Spiritual Advice 1

Imaam Ghazali Rahmatullah alaihe says: 'The world is going to perishvery soon. It will endure; it makes false promises and never fulfillsthem; it seems to be at rest but, in reality, it is fleeting, thoughits motion is not perceptible to the senses. People become consciousof its fleeting motion when it forsakes them altogether. It is like ashadow that is in motion all the time but its movement is notperceptible'. Once, when there was a mention of the world, beforeHasan Basri Rahmatullah alaihe, he stated, 'It is like a dream thatthe people have, in sleep; or like a shadow always in motion. Thewise cannot be deceived by things like this'. Imaam Hasan Radhiallahoanho used to recite this couplet frequently: 'O people who are givento the pleasures of the world; which wont endure; remember it is merefolly to be deceived by a moving shadow!' Yunus Ibne Ubaid Rahmatullah alaihe says that he has suggested tohimself the following similitude about the world: 'A man is asleep anddreams many things, good or bad. Suddenly he wakes up and the dreamis shattered. Similarly, all men in the world are asleep; and allthat they see or do is a dream. When they die, they wake up from theslumber and there is no substance in the worldly joys or sorrows'.They say that, Eisaa Alaihissalam was shown the reality of this worldin a vision. He saw it as a very old toothless woman who was shownwearing a bright dress, with all kinds of ornaments, and finery, tolook like a bride. When Eisaa Alaihissalam asked, 'How many timeshave you already been married? She said, 'Too numerous to becounted'. Eisaa Alaihissalam then asked her, 'Did your husbands dieor did they divorce you?' 'No! I killed them all', she replied. Hesaid, 'Cursed be your remaining husbands who do not learn a lessonfrom the fate of those who have been killed by you, one after theother'. Indeed, the world is like an old hag who adorns herself withgorgeous clothes. People are deceived by her appearance, but they aresoon disillusioned when they uncover its face to see its ugliness andreal nature. Alaa Ibne Zayaad Rahmatullah alaihe says: 'I saw an oldhag, in a dream, who was wearing fine clothes, ornaments, etc., andwas adorned with all manner of beautiful things. There was a bigcrowd of people around her who were watching her with great interest. I went close to her but, when I looked at her face, I was astonishedat all those who stood there, watching. I asked her (in the dream),'Who are you?' She said, 'Do'nt you recognise me?' I replied, 'No, Ido not', She said, 'I am the world'. 'May Allah guard me againstyou', I prayed. She said, 'If you want to be safe from me, abhorDirhams (wealth)'. Ibne Abbas Radhiallaho anho says: 'On the Day of Resurrection, the world will be brought before thepeople. It would look like an old hag, with blue sunken eyes andprotruding teeth. People will be asked, 'Do you recognise her'. Theywill say, 'May Allah protect us all! Who is this monster?' Then theywill be told, 'This is the world, the world for which you killed oneanother, severed blood relationship, felt jealous of one another,nourished grudge against others; it is the world that deceived youall'. Then this old hag will be hurled into Jahannam. She will cry,'Call my admirers! Send my followers with me to Jahannam'. ThenAllah Ta'ala will give the command: 'Send to Jahannam all those whofollowed this world'. There are three stages for every individual in the world: (1) from thebeginning of creation to the time of his birth; (2) the periodstretching from the time of his death to eternity; (3) the interveningperiod between his birth and death. Now, if we measure this thirdperiod against the long vistas of eternity, our life-span is indeed avery short period. On the same subject, there is a Hadith ofRasulullah Sallallaho alaihe wasallam: 'What interest can I have inthe world? I am just like a traveller who sits in the shade of a treefor a while at noon, then walks ahead and leaves the tree behind'.Undoubtedly, he who regards the world in the manner of RasulullahSallallaho alaihe wasallam, will be least interested in it; littlewill he care whether this short period is spent in joy or sorrow, incomforts or in hardships. It occurs in another Hadith that: Once when Rasulullah Sallallahoalaihe wasallam saw that a Sahabi Radhiallaho anho was building ahouse with mortar, he said, 'Death is nearer to you than thisbuilding'. According to the other Hadith, Rasulullah Sallallahoalaihe wasallam once said, 'The man devoted to worldly interests islike a person walking on water. Can anyone walk on water withoutgetting his feet wet?' This Hadith