How to fight love for the worldly

Indeed, Almighty Allah created the nafs as loving children, spouses, a high position in society, as well as wealth. And so that a murid does not go beyond what is permitted because of the attachment of his heart to the worldly, Sufi scholars have interpreted the Shariaapproved attitude towards all the above.

Imam al-Sha`rani said, “Know Muslims, there are four reasons causing the emergence of unrest: women, high standing in society, wealth and children. As for the love of women, it is necessary to love them because Allah put love for them in your heart, since they are part of you and since they are created from you [1], therefore loving them is as if loving yourself. This reasoning is reinforced by the hadith: «Start with yourself.»

Especially because women are the ones through whom progeny are born and worldly life is created and because of which trials invest us. Since, as is known, the kingdom of Almighty Allah and His establishment is manifested precisely through the birth of posterity, the creation of worldly life. Therefore, he who loves women in just this way loves them for the sake of Allah and not for the sake of his ego.

And for such a slave the love of women will be a blessing from the Almighty. Because women who are loved in the above named manner turn a man towards Allah, that is, a man’s love for them is converted into love for Allah. Because, in this case, a man loves women only because they are objects of the manifestation of the perfection of Almighty Allah in His creations and not for any other reason.

This is also indicated by the words of the Prophet , «From the transient world, by the will of Allah, was inspired by love for women.» By this is implied a love of women in general. But there is also another kind of love, which is founded in interpersonal relationships. Such love is also praised: examples are the love of the Prophet e for his wife Aisha or for his closest companion Abu Bakr .

Such relationships come into being due to the spiritual intimacy of two people from birth or from the similarity of their natural characters. That is why such love never ceases and does not even change in both worlds.”

Know that the last of reproachable qualities to disappear from the hearts of the righteous (siddiqun) is the love of high position — ambition, since nafs are naturally prone to this vice. Indeed, when Almighty Allah provides care for His slave, He constantly cleanses his nafs of all vices.

And then after the nafs is deprived of all reproachable qualities and the son of Adam feels drawn to acquire divine qualities hitherto unknown to him, there begins to be manifested in this slave a love of power and domination - but not because of arrogance and disdain towards others, but because this quality is inherent in his Lord.

Having attained knowledge of Allah, love of wealth turns into love for the sake of Almighty Allah. After all, such slaves cannot do without love for worldly riches and how can they do without love for high status, for such a feeling is engendered in them from birth. Those who have attained knowledge of Allah pay attention to the following hadith:

«Truly, charitable gifts (sadaqa) go to Merciful Allah.» That is, such slaves love worldly wealth aiming to give it away in charity.

As for the love of children, it is one of the greatest tests of Almighty Allah for His slaves in order to determine whether such love can become a hindrance to submissiveness to Almighty Allah, notwithstanding a parent’s concern and compassion towards his child.

This is the greatest test, as Almighty Allah created a child as an independent creature, independent of its father, although the child is not a stranger to its parent. The Messenger of Allah indicated this in the following way, «I swear by Allah, that even if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, stole, I would cut off her hand.»

From the foregoing, it becomes clear that one who takes into proper account these four sorts of temptations cannot be endangered by the use of worldly goods. So be afraid, O Muslim, of even thinking that the close servants of Allah enjoy worldly goods because of love for the worldly, as you do. Truly, this is disrespectful of the righteous.

The measure of values

Recognising all that said above, O believer in Allah and the Day of Judgment, be enlightened by the words of the Almighty (meaning), “The eternal life is better and is forever.” (Sura Al-A`la, ayah 17) and with the words of the Prophet :

“Wealth does not decrease from making charitable donations (sadaqa)” and “A slave who forgives oppression against him will certainly be elevated”; “The reward for a person’s charitable sacrifice increases seven hundred or more times” and “Even if all jinn and people were to band together to deprive a slave of something of his portion, even of the size of a speck of dust, they would be unable able to do anything without the Almighty’s volition.”

Know that when the worldly shuns you and you find your nafs contented and loving that which participated in depriving you of the worldly lot belonging to you, then you are indeed a true believer. Then you will comprehend how to distinguish the worldly from the eternal. Know that everything that leads people to affliction - and because of which they argue and litigate amongst themselves - is worldly, which the Almighty has ordered us to renounce. Verily, in the deeds of the eternal life there is nothing of the worldly; there is no room for disputation in them.

These deeds include: fasting during the day; reanimating the nights by worshiping the Almighty; frequent giving of charitable donations; building wells (to supply people with water) and other similar good deeds performed on the path of Allah. In such matters, people do not compete with each other, with the exception, for example, of striving to become a teacher, sheikhmentor or to be occupied in another responsibility through which one can get resources, gifts or even raise one’s own authority. That is, competition is necessarily present in worldly benefits.

Once, a certain person heard how a monk said to an acolyte in a monastery, “How weak a person you are in faith and heedless of goodliness! It is as if you wanted to gain something of the worldly through this work, as Muslims do!” However, it is indeed known that the Prophet was shy about demanding payment due to him after the completion of his work. Once, a certain man was grazing sheep with the Messenger of Allah and turned to the Prophet with the request,

“O Muhammad, ask Khadija for the payment of what we have earned.” The Prophet replied, “I am embarrassed to ask for it.”

Truly, scholars should turn away from the worldly and be free from the captivity of love for high standing and power, from passion for worldly wealth and the glorification of their ego. Only then will they become true scholars of the eternal life and heirs of the prophets, whose ink will outweigh the blood of martyrs on the Day of Judgment.

They will become those about whom it is said, «A scholar’s dream is worship of Allah.» And only then will they perceive the whole beauty and radiance of eternal life and realise all the contempt and abomination of the worldly.

They will look on the other world as eternal and at worldly life as something ephemeral. Indisputably, scholars prefer the eternal, for the worldly life and the eternal life are like two wives: if one is happy, then the other is furious.

So, if the lower world becomes dear to a person, the other world will be contemptible to him, and, on the contrary, if worldly life is contemptible, then eternal life is valued. And union is simply impossible here, just as the union of two opposites is impossible [2].

[1] Woman was created from the rib of man. - Ed.

[2] Just as a thing cannot be white and black at the same time, it is also impossible that for a person the values of the worldly and the eternal life could be equal. Ed.

FROM THE BOOK “VIRTUES OF THE RIGHTEOUS”

BY SHEIKH AHMAD-AFANDI MUFTI DAGESTAN