An Abridgment of The Servants Journey By Ibn Al-Qayyim

It is You we worship and You we ask for help.

— Qur'an, Surah al-Fatihah 1:5 (Saheeh International)

That single verse is the spine of Imam Ibn al-Qayyim's Madarij as-Salikin, and it is the spine of this book.

About This Book

Madarij as-Salikin is Ibn al-Qayyim's long treatment of the road a servant travels toward his Lord. It is written as an exposition of Manazil as-Sa'irin by al-Harawi, but Ibn al-Qayyim does not merely explain that text — he corrects it, reorders its stations, and returns each one to what the Qur'an and the Sunnah actually establish. An Abridgment of The Servant's Journey brings that project into English at a length a reader can finish: 388 pages, translated by Osman Hamid and published by Hikmah Publications.

This volume is Part 1 of the abridgment. It stands on its own and is read from the beginning of the journey; further parts are to follow from the publisher.

What This Book Covers

Surah al-Fatihah as the Map of the Journey

Ibn al-Qayyim frames the entire journey on iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in — worship belongs to Allah alone, and so does the help by which any of it is achieved. Every station in the book is measured against those two halves of the verse.

The Stations of the Seekers

The stations through which the soul passes on the way to Allah — repentance, wakefulness from heedlessness, turning back to Allah, fear, hope, reliance, love — are treated in their reality, their signs, and the means by which each is cultivated.

Where the Original Text Is Corrected

Manazil as-Sa'irin came out of the Sufi tradition, and Ibn al-Qayyim says so plainly. What agrees with the Book and the Sunnah he keeps and explains; what does not, he answers and rejects. This is why the work is read by students upon the way of the Salaf rather than avoided — the correction is part of the book, not a later apology for it.

About the Author

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (691–751 AH) studied under Ibn Taymiyyah in Damascus and wrote extensively on the stations of the heart and the sciences of tazkiyah. Published by Hikmah Publications.

Who This Book Is For

Readers who have wanted to get into Madarij as-Salikin in English and found the full work out of reach. Also for anyone who has read Ibn al-Qayyim's shorter books on the heart and wants the complete map they all sit inside.

Continue Reading

Our full guide to Madarij as-Salikin in English explains what the work is and what to read alongside it. To work through this author in order, see Books by Ibn al-Qayyim: where to start, or browse every title by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. The stations mapped here are the backbone of the heart sciences — our guide to the best books on purifying the soul (tazkiyah) shows which fuller treatments to read alongside it, and the whole tazkiyah collection is here.