WEBVTT

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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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The life of the salaf between speech and action.

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Asceticism (zuhd), the condemnation of the worldly life, and the virtue of asceticism.

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Ali Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"Whoever practices asceticism regarding the worldly life will find calamities easy to bear."

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Abu Waqid al-Laythi, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"We pursued deeds,"

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"and we found nothing more effective in seeking the Hereafter"

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"than asceticism regarding the worldly life."

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Abu al-Darda’, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say:

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"Praise be to Allah, who has made the refuge of the wealthy be with us at the time of death,"

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"while we do not wish to take refuge with them at the time of death."

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"Indeed, one of them would say,"

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"'I wish I were a poor man among the poor of the Muhajirun.'"

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Muhammad Ibn al-Hanafiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Whoever holds his own soul in high regard"

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"will find that the worldly life has no value in his eyes."

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A man said to Muhammad Ibn Wasi', may Allah have mercy on him:

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"Advise me."

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He replied, "I advise you to be a king in this world and the Hereafter."

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The man asked, "How?"

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He said, "Practice asceticism regarding the worldly life."

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Al-Fudayl Ibn 'Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"It is forbidden for your hearts to taste the sweetness of faith"

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"until you practice asceticism regarding the worldly life."

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Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"When a servant practices asceticism regarding the worldly life,"

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"Allah plants wisdom in his heart,"

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"makes his tongue speak with it,"

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"and gives him insight into the faults of the world, its diseases, and its cures."

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The meaning of asceticism and its types.

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An explanation of some people's errors regarding asceticism.

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Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Asceticism is not about eating coarse food"

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"or wearing rough clothing,"

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"but rather it is shortening one's hopes and anticipating death."

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It was said to him, may Allah have mercy on him:

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"Can a man be an ascetic while he possesses wealth?"

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He replied, "Yes,"

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"if he is patient when tested,"

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"and grateful when given."

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Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"If a man practices asceticism,"

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"he should not make his asceticism a source of torment for others."

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'Abd al-Rahman Ibn Zayd Ibn Aslam said:

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"I said to Abu Hazim, may Allah have mercy on him, one day:"

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"'I find something that saddens me.'"

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He asked,

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"'And what is it, my nephew?'"

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I said,

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"'Love of the worldly life.'"

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He said to me,

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"'Know, my nephew,'"

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"'that this thing—'"

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"'I do not reproach my soul for loving something'"

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"'that Allah the Exalted has made beloved to me,'"

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"'because Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,'"

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"'has indeed made this worldly life beloved to us.'"

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"'However, our self-reproach should be regarding something else:'"

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"'that our love for it does not lead us'"

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"'to take something from that which Allah dislikes,'"

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"'nor to withhold something from that which Allah loves.'"

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"'If we do that,'"

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"'our love for it will not harm us.'"

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Sufyan Ibn 'Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Seeking what is necessary from the world is not part of the love of the worldly life."

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Ibn 'Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked about asceticism:

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"What is it?"

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He said,

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"Asceticism is regarding what Allah has forbidden."

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"As for what Allah has permitted,"

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"Allah has made it lawful,"

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"for the prophets married, rode, and ate."

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"But Allah forbade them from certain things,"

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"so they refrained from them and were ascetics regarding them."

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Abu Sulayman al-Darani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"People differed with us regarding asceticism in Iraq."

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"Some of them said:"

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"Asceticism is in abandoning the company of people."

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"Others said:"

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"It is in abandoning desires."

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"Others said:"

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"It is in abandoning overeating."

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"Their views are close to one another."

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He said,

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"I hold that asceticism is in abandoning what distracts you from Allah, the Almighty and Majestic."

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He also said, may Allah have mercy on him:

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"Do not testify to anyone's asceticism,"

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"for asceticism is in the heart."

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Condemning reliance on the worldly life and rejoicing in its luxuries.

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'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"O group of the Muhajirun,"

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"do not visit the people of this world too often,"

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"for it diminishes one's provision."

