On Laziness

Excerpts from “Ṣayd-ul-Khāṭir”1 by ibn-ul-Jawzī2 (raḥimahullāh)

As for indolence (laziness) and carelessness, these are two actions that are attributed
to you [for you have assumed them by youself] and therefore, you should not be
content with these actions of yours.
.
Know that you are in a race with time running out. Do not be apt to indolence because
laziness is the reason for missing out on all the virtues. Hard work is the pathway to
success and strong lofty endeavours boil inside the heart just as water boils in a kettle.
One of the salaf said (in poetry):

I have no wealth except my generosity;

with it I become alive from nothing.
I am content with the sustenance that is written,
but my zeal has reached high levels.
.
How would a lazy person feel when he sees his peers excelling in knowledge and
business while he remains ignorant and poor? Will there be any pleasure in laziness
and doing nothing?
.
Do not let laziness occupy you from preparing your horses for the race. And be
mindful of the Day of the race, for the more a person is cautious in this life, the closer
to Allāh he will be in the Hereafter.
.
What can eliminate your laziness is for you to imagine the reward of hard workers that
you have missed! This is enough of an admonition. As for him who has a feeble desire
then:

A dead person never feels pain from a wound.

1 Translated under the name “Captured Thoughts” by Dā r as-Sunnah Publishers, Birmingham
2 He is al-Ḥ ā fiẓ Imā m Abū ʾl-Faraj ibn-ul-Jawzī al-Ḥ anbalī (raḥ imahullā h) [d. 597 Hijri]
How would you feel after being resurrected from your grave when you see some
people rescued and not you? And righteous people are walking fast on the the bridge
(ṣirāṭ), and you are tripping and falling? The sweetness of laziness (ḥalāwa al-batāla)
has gone away, and all that is left is the bitterness of sorrow (marāra al-asaf). Water
in the cup has gone, and all that is left is the residue of guilt.

How long is this life compared to the Hereafter? And how long is your stay in this life
when half of it is sleeping and the rest is oblivion? How could you ask for the hand of
a fair female (al-ḥūr al-ʿiyn) of Paradise when you do not own a penny of strong will?

Open the eye of intellect (ʿayn al-fikr) to see the light of wisdom (ḍūʾ al-ʿibr). If you
feel an internal weakness, then seek the assistance of care-taking.
.
A person should also be prepared when he is old by having some savings so he is not
humiliated or forced to work when he is too weak to work. Letting his enemy inherit
his wealth after his death is better than to be in need of a friend at the end of his life;
you should pay no attention to those who condemn wealth because they are just
ignorant fools who relied upon comfort and enjoyed laziness (kasf) and did not mind
receiving charity or begging people.

It is evident that every Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬had a source of income, and so did the companions
of the Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬who left behind great wealth.

Thus, you should understand this principle very well and heed not the words of the
ignorant.
.
So, a person should beware of the thievery of laziness for it steals your time.
.
Consider therefore, the consequences and repress the urge of laziness that disheartens
from virtues. Many scholars who died after being negligent are buried in a state of
regret and sorrow.
A man saw our Shaikh, Ibn Al-Zaghwanī in a dream, and the Shaikh told him, ‘The
most apparent and common thing you have is being unaware (ghafla), and the most
common thing we have is regret (nadāma).'

Escape (from negligence), may Allāh lead you to success, before being held and break
the contract of lustful desires and the defrauding of the eyes. Know that virtues are not
attained with comforts and negligence (tafrīṭ) in small things deface the virtues
(maḥāsin).

Seize the opportunity while you are still breathing and the Angel of Death (malak al-
mawt) is yet to come, and go with a strong resolve (ʿazīma ʿāzm).

When he decides, his resolve appears between his eyes

and he stops mentioning consequences
He consults, in his affairs, none other than himself
and accepts no companion other than the sword’s handle