Some matters that ought to fully occupy the minds

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

The most mindless individual is one who deviate from their path just as they approach their destination. Those whose intellects are aided perceive the divine revelation brought by the Messenger as a truth that aligns with (sound) reason and wisdom. Conversely, those whose intellects are forsaken perceive a conflict between sound intellect and the divine revelation, as well as between true wisdom and divine commandments.

The closest path to achieving the Pleasure of Allah are: adherence to the Sunnah and restricting oneself to it both internally and externally, maintaining a continual reliance on Allah while seeking His Countenance alone through words and actions. No one has ever reached Allah’s (Pleasure or Guidance) without adhering to these three things, and none have been hindered from attaining (Allah’s Pleasure or Guidance) except by distancing themselves from one or more of these things.

The foundation of an individual’s happiness consists of three things, each of which has a corresponding opposite. Consequently, the absence of any one of these things leads to the experience of its contrary: Tawheed, whose opposite is Shirk, the Sunnah, whose opposite is Bidah, and obedience is contrasted with disobedience. These three things are undermined by a singular condition: the heart’s lack of Ar-Raghbah Fillaah Wa Feemaa Indahu, Wa Minar Rahbah Minhu Wa Mimmaa Indahu [the heart’s deprivation of the sincere desire to attain Allah’s pleasure through acts of obedience, the hope for Allah’s rewards, and the fear of Allah along with the rewards He has prepared for those who are mindful of Him].

Al-Fawaa’d page 167