Awaking from the Sleep of Heedlessness

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

This is a summary of the Book by Ibn al-Jawzi.

The author begins the book by praising Allah, the one who made the different stages of life. During these stages of life, there are some who obey Allah and therefore advance, but there are others who waste their time and remain in ignorance, after which they are in loss and full of regret. 

There are 5 stages of life according to Ibn al-Jawzi.

Stage 1: Starts from birth until puberty (around 15 years).

This stage mostly concerns parents as they must discipline their children and encourage them to memorize the Quran and Hadith. "The effect of learning in early age is like engraving on a stone" (attributed to al-Hasan). 

A poet said, 

"If you straighten the branches of a plant, they will straighten up,

But the wood of a tree does not soften if you amend it.

Discipline might benefit a little boy in his cradle,

But it doesn't benefit an old man."

An important point for those who have reached puberty, is to marry them off. A hadith reported by al-Daylami in Musnad al-Firdaws (5916) mentions, "Whoever's son reaches puberty, he can marry him off, but doesn't, and then the son commits a sin, then they will both share the burden of the sin." 

Stage 2: Starts from puberty till the end of youth (35 years of age). This is the most prominent stage of struggling against the desires, and Shaitan. At this stage in life, a young man should know that it has become obligatory upon him to know about his Lord by evidence (contemplation) and not by imitation. This is because the angels have started recording his deeds. 

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Your Lord is amazed at an energetic young man whose desires of women are restrained."

If a slave of Allah commits a sin, he should wipe it out with repentance and make up for it (with a good deed). And if he becomes weak (in controlling his desires), he should lengthen the night prayers and fast a lot. 

The youth is a splendid time and if a person spends it controlling his desires, he will be greatly rewarded. One of the pious predecessors, May Allah bestow mercy on him, said, "I wish that both my hands were cut, in return the sins of my youth were forgiven."  

One of the 7 people who will be shaded on the day when there will be no shade, is the youth who grew up in the worship of Allah (Riyad al-Saliheen 376). 

Stage 3: Starts from thirty-five years of age until fifty years of age. At this stage, a person is able to control his desires although there are some remnants of youthfulness. A mature man should control the remnants of himself and be warned by the illumination of his grey hair that his departure from this world is near. 

The author writes, 

"I noticed grey hair to be a dispersed light,

Enlightening the road so it guides.

The light of youthfulness was a trust I kept,

With me until I gave it back to its owner."

Stage 4: Starts from fifty years of age until seventy years of age, also known as "the old age." Usually a person's desires start to weaken and a sin is not sought. 

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "The most detested type of a person to Allah, Exalted it He, is an old man who commits adultery." He will get twice the punishment as a young man because he didn't have the same level of desire as a young man did. 

Stage 5: Starts from seventy years of age till death. The Stage of Decrepitude should not end except that one recants what has passed and spend the remaining time supplicating to Allah, seeking Allah's forgiveness, and seize every opportunity to do what is possible of good deeds. 

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, may Allah be pleased with him, used to fast in hot weather so it was said to him, "You are an old man." He said, "I'm preparing it for a long day [i.e. Day of Judgement]."

Whoever knows the nobility and privilege of life and its value will not waste a second of it. This book is an excellent reminder for us to seize the opportunity of life in doing acts that will save us on the Day of Judgement. I would recommend reading this book to gain more insight, In Sha Allah. May Allah make us among those who truly understand the value of life and may He guide us in using our time wisely.