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LOVE
OF DUNYA (THIS
LIFE) AND ZUHD (ASCETICISM)
Dear Brothers, Sisters, and the audience of Akra! May Almighty Allah bless
all of you with the goodness of this life and of the hereafter.
May He
honor you with His Beauty in His Paradise. As Muslims, we have some
knowledge on how the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings of
Allah be on
him, his family, his companions and his sincere followers in plenty)
lived this
life. You must have read some books and ahadith on this issue and
pondered about it. The Prophet of Allah did
not live a glamorous, ostentatious, or showy life; instead, he lived a
simple
life. He did not change his lifestyle even when he had all kinds
of means
to allow him to lead an affluent lifestyle. It would be quite natural
for a poor person to lead a simple life; he would not have many
choices. Yet it would be an important phenomenon for a rich
person to
lead a simple life. Our beloved Prophet lived a
simple life. He slept on a straw mat. He returned a
comfortable bed
presented to him after he slept one night on it: "This bed is too
comfortable for me; I slept too long and missed getting up for
the night
worship. You must take this back!" The Prophet had simple
meals. He would not have fire in the fireplace for months.
He lived
among people; he did not isolate himself from people. His house
was
attached to the masjid. It was a simple structure.
Unfortunately,
the house of the Prophet was not preserved. When it was destroyed
to make
the masjid larger, some people opposed to the destruction and wept
bitterly. They said: "We wish that the rooms of the Prophet had
not
been destroyed and that Muslims would observe forever how simple and
small they
were." People who are living hundreds of years after the Prophet
should have observed the simplicity of his house. How large the rooms were?
The width was about 70 cm; the length, 210 cm. The rooms were
barely
large enough to place a single-person bed. The food of the Prophet was
simple, so were his bed and his actions. The Prophet lived a
simple
life and recommended a simple life for his Ummah. The companions of the
Prophet, too, lived a simple life. Some of them became the caliph
after
the Prophet. They were the presidents of the Islamic state.
They
had the treasury in their control, yet they would not take
anything
more than their salary. They were careful about spending their salary. Although they had
the means to lve a comfortable life,
they maintained their simple lifestyle. They never wanted a
luxurious lifestyle. Mother of the believers,
Hadrat Hafsa was the wife of the Prophet SAS and the daughter of Hadrat
Omar
RA. When her father was the caliph, the president of the Muslim
state,
she saw him eating simple meals. She said, "Dad, now we have
better
means, and people who work for the state receive salaries..." Of course the Islamic State
had been expanding. There was more trading, and more goods were
available
for trading. The income of people had risen considerably.
Earlier,
there was the scarcity of the goods, lack of money. Even if a
person had
the money, the goods were not available. During the time of
Hadrat Omar
RA, the means and the goods got improved. "You could live in
better conditions. You could eat better food to comfort your
stomach!" said Hadrat Hafsa. Her father, Hadrat Omar RA
vehemently
rejected the suggestion: "You are the wife of
the Prophet SAS, and you are aware how he lived. Knowing how the
Prophet
lived, how could you
make a suggestion like that? I would not do something that the
Prophet
did not do!" The other companions of the
Prophet SAS were like that, too. Hadrat Ali RA lived a simple
life.
When we read about the lives of the companions, we see this fact
clearly. For instance, Abdullah ibn-i Mes'ud was appointed as a governor, yet he did not change his life style. Neither did Salmânul Fârisî who was, too, appointed as a governor. They did not reside in the mansion for the governor, nor did they wear fancy clothes. The Prophet and his
companions did not give much importance to this world and all it offers
to its
inhabitants. They did not pay too much importance to this
life. They did not consider
the comfort of
this life to be the purpose of life. They preferred what was good for
the
hereafter. Their concern was the consent of Allah and work toward
earning
that consent. They would sleep for a while and get up at night
and offer
prayers in tears. They would run to the service of people during
the
day. They would do good works and win people's hearts, yet they
would not
consider getting other people's property or wealth. Even if they
had the
means or the authority to manage, they would not abuse what is
entrusted to
them. They would maintain a simple life. This is called zuhd
(asceticism.) Being zahid (ascetic)
in this life, i.e., not paying much importance to this world,
considering the
hereafter more important, and working for the hereafter is an important
and
desirable phenomenon because the life in the hereafter is very
important for a
believer. The life in the hereafter is more important for
anybody: the
believers will be rewarded while the disbeliever, guilty, and the
disobedient
will be punished severely in the hereafter. We ought to carry out what
Almighty Allah has ordered us in this life so that we can earn the
rewards for
the hereafter. The life in the hereafter is the result of the
life in
this world. The life in the world is the tillage for the
hereafter.
