Asceticism is the Way to be Loved - II

The Righteous Follow the Way of the Prophets
The righteous follow the way of the Prophetas he was the model
example. 'Alisaid, "All goodness is for those who are ascetic in this
worldly life and those who incline to the Hereafter. They are those
who took the land as their rug, its dust as their mattress, its water
as their perfume, the Quran as their slogan, and supplication as their
garment. They completely renounced the worldly life."
Abu Ad-Dardaa'wrote a letter to some of his friends, saying, "I advise
you to fear Allaah, to be ascetic in this worldly life, and to desire
what is with Allaah. If you do so, Allaah will love you for your
desire for what is with Him, and people will love you for leaving
their worldly lives for them. As-Salaamu Alaykum."
'Urwah ibn Az-Zubayrreported that the Mother of the Believers,
'Aa'ishahonce received eighty thousand Dirhams from Mu'aawiyahand by
that evening she did not have even a single Dirham left. Her maid said
to her, "Should you not have bought a Dirham's worth of meat for us?"
She replied, "If you had reminded me, I would have done."
Ibn Mas'oodsaid, "The worldly life is the home of those who have no
home and the wealth of those who have no wealth. The one who has no
knowledge accumulates in it."
When 'Umarreached Ash-Shaam )greater Syria(, his soldiers met him
while he was wearing a lower garment, a pair of leather socks and a
turban. He was pulling along his riding animal and walking in puddles.
The soldiers said to him, "O commander of the believers, Will the
soldiers and patriarchs of Ash-Shaam meet you while you are in this
state?" He replied, "We are people whom Allaah has honored by Islam,
so we will not seek honor in anything else."
A man visited Abu Tharrand looked around at his house and said, "O Abu
Tharr, I do not see any belongings or furniture in your house!" