kindness, and bounty.
Hence, one flees from Allaah unto Him, and seeks refuge in Him from Him!
Footnotes:

1. This is part of a hadeeth recorded by Muslim from ‘Aa’ishah ‫ رضي ﷲ عنھما‬who said
that one night she missed Allaah’s Messenger ‫صلى ﷲ عليه وسلم‬. After some search, she
found him in the Masjid (which was adjacent to her apartment). In the darkness, her
hand hit the soles of his feet that were erected (in sujood). He was saying:

“O Allaah! I seek protection from Your wrath in Your acceptance, and from Your
punishment in Your pardon, and from You in You! I cannot offer You the praise that you
deserve, so I only praise You as You praise Yourself.”

2. This is a part of a hadeeth recorded by al-Bukhāri and Muslim from al-Barā’ Bin ‘Aazib
‫ رضي ﷲ عنھما‬that the Messenger ‫ صلى ﷲ عليه وسلم‬instructed a man to say when going
to bed:

“O Allaah! I submit myself to You, turn my face unto You, support my back unto You, and
rely in my affairs on You, hoping in You and fearing You; there is no shelter or escape
from You except to You! I believe in the Book that You have revealed and in the
Messenger You have sent.”

He ‫ صلى ﷲ عليه وسلم‬added: “If one dies (after saying this), he dies upon the fitrah (pure
nature).”