Almighty Allah will treat people in the hereafter according to their
deeds in
this life. He will reward or punish them.
(Femâ yukezzibuka ba'du
bid dîn. Eleysallàhu bi ahkemil hàkimîn.) (Qur'an 95:7-8) "Is it possible to deny
the rewards and punishment in the hereafter? How can one deny the
fact
that everybody will be rewarded or punished in the hereafter for his
deeds in
this life? It will happen for sure. Isn't Allah the Justest
of
judges? Doesn't He judge with wisdom? Verily, one who is wronged in
this life
will seek his right in the hereafter. Also, the oppressor will be
punished." Life in the hereafter is
very important. It is not possible for a believer to deny
it. That
is why zuhd is an important feeling. One of the names of our late master was
Zahid--Muhammed Zahid Kotku. We name our children Zahid for its
meaning. Life in this world is not
that important; it should be spent to earn a good life in the
hereafter.
This life should not be spent in comfort. What results from this
feeling? Where did this feeling take the
Prophet SAS and his companions--may Allah be pleased with them--to? One of the most significant
aspects of their lives is that they never wanted to get something that
belonged
to somebody else. They treated everybody equitably and shun
improper
earnings. They pushed away unlawful wealth or property, and
rejected
illicit proposals. They chastised those who came up with improper
suggestions. Their distinguishing
characteristics included not eating what is unlawful and keeping their
hands
off from all that did not belong to them. What is the second sign of zuhd?
The second sign is working for the hereafter with all his might!
Which
one is more pleasing to Allah? We would not know it. The zahid
is
also an abid (a devout servant of Allah); that is why the
words zahid
and abid are used together. Since this life is
temporary and the life in the hereafter is more important, the zahid
pays attention to his
worship and servitude to Allah continuously. He gets up in the
latter
part of the night for prayers and carries out his worship eagerly. The zahid is also in
love with Allah because the worship that is carried out sincerely
illuminates
the hearts and produces the love for Allah. Then he becomes a
true lover
of Allah who expresses his love for Allah day and night just like Yunus
Emre. This would be the outcome of his sincerity and zeal. When it comes to loving
this life, surely man is attracted to this life. What happens
when a
person loves the things that unbelievers seek, run after and
plunder? He
would have a strong ambition to get them, too. The ambition
blinds him,
and the person starts acquiring what is unlawful, too. He starts
stealing,
embezzling, and forging. He gets involved in bribery despite what
the
Prophet said:
(Errâshî wa murteshî fin nâr.) The words râshî
and murteshî come from rushwah (bribery).
Arabs often pronounce it as rishwah. It is the money paid
to a
person who is responsible so that he allows certain improper or illegal
deals. Râshî is the one who gives bribery, and murteshî
is
the one who receives it. The person who is in charge
is supposed to protect the interest of people and the society--be it an
office
in the city hall or an office in the tax department. He is a
representative of all individuals in the nation. He must protect
the
right of each individual that he is representing. The briber
declares
with his actions: "Do not protect the rights of the individuals.
Neglect the duty entrusted to you. I will give you some money, so
you
overlook my unfair deal. I shall carry on what I do unfairly." The briber shakes the
system and changes the balance to his benefit. He gets something
that he
does not deserve. The one who receives the bribe suppresses his
conscience and allows an unfair deal just because he receives some
money.