shows the ignorance of those whoare heard saying, 'Our bodies derive sensual pleasures out of worldlythings, but our souls are not contaminated by it, neither are ourhearts enamoured of it'. Such people are tricked by Shaitan intoholding such views. The fact is that, if worldly things are snatchedaway from these people, they will get upset at the loss. Then, as aperson walking on water cannot, in any way, protect his feet fromgetting wet, a man who indulges in worldly pursuits does, ofnecessity, affect his soul adversely. Eisaa Alaihissalam says: 'Let me tell you the truth! Just as apatient, when he is seriously ill cannot enjoy food, so a worldlyminded person cannot experience devotion in his prayers. And, as ariding beast gets stubborn if nobody has ridden it for a long time,similarly, the hearts of men, if they are not softened with theremembrance of death and rigorous devotional practices, become hardand not disposed to worship. And let me tell you another truth aboutlife. A goat skin bag proves a good container for honey (or water,etc.) as long as it is not torn. But when it is torn, honey is notput in it any more. Similarly, the human heart can contain wisdom aslong as it is not torn by lusts, corrupted by greed or hardened byindulgence in good things of life. Besides, there is another pointworthy of note: the lusts of this world have a honeyed taste. But, inthe end, at the time of death, they become noxious and disgustful'. Some Divines have written that the more absorbed a person is inworldly life, the greater will be his disgust for it at the time ofdeath. They illustrate the point by means of an example: if a persontakes sumptuous food, i.e. rich in fats, his stools are morefoul-smelling than those of a person who eats plain food. After whathas been said against the world it is very important to consider whatthe term 'world' signifies, for, there are many Verses of the HolyQur'an and Ahadith deprecating the world. It should be borne in mindthat the term 'world' (Dunya) applied to all the circumstances ofman's life before death: all that he does, thinks or feels.Similarly, the circumstances of the life after death are called'Akhirah'. Now, things concerning life before death may be subdividedinto three broad categories:- 1. Things which, as soon as a man dies, are carried on to the nextworld with him. These are his knowledge of Deen and the good deedsperformed purely for winning the pleasure of Allah Ta'ala. These two,knowledge and good deeds, are related to the Akhirah and theyconstitute one's Deen and cannot, therefore, be called worldly things,even though one may derive pleasure out of them, and such people mayhave no relish for food, drink, sleep or even marriage. 2. Sensual pleasure of sinful deeds and exclusive indulgence inthings that are lawful to indulge only to a restricted extent - forexample, piles of gold and silver, gorgeous clothes, good lookingbeasts for riding, lofty palaces, delicious food. All these thingsare purely worldly things, which have been condemned in the foregoingpages. 3. In between these two extremes - the purely religious and theexclusively worldly - there are the bare necessities of life, whichhelp a person in performing good deeds for the Akhirah, for example,food that sustains life, sleep, plain dress which is necessary forprotection against heat or cold. All such things, which are necessaryfor life or good for health or which help a person in his preparationfor the Akhirah, are also excluded from the category or 'Worldlythings', as they form a part of religion and pertain to the akhirah,provided that one indulges in them to the extent of necessity and forthe sake of gaining strength for religious duties. On the contrary,if these things are indulged in for the sake of sensual pleasures orfor the fulfillment of the heart's desires, they will also be termedas worldly pursuits. My father (May Allah brighten his grave with heavenly light) used tonarrate to us a story very often: 'There was a person who wanted to goto Panipat on some urgent errand. Between his village and Panipatcity, there flowed the river Jamna which was, as it chanced, in floodat that time and could not be crossed even with a boat. He wasgreatly worried and did no know what to do. People told him thatthere lived a Divine in such and such a jungle and that if he wentthere and told him about his difficulty, the pious man would find away out and suggest some means of going across the river. They saidthat the Divine would be greatly annoyed and would refuse to help out,but if he persisted, not giving way to despair, the Divine would bemoved and grant him some assistance. So, the man went to the forest and met the saint who lived in a smallcottage, with his wife and children. The man wept and cried and saidhe was in great difficulty as he had to appear in the court and therewere no means to cross the river. At first, the Divine took him totask, as usual, and said he could do nothing as he had no power overthe river. But when the man showed great humility, he was moved andhe said, 'Go and say to the Jamna, I have been sent to you by a personwho never, even once, ate anything throughout his life, nor hadintercourse with his wife'. The man did as he had been told. Theriver suddenly stopped in its course and the man went across. As soonas he had crossed over, the Jamna began to flow again. But back in the cottage the wife of the Divine, who had heard him talkto the man, began to weep and cry, horrified by the slander implicitin his words. She said, 'You have put slander on my chastity andhumiliated me before this man. You said you ate nothing. Then howdid you grow fat and fleshy like an elephant? You may lie aboutyourself as you please, but how dare you speak thus about me beingyour wife and knowing only too well that there is not a grain of truthin it? Is it not a sheer slander on me? Does it not imply that thesechildren are not your legitimate issue?' The Divine said, 'This is noconcern of yours when I declare them to be my legitimate children'.But the lady would not be pursuaded. She continued to cry inhysterics, 'You called me an adulteress', At this, the divine said,'Take heed and listen carefully. Ever since I came of age, I havenever eaten anything to satisfy my own desire, but whatever I ate Idid so, with the sole intention of gaining strength for obeying theCommandments of Allah Ta'ala. And, whenever I made love with you, Idid so with the pure intention of fulfilling my obligations to you,never even once, have I done so for the satisfaction of my ownpassion.' The following is another Hadith,in which Rasulullah Sallallaho alaihewasallam is reported to have said, 'Every man has been created withthree hundred and sixty joints and every morning, he should giveSadaqah for every joint in his body (in gratitude for the soundness ofhis joints)'. When the Sahabah Radhiallaho anhum asked, 'ORasulullah, Who can give away so much Sadaqah every day?' RasulullahSallallaho alaihe wasallam said, 'To put some earth over some spittle,etc., lying in the Masjid is Sadaqah; If you remove from the road,something that may harm people, it is Sadaqah; and if you observe'Dhuha Salaat' (forenoon Nafl Salaat), it will suffice you as Sadaqahfor all these'. (Mishkat). Since every joint is engaged in devotion,while observing Salaat, it counts as Sadaqah for all the joints of thebody. In another Hadith, many other examples of such virtues havebeen given; it says: 'When you greet someone (i.e say Assalmo alaikum)or enjoin what is good, or forbid what is evil, or have intercoursewith your wife, it counts as Sadaqah for you; and observing twoRak'aat of forenoon (Dhuha) Salaat suffice you for various acts ofSadaqah, as it counts as Sadaqah for all joints of your body'. TheSahabah asked, 'O Rasulullah! In the intercourse with his wife onesatisfies his passion, how will it be treated as Sadaqah?' RasulullahSallallaho alaihe wasallam said, 'Would it not be a sin if he indulgedin something forbidden?' The Hadith means that it is an act of virtue to have intercourse withone's wife with the intention of protecting oneself from unlawfulindulgence in sex. Similarly, all such acts like eating food,drinkingwater, sleeping, wearing clothes, etc., are counted as acts ofSadaqah, if they are performed with the pure intention of fulfillingthe Commandments of Allah Ta'ala concerning these things. Imaam Ghazali Rahmatullah alaihe says: 'It is not unlawful orforbidden to indulge in the worldly pursuits; these become unlawfulwhen they prevent a person from attaining nearness to Allah Ta'ala.Similarly, poverty is not desirable in itself but it is commendablebecause there is nothing in it to distract a person or to lead themaway from the path of nearness to Allah. However, there have beenmany rich persons whose riches could not prevent them from attainingnearness to Allah Ta'ala, such as the Prophet Sulaiman Alaihissalam,the Khalifah Uthman, Abdur Rahman Ibne Auf and many others. Likewise,there are many people who are poor and their poverty prevents themfrom attaining nearness to Allah Ta'ala; because poverty, when it iscombined with greed for wealth, leads one astray from the path ofvirtue. Hence, it is the greed for wealth which is really unlawful