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Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"Whoever desires the Hereafter harms his worldly life,"

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"and whoever desires the worldly life harms his Hereafter."

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"So, prioritize the eternal over the perishable."

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'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, said:

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"A servant does not attain anything of the worldly life"

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"except that it decreases his rank with Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,"

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"even if he is noble in His sight."

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Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"One should expect nothing from this world except sorrow or impending trials."

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Abu Hazim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"How strange it is for a people to work for a home from which they depart every day by a stage,"

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"while they neglect to work for a home toward which they travel every day by a stage."

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Bashir Ibn Ka'b, may Allah have mercy on him, used to say:

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"Come, let me show you the world."

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He would bring them to the marketplace,

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which was a garbage dump in those days,

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and say,

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"Look at their chickens, their ducks, and their fruits."

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Al-Fudayl Ibn 'Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Your joy in the worldly life removes the sweetness of worship,"

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"and your concern for the worldly life removes worship entirely."

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Abu Hazim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"A little of the worldly life distracts from much of the Hereafter,"

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"and much of it makes you forget the little that is needed."

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"If you seek from the world what suffices you,"

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"then the least of it will satisfy you."

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"But if what suffices you does not satisfy you,"

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"then there is nothing in it that will satisfy you."

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Some of the salaf passed by a group of people,

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and it was said, "These are ascetics."

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He replied, "What is the value of the world that one should be praised for being an ascetic in it?"

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Some of the salaf said:

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"Son of Adam, you are but a foul-smelling corpse."

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"Your scent is pleasant only because of the spirit of life within you."

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"If your spirit were to be taken from you,"

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"you would be found as a discarded body,"

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"a foul-smelling corpse,"

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"and a hollow frame."

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"You have become putrid after having been pleasant-smelling,"

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"and you are avoided after having been cherished for your company."

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"So, O son of Adam, which of the creatures is more ignorant than you?"

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"And which of the creatures is more arrogant than you?"

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"When you know that this is your fate,"

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"and that the dust is your resting place,"

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"yet you still, due to your prolonged ignorance, find comfort in the worldly life."

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Al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"O son of Adam, sell your worldly life for your Hereafter,"

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"and you will profit in both."

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"Do not sell your Hereafter for your worldly life,"

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"or you will lose both."

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Whenever he, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned a person of the world, he would say:

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"By Allah, he did not remain for it, nor did it remain for him,"

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"and he did not escape its consequences, its evil, or its reckoning."

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"He was brought out of it in a shroud."

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Sahl Ibn 'Abdullah, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked:

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"What makes it easy for a servant to abandon the world and all its desires?"

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He said, "By occupying himself with what he has been commanded to do."

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Al-Fudayl Ibn 'Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Entering into the worldly life is easy,"

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"but escaping from it is difficult."

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He, may Allah have mercy on him, also said:

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"I have never seen anyone who exalted the worldly life and found peace in it, nor did he benefit from it."

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"And no one ever belittled it except that he enjoyed it."

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'Urwah Ibn al-Zubayr, may Allah have mercy on him,

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whenever he visited the people of the world and saw some of their worldly luxuries,

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upon returning to his family and entering his house, he would recite:

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“And strain not thine eyes toward that which We cause some wedded pairs among them to enjoy, the flower of the life of the world, that We may try them thereby. The provision of thy Lord is better and more lasting.” (20:131)

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[The verse continues:] "to test them therein."

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“And strain not thine eyes toward that which We cause some wedded pairs among them to enjoy, the flower of the life of the world, that We may try them thereby. The provision of thy Lord is better and more lasting.” (20:131)

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﴾And enjoin prayer upon your family [and people] and be steadfast therein. We ask you not for provision; We provide for you, and the [best] outcome is for righteousness.﴿

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[The verse continues:] "We ask you not for provision."