This opens doors to disregarding the law and violation of all
rights. The
weak and the rightful lose in the process. They will not be
protected. The oppressors get peoples money and property and they
steal
from the treasury. The benefits of people are violated. The bribery is a crack on
the wall or a hole at the bottom of the pool of a fair system. The loss
will be
colossal. All that happens for the love of money. Verily Almighty Allah does
not like bribery. The Prophet said in the hadith, "(Errâshî)
One who gives the bribe and (wal murteshî) one who receives it
are (fin
nâr) in hellfire." Knowing this fact, would a
believer commit bribery? Of course not because a believer tries
to earn
the consent of Allah, enter paradise, and avoid the hellfire in the
hereafter. Entering the hellfire and
getting burned are not something people imagine well. They think
that
entering hellfire is something like passing a train station or going to
someplace and returning. In fact, even a small stick of a match
could
cause significant pain when it was not thrown away in time and allowed
to burn
the finger. It will form a blister on the finger and cause
problems in
many days. Imagine the person who is suffering from the burn by a matchstick. Also, imagine a child who is suffering from severe burns on his body. Do you think it is easy to endure the burning? We ought to imagine the intense fire in hell. If a person is a
disbeliever, he does not care about the hereafter or the
hellfire. When
the love of this world and ambitions cover the eyes of the believer,
his
religious feelings diminish. Consequently, he does not care much
about
the hereafter or the hellfire. Yet he will suffer the
consequences in the
hereafter, for Almighty Allah is the most powerful and jealous (i.e. He
can retribute severely.) The love for this life is
the cause of all misconduct. All thefts, oppressions, injustices
originate from
that love. It threatens the order in the society, opens doors for
further
injustices, and prevents the courts to carry out their duty. One
who is
wronged is left in tears while the oppressor is rewarded and applauded. This is a terrible situation
for the society. The foundation of the society is justice and
prevention
of the oppression. If the oppression is allowed, the society
suffers. That is why a person ought to be contented. Zuhd also means being
contented and abandoning the greed. Zuhd protects a person from
unlawful
deeds, thefts, oppressions, and injustices. It also turns the
person to
Allah in worship. It has the person worship Allah in tears and
helps him
become a hardworking and devout servant of Allah. Do not think that zuhd, not
giving importance to this world, is a form of laziness. On this
there is
a hadith related by Abdullah ibn-i Omar RA:
(Ezzuhdu fid dunyâ
yurîhul qalba wal beden, war-raghbatu fîhâ tukthirul hemme wal hazen,
wal
bitàletu tuqassil qalb) There
are three sentences here. Our beloved Prophet informs us on
some facts: "(Ezzuhdu fid dunyâ) Not giving importance to
this world, not worrying about the world, being a zahid servant of
Allah, (yurîhul
qalba wal beden) comforts the heart and the body." It comforts the heart and
mind because there would be no greed or worldly ambitions; nor would be
a
desire to do injustice to other people. There would be no hatred,
either.
When a person has thoughts of doing something wrong, his heart is
disturbed and
his conscience opposes him: "How could you do that?" When there is
zuhd, his heart and body are at ease. (War-raghbatu fîhâ) "Inclination towards this
world, preferring this world (tukthirul hemme wal hazen)
intensifies the
worries and grief." You must have heard of the following hadith:  (Hubbud dunyâ ra'su
kulli khatî-eh)
"Love for this world is the origin of all wrongdoings." When a
person loves this world, he would commit offenses because of his
ambitions and
greed for this world. In another hadith the Prophet SAS said:
(Sittetu eshyâ-a
tuhbetul a'mâl)
"There are six things that destroy the good deeds." The six
things eliminates the rewards for good deeds and renders them
invalid. One
of them is love for this
world. Once a person is in love with this world, his good deeds
are not
accepted. Let us look at these six things: 1. (El'ishtighàlu
bi'uyûbil halq) "Occupying oneself with the shortcomings of
people." Investigating and revealing the shortcomings of people,
gossiping
about them, and busying oneself with such activities nullifies the good
deeds. Some people are over
curious; they look around and gossip. They try to see if somebody
is
going to do something wrong; when they found one, they spread the
information. That is wrong! Instead of investigation other
people's
faults, one should look at himself and correct his mistakes. One who investigates other
people's shortcomings commits a sin while one who looks at himself and
eradicate
his shortcomings becomes a better person and progresses to the
perfection. Nosing into other people's faults and wrongs
nullifies the
good deeds. 2. (Wa qaswatul qalb)
"Insensitivity of the heart." The hardness of the heart, too,
eliminates the rewards of good deeds. A believer has to be
sensitive,
soft hearted and lyrical. 3. (Wa hubbud dunyâ)
"Love for this world" nullifies the good deeds and takes a person to
spiritual bankruptcy. 4. (Wa qilletul hayâ')
"Shamelessness." Nowadays, feeling ashamed has become a
shame. Some people are considering it a shame. Everybody seems to
carryout shameful things in public. They talk about these things
on
television. They interview shameless people on television. The man is committing a
grave offense that was prohibited by Islam. I am ashamed of
telling you
what it is. The television interviews him to reveal how shameless
they
are, how they live, and what their world is. Aren't you ashamed
of
carrying them to the screen? What is the benefit of informing
people
about this rubbish? When you impose people that it is all right,
those
who lack knowledge follow them. They start committing the same
offense! You ought to show people the good people and explain
what they
do. That would set a good example for the youth to follow.
