Sorrow (huzn) as a station

"Sorrow" (huzn) is the thirteenth of the stations in Madarij al-Salikin. Ibn al-Qayyim opens it with a striking judgement: it is not a station to be sought or commanded, though every wayfarer must pass through it, because sorrow appears in the Qur'an only as forbidden – as in Al Imran 139 and al-Tawba 40 – or as denied, as in al-Baqara 38. ¹

Ibn al-Qayyim explains that sorrow is "a halt that does not move one on", of no benefit to the heart, and that nothing pleases Satan more than to sadden the servant so as to cut him off from his journey. He cites al-Mujadila 10 on secret talk, the Prophet ﷺ's forbidding two to converse privately apart from a third because it saddens him, and his seeking refuge from worry and sorrow. ¹

For Ibn al-Qayyim sorrow is the companion of worry: a hateful thing that comes upon the heart produces worry if it concerns the future and sorrow if it concerns the past, and both weaken the heart for the journey and slacken resolve. Yet passing through sorrow is unavoidable in fact; he cites the words of the people of Paradise in Fatir 34 as showing that it befell them in this world like the other afflictions that come upon people without their choice. ¹

• Al-Tawba 92, on those who turned away with eyes overflowing with tears of sorrow: they were praised, Ibn al-Qayyim says, not for sorrow itself but for the strength of faith it showed, and the verse hints at the hypocrites who felt no sorrow at staying behind. ^{1 2}
• The hadith that whatever worry or sorrow befalls a believer, God expiates sins by it: for him this shows sorrow to be an affliction that expiates, not a station to seek and settle in. ²
• The report of Hind ibn Abi Hala (may God be pleased with him) describing the Prophet as "continually sorrowful": Ibn al-Qayyim says it is not established and its chain contains unknown men, and he finds its meaning unlikely, since God kept him from grieving over this world and forbade him to grieve over the unbelievers; he describes him as ever cheerful and often smiling. The editor refers in a footnote to al-Albani's weakening of it. ²
• The report "God loves every sorrowful heart": its chain is unknown to him; if sound, what God loves is the servant's patience under the trial of sorrow. The saying "When God loves a servant He sets a mourner in his heart" he calls an Isra'iliyya report, while granting it a sound meaning – the believer's sorrow over his sins. ²
• Jacob's grief in Yusuf 84: a report of his state when afflicted with the loss of his son, not praise of sorrow. ²

Ibn al-Qayyim states that the masters of the path agreed that sorrow over this world is not praiseworthy, except Abu Uthman al-Hiri, who said sorrow is a merit in every respect unless caused by sin. He answers that it is no doubt a trial and an affliction, like illness and worry, "but that it is one of the stations of the path – no". ²

Al-Harawi defines sorrow as "pain over what has been missed and regret over what cannot be"; Ibn al-Qayyim explains that if the missed thing was within one's power one feels pain at missing it, and if not, regret that it was out of reach. The editor notes that for al-Harawi sorrow is the first chapter of the second part of the Manazil. ³

• The sorrow of the common people: over falling short in service, getting entangled in estrangement, and wasting one's days. Ibn al-Qayyim explains that "service" for them belongs to manners rather than acts, and that wasting days is of two kinds: days empty of obedience, and days empty of the experiences of faith and intimacy with God. ³
• The sorrow of those who seek: over the heart's attachment to dispersion, the self's distraction from witnessing, and finding solace from sorrow. Ibn al-Qayyim disputes the third: al-Harawi sees the loss of sorrow as a defect over which one grieves; Ibn al-Qayyim says "this needs consideration" – if the servant is distracted from sorrow by a praiseworthy joy, such as joy in God's bounty, there is no sense in grieving at its loss. ^{3 4} As for al-Harawi's saying that the elite have nothing to do with the station of sorrow, Ibn al-Qayyim accepts it if it means they should not seek sorrow deliberately, and rejects it if it means sorrow never befalls them: sorrow is part of human nature, "but it is not a station". ⁴
• Third degree: grieving over contrary inner experiences (not passing thoughts), over conflicting aims, and over objections to the decrees. Ibn al-Qayyim explains conflicting aims as the sincere seeker facing two paths without knowing which is dearer to God: he exerts himself to know, then settles for the stronger probability, then prefers the one of greater benefit, by five grounds of preference – wider benefit, increase of faith, opposing the self, securing a benefit not otherwise obtained, and safety from a harm not otherwise avoided; failing that, he seeks God's guidance (istikhara) and turns to Him in need. He quotes al-Awza'i and Ibn al-Mubarak: when people differ over something, look at what the people of the frontier hold. ^{4 5}

Al-Harawi's own text and the sourcing of the hadiths cited from their original collections have not yet been added.