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“And enjoin upon thy people worship, and be constant therein. We ask not of thee a provision: We provided for thee. And the sequel is for righteousness.” (20:132)

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"Prayer, prayer, may Allah have mercy on you."

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He used to say:

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"If one of you sees the adornment and splendor of the worldly life,"

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"let him go to his family and command them to pray and be steadfast therein."

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"For Allah says:"

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"And do not extend your eyes..."

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Then he would recite to the end of the verse.

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Ahmad Ibn Abi al-Hawari, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Whoever looks at the worldly life with a gaze of desire and love,"

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"Allah removes the light of certainty and asceticism from his heart."

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Some of them said:

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"If the worldly life spares a person his religion,"

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"then whatever is lost is of no consequence."

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"For the world is not worth the wing of a mosquito,"

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"nor the weight of a feather from a bird's wing."

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"The world is not a sufficient reward for a believer,"

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"nor is it a sufficient punishment for a disbeliever."

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Yahya Ibn Mu'adh, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Your religion will remain torn"

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"as long as your heart is attached to the love of the worldly life."

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Bilal Ibn Sa'd, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"By Allah, it is a sufficient sin"

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"that Allah makes us ascetic regarding the world,"

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"while we are eager for it."

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Ibrahim Ibn Adham, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"It is not a sign of love"

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"to love what your Beloved hates."

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"Our Master condemned the world, yet we praised it."

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"He hated it, yet we loved it."

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"He practiced asceticism regarding it, yet we preferred it."

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"And we were eager to seek it."

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"He promised you the ruin of the world, yet you fortified it."

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"You were forbidden from seeking it, yet you sought it."

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"You were warned against treasures, yet you hoarded them."

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Abu Mu'awiyah al-Aswad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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All of creation, the righteous among them and the wicked,

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strive for something worth less than the wing of a gnat.

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A man asked him,

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"What is less than the wing of a gnat?"

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He replied, "This worldly life."

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Bishr Ibn al-Harith, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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Whoever asks Allah the Exalted for the world,

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is merely asking Him for a longer standing [on the Day of Judgment].

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Some of the wise said:

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"I am amazed at one from whom the world is turning away,

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while the Hereafter is approaching him,

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yet he busies himself with what is departing and turns away from what is approaching."

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It is narrated that al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him,

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whenever he recited this verse:

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"Let not the life of this world deceive you,"

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"and let not the Deceiver deceive you regarding Allah,"

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he would say, "Who is it that says this?"

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"It is the One who created it and the One who knows it best."

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He said, "Beware of the distractions of this world,

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for the world is full of preoccupations.

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No man opens a door of worldly preoccupation for himself,

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but that it is likely for that door

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to open ten other doors upon him."

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He, may Allah have mercy on him, also said:

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"Poor is the son of Adam, content with a dwelling

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whose lawful [gains] involve a reckoning, and whose unlawful [gains] involve punishment.

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If he acquires it lawfully, he will be held to account for its blessings,

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and if he acquires it unlawfully, he will be punished for it."

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The son of Adam considers his wealth to be little,

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yet he does not consider his deeds to be little.

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He, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"The soul of the son of Adam does not depart this world

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except with three regrets:

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that he was not satisfied with what he gathered,

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that he did not attain what he hoped for,

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and that he did not prepare sufficient provisions for what he was going toward."

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He, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"If you see a man competing with you for the world,

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then compete with him for the Hereafter."

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Abu Sulayman al-Darani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"No one can abstain from the desires of this world

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except one who has in his heart

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that which occupies him with the Hereafter."

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Some scholars said:

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"Whoever renounces the world possesses it,

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and whoever desires it becomes its slave.

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So whoever wishes, let him live in it as a king,

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and whoever wishes, let him live in it as a slave."

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Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Your need of it is only what suffices you,

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so the least of its living will satisfy you.

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That which is little and sufficient

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is better than that which is abundant and distracting."

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The life of peace

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is between speech and action.