IF you
show them the heroin addicts, drunks, alcoholics, perverts, the lazy,
anarchists, and those who satisfy their sexual desires in wrong ways,
if you
show them as though you are advertising them or if you imply that there
is nothing
wrong with them, you will be doing a disservice to the society. Islam makes a distinction
between the right and the wrong, the good and the bad. The good
is
encouraged, while the bad is prohibited. Islam prohibits
intoxicants,
adultery, and homosexuality. The televisions seem to advertise
all the
bad things. That is not acceptable. The shamelessness
nullifies the
good deeds. 5. (Wa tùlil emel)
"Longitude of worldly ambitions." That is having ambitions as though
one will never die. Imagine a person who never thinks of death,
plans for
an endless life, spends his life in unawareness. He does not
repent for
his offenses, nor does he correct himself. When he is warned, he
says,
"All right," yet he continues as before. "Quit gambling!" "Okay! I
will." "Stop being
lazy!" "Okay ! I will." "Go do something
useful! Do some work!" "Okay! I
will." Yet he does not do any of
them. He postpones all the good works for later. Why does
he do
that? He thinks he will live very long. He things some day he can
do all
of those without any problem. That is why he keeps postponing the
good
work. This sort of feeling destroys a person and nullifies his
deeds. This feeling of tùl-i emel is described
in many books
on Islam and Tasawwuf. The person should not think like that at
all! Instead, he should say: "I could be dead soon. I ought
to
repent, abandon the bad deeds, turn to Allah, and become a good
person." Not saying that and
insisting on the unawareness, comfort and laziness are bad. That
nullifies
the good deeds. 6. (Wa zàlimun la
yentehî) "An oppressor who does not quit his oppression."
The good deeds of such a person are invalidated, too. If a person does not pay
too much importance to this world and prefers the hereafter and puts
his mind and
power in earning the hereafter, his mind and body will be in
peace. His
tendency towards the worldly things increases his worries and
grief. When
acid is placed in aluminum containers, it starts etching the
metal. Just
like that, the bad feelings, ambitions and greed in a person destroy
him in
worry and grief. The third sentence of the
hadith related by Abdullah ibn-i Omar RA is important, too: (Wal
bitàletu
tuqassil qalb) "Laziness makes the heart insensitive." What
shall a person do? He should spend his time in worship and in
earning a
wholesome living for his family. He should not be lazy at all! Dear Brothers and Sisters! A hardworking person
deserves a break. It is his right to dry his sweat and rest for a
while
because he works hard with a sledgehammer, a pick or a shovel, or he
operates a
machine whole day. A person who works hard has the right
to rest for a while. Resting for a while is
necessary to improve the efficiency of the worker. The scholars
and
scientists who studied the work life figured out that resting for a
short while
improves the efficiency.
That is why workers in factories are given short breaks for rest. They
are
offered tea, milk, or refreshments so that they work better for the
rest of the
day. In other words, taking
breaks from the work is something good, for it makes the work more
fruitful. Islam encourages that. We must work for a certain
period
and take a break at certain periods. When a person does his
worship, he
would be taking a break for certain periods. The noon prayer, the
afternoon
prayer, the evening prayer and the night prayers take a person from the
business of this world to the presence of Allah. They create an
opportunity for rest. It is a rest that a person offers a spiritual
visit to
Allah. What an honorable visit! What a nice rest break! Taking a rest break from
the work is something different from the laziness. The laziness
is
avoiding the work alltogether and
preferring doing nothing. Butàle, i.e., laziness darkens the
hearts. It is not acceptable in Islam. We must
point here
that zuhd is not something to
be taken as laziness.
Zuhd is not laziness; it means working for the hereafter.