orforbidden. And, it makes little difference whether the person who hasthis weakness achieves the object of his desire and become rich or hehas not achieved it, like a worldly minded poor man. As a matter of fact, the world is loved by those who, rich or poor,are negligent towards remembrance of Allah Ta'ala: the poor manenamoured of the world is like a forsaken lover, ever pining for itand yet unable to attain it; the rich man is like a lover united withhis beloved, too anxious for its preservation and too engrossed inenjoying it to engage himself in remembrance of Allah Ta'ala.However, as a general rule, the poor ones are less exposed to trialsand temptations than the rich who have fallen a prey to itstemptations. This fact also explains what the Sahabah Radhiallahoanhum used to say, about themselves: 'We were tried with theafflictions of poverty, we exercised patience (and we weresuccessful). Then we were tried with the abundance of wealth, but wecould not keep ourselves from temptation'. It is true that, in prosperity, most people cannot protect themselvesfrom the harmful effects of wealth and such instances are extremelyrare where we find a person capable of guarding himself against theevil influence of the wealth inspite of his possessing it. That iswhy there are numerous Ayaat in the Holy Qur'an and many Ahadith ofRasulullah Sallallaho alaihe wasallam which admonish men against theharmful influence of involvement in worldly pursuits. At any rate, itis beneficial for everybody to avoid indulgence in wealth. That iswhy the divines have said that fondling money (turning over coins,currency, etc, in the hands) sucks out sweetness from one's faith(Imaan). Rasulullah Sallallaho alaihe wasallam has said, 'For every people(Ummah), there has been a 'calf' (idol-god or false deity) that theyworshipped; the 'calf' (idol-god) for my Ummah is money and gold.(i.e. they adore it just as other people worshipped their idols), andthe 'Calf' of the Ummah of Musaa Alaihissalam was also moulded out ofgold and silver ornaments. (Ihyaa). And, it is the privilege of theAmbiyaa Alaihissalam and the great saints alone that gold, silver,water and stones are of equal value in their sight, an attitude whichis strengthened further by austerities and rigorous acts of selfmortification. In this matter, when the world, with its beauty andadornments, presented itself before Rasulullah Sallallaho alaihewasallam, he said to it, 'Keep away from me'. Ali Radhiallaho anho once said, 'O yellow ore (gold)! O white ore(silver)! Beguile someone else! (I will not be deceived by you)'.As a matter of fact, true riches consist only in possessing a heartunattached to the worldly wealth. There is a Hadith of RasulullahSallallaho alaihe wasallam to the effect that: 'Riches do not come from abundance of wealth, but true riches consistin having a heart with a sublime sense of Self-sufficiency'. Sinceevery body cannot attain to this perfect state of mind, so it is saferto keep away from wealth. For, if a person possesses wealth, hisheart will inevitably become attached to it, even though he beaccustomed to give away things as 'Sadaqah' and this attachment isfatal to the soul. As a rule, the more involved a person is in theworld, the farther and the more estranged he is from Allah Ta'ala. Onthe other hand, if somebody is less attached to worldly wealth owingto his poverty, and he is a Muslim, he will be inevitably intimatewith Allah Ta'ala. For, the human heart must of necessity be occupiedand inspired with love of one thing or the other: if a heart'sconnection with all created things is severed, it will naturally seeknearness to Allah Ta'ala. A rich man is often deceived by believing that he is not in love withwealth; it is a big fallacy and mere illusion. The fact is that lovefor the world is latent in his heart, but he is not conscious of it.When something of the world is lost or stolen, he realises how deeplyhe loves worldly goods. If someone wishes to verify it by experiment,let him distribute his property among the people. If he becomesworried after giving it away, he must certainly be in love withproperty; but, if after having given it away, he does not even so asthink of it and forgets about it altogether, then his heart isassuredly free from love of the world. Furthermore, the less enamored of the world a person is, the greaterwill be his reward for the acts of devotion; the reason being that allhymns (glorifying Allah Ta'ala) and devotional practises are not mereexcercises of the tongue or the body, but are meant to exert spiritualinfluence on the heart; if a person's heart is not occupied with thethoughts