The Fruits of the Love of This World

The love of this world blinds people and humiliates them, prevents the entry of wisdom to the heart (the one who is doomed to love this world has no share of knowledge), it spoils the heart, brings home a lot of worry, hope that will never come true and endless poverty, the love of this world eats up and drains life, the heart of the lover of this world is broken when he is to leave it, it entails greed, those who love it collect property for others, its love eliminates the fear of the Hereafter, the one who love this world has to be conceit, very keen, greedy, sycophant, elated, and off his guard, the love of this world silences the voice of wisdom and dims the light of insight, it saddens the heart even though it may gladden the exterior.

The Value of this World

It is less than a leaflet in the mouth of an insect, and as empty as the stomach of an ant, it is equal in price to that of the droppings of a small bird, its taste is more bitter than that of salt water, it is not used as a bitter medicine, to Allah it is not worth the weight of a mosquito, in size it is less than that of a rice grain husk.

The Truth of This World

The people of this world are wayfarers, it is full of grief and sorrow, it begins with anguish and ends with absence, one is to account for the permissible things of this world and will be punished for the forbidden ones, it cheats and fools, the enemy of worshipers of Allah because it makes them sad, the enemy of non-worshipers of Allah because it fools them, it makes people spell bound, all its provisions are useless except the fear of Allah, when it comes your way it tricks you, and when it gives you its back it harms you, it inflicts distress to the one who is very secure, what is lost of it is not to be recovered, its future is unpredictable, it leaves you alone when you are on good terms with it, when you sell this world for the sake of the Hereafter you gain, and when you sell the Hereafter for the sake of this world you lose, this world does not brighten in face of the believer, how would it when it is his prison (this world is the prison of the believer), Allah is disobeyed only in this world, one only gains what is in the possession of Allah when he abandons it, the love of this world and the love of the Hereafter never come together in the heart of a believer unless water and fire come together in one pot, Noah the prophet who lived the longest life was asked about what was life to him: he said it was as though I entered by one door and immediately departed from another opposite door, life is like one day when it passes, life is finite and the Hereafter infinite.

Description of the Slaves of this World

They talk about religion when it suits their interests, they love pennies much more than everything else, when they are rewarded they are happy and when they are deprived they are indignant, they are more than two thirds of the people of this world, they attend to the service of the haves, they eat, laugh, sleep and get angry more than everything, they apologize not when they wrong others and accept no apology from those who apologize to them, lazy in times of obedience, brave in times of disobedience, they hold not themselves accountable, they are talkative to no avail, love food and drink, they thank not during the heydays and are impatient in times of distress, they ask for what is not theirs and they praise themselves for what they did not do, they remember the shortcomings of other and forget theirs, they are not humble before those from whom they learn, they reckon themselves wise while they are fools, they are howling dogs and beasts that threaten one another, they are much like one who dreamed that he is on a horse and waked to find nothing.

Suwaid Ibn Ghaflah came to the Prince of the Believers (Ali Ibn Ibi Talib – may Allah be pleased with him) after having been installed a caliph. He found him sitting on a small rug. He wondered how could that be when the caliph has all the treasury of the Muslims under his control.

The Prince of the Believers said to him: “You see, Ibn Ghaflah, the wise one does not furnish his house of transition. We have another house where we have transferred our luggage. It is only a few moments and we will be there”.

* Book: Materialwest. By sayed Sami Khadra.