It means
not to go to wrong ways while working for this world. That is the
implication. If one studies Islam as a
whole, he realizes how good a system it is. As a matter of fact,
it is
the duty of the scholars to study the subject as a whole from all
aspects. When we taught methodology at the university, that is
what we
emphasized. The
first step in a scientific study is gathering all the information on
the
subject. Then the opinions on the subject, both pro and con, have
to be
gathered and studied. A partial investigation does not lead to
good
conclusions. If some material on the subject is left out or
inaccessible, then
the study will not be complete. The researcher has to try all
means to
obtain the source material. For instance when we were
at the university in Turkey, we should request a manuscript from a
library in
the United States or from the British Museum in London. We would
study a
related book in Iskala Library in Sweden. We had to gather all
the
sources for a complete study. Just like that, people who
are going to issue a verdict on Islam must study it in all
aspects. It
would lead to wrong conclusions to look at one topic with a narrow
view.
One has to have a comprehensive study of the subject. Zuhd is a good
feeling: not to value this life too much, to be generous by
heart, not to
be attracted by the worldly gains, to remember the hereafter, and to
fulfill
the servitude to Allah. It does not mean avoiding the work or
laziness. Our beloved Prophet SAS stated that laziness darkens
the
hearts. There are verses of the
Qur'an and the ahadith that praise and encourage working. There
are
ahadith that praise being a trustworthy merchant and an artisan.
For
instance, the Prophet SAS recommends women not stay idle at home: "A yarn spinner in the
house is a wonderful tool for a girl." The sheep are to be
sheered,
the wool is to be washed, the girl will turn the wool into yarn with a
spinner
while sitting in the house. The yarn is the first
product; producing the yarn is the first job. After the yarn is
produced,
it will be turned into rugs, fabric, a pair of socks, a sweater, a hat
or a
pair of mittens. There will be work! The Prophet encouraged
everybody to work: "A yarn spinner in the house is a wonderful tool for
a
girl." Men have to work,
too. So are the children! Everybody should contribute with
his own
sweat! Everybody in the society must work and provide a benefit
for the
society. With all of this work, the society will advance. The nations that work
advance; those who do not work are subject to the ruling by their
enemies. They suffer a lot for not working hard enough. It
costs
them their land and their property. Sometimes, it costs them
their
lives! That is why we have to practice what Islam orders
us. We
have to be awake and aware against dangers and avoid them. May
Almighty
Allah place us among those who fulfill the orders of Islam. We are contented servants
of Allah; our hearts are rich and generous. We do not idolize
what is of
this world, nor do we deviate from the straight path in pursuit of worldly gains. We lead an
honorable life. We take home what is wholesome and pure; we pay
for it
with our own sweat. We earn a living with
physical work or with mental work. A professor perhaps does not
produce
physical sweat as much as a farm worker, yet he stays awake at night to
prepare
for his lectures and to do his research. He has to work and try
hard to
train students and carry out scientific research. It is some sort
of
sweat, too. We ought to lead an
honorable life by earning our livelihood as described above. We
have to
produce some work! We have to produce something that is
beneficial to
others, deserve their prayers, and win their hearts. That is
Islam! Let me tell you what Yunus
Emre said: "We did not come to this world to brag about
ourselves.
We came to this life for love, to deserve other people's love. We
are
here to enjoy the creation. Because the friendship lives in the
hearts
and Almighty Allah places the faith in hearts, we pay attention to the
hearts
and to restoring the hearts. We try to win people's hearts and
seek the good
prayers and blessings of people." To achieve this goal, we
work hard and avoid the laziness. A good Muslim is a hardworking
Muslim. May Almighty Allah grant
you the opportunities to work hard, serve people and receive their
prayers and
blessings. May He
grant His consent to all of us. May He grant us a fruitful,
rewarding,
beneficial, and positive life. May He grant us this kind of
understanding
of life and love for the life in the hereafter. May he receive us
on the
Day of Judgment as servants whom He is pleased with. May He save us from having
other people's rights on us. If we do, may He grant us the means
to pay
them back! May He grant us the means to appreciate the
opportunities to
serve people and to produce works that would continue earning rewards
for us. May the peace, blessings
and abundance of Allah be with you all. Friday, June 7, 1996 -- AKRA
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