of the world, he is more capable of receiving deeperimpressions. Dahaak Rahmatullah alaihe says: 'He who goes to the market place, seessomething, and wishes to buy it, but cannot do so for want of money,but still remains patient, his reward will be greater than that of aperson giving away a thousand Dinaars (gold coins)as 'Sadaqah' for thecause of Allah Ta'ala'. When someone asked Bishr Bin HarithRahmatullah alaihe to offer Du'aa (supplication) for him, as hisfamily was large and he was in straitened circumstances, the Sheikhreplied, 'When your wife tells you that there is no food left in thehouse (and you are worried about it), that is the most opportune hourfor making Du'aa (supplication) and your Du'aa at that time will befar more acceptable to Allah Ta'ala than my Du'aa for you at thistime'. Besides on the Day of Resurrection, the least a man will suffer (forhis riches) is that he will have to render an account of his abundantproperty, which will take him a long time. We have quoted above aHadith to the effect that Abdur Rahman Ibne Auf Radhiallaho anho wasallowed to enter Jannah much later than his own companions, owing to(the prolonged accounting of) his abundant wealth. Abu Dardaa Radhiallaho anho once said on this account: 'I would notlike to do business even if my shop were at the gate of the Masjidenabling me to join congregational prayers and to engage myself inmeditation and remembrance of Allah Ta'ala, nor even if the shopbrought me a profit of fifty gold coins everyday and I gave away theentire amount as Sadaqah'. Someone asked, 'What harm could come to aperson doing such business'. He replied, 'Even so, it will take along time to render an account of it on the Last Day'. Sufyaan Rahmatullah alaihe says: 'The saints have chosen three thingsand the rich people have also chosen three things; The saints havechosen: (i) a body relaxed comfortably (ii) a care free heart and(iii) an easy reckoning on the Day of Resurrection. The rich havechosen: (i) bodily toil (ii) a heart occupied with worries and (iii) aprolonged reckoning on the Day of Resurrection'. (Ihya) There is an oft-quoted Hadith of Rasulullah Sallallaho alaihe wasallamto the effect that: 'On the Day of Resurrection) A man will be withthose whom he loves'. It is said that the Sahabah Radhiallaho anhumwere never so happy about anything, after their acceptance of Islam,as they were when they heard this Hadith. They had every reason to behappy because their hearts were inspired with great love for AllahTa'ala and His Rasul Sallallaho alaihe wasallam, which was manifest intheir faces even more brightly than the sun in the skies. Abu Bakr Radhiallaho anho says: 'He who is granted a taste of love forAllah Ta'ala, becomes free from the cares of seeking the world andshuns the society of people'. Abu Sulaiman Daarani Rahmatullah alaihesays: 'There are men, created by Allah Ta'ala, who are sowhole-heartedly attached to Him that even Jannah, with all itsbounties and eternal bliss, cannot distract their minds fromcontemplation of Allah Ta'ala. How can the temporal world engagetheir attention?' It is said that once Eisaa Alaihissalam came upon a group of peoplewho were thin and weak in body, pale of face. He asked, 'What hashappened to you?' They replied, 'Fear of Jahannam has reduced us tothis condition Eisaa alaihissalam said, 'Allah Ta'ala (in his infinitebounty) has made it incumbent upon Himself that He will protect fromJahannam all those who are fearful of it'. Then he went a few stepsfurther and came upon another group of people who were in worsecondition, weaker in body and with more worried faces. He asked,'What ails you?' And they replied that their fondness for Jannah, andlonging for its bounties, had made them so weak. He said, 'AllahTa'ala has taken upon himself the responsibility to bestow upon you(and the like of you) what you expect from Him'. He then went stillfurther and came upon another group of people who seemed to be weakerstill. They were weighed down and bent double with grief but theirfaces were radiant like a mirror, with Divine radiance (Noor). Eisaalaihissalam put them the same question and they answered, 'It is ourlove for Allah Ta'ala (and craving for reunion with Him) that hasreduced us to this state', Whereupon Eisaa alaihissalam said repeatingthe words thrice, 'You are the intimate ones! You are the favouritesof Allah!' Yahyaa Ibne Mu'aaz Rahmatullah alaihe says: 'In my estimation, thelove for Allah Ta'ala - even to the extent of a grain of mustard seedis far superior to seventy years of worship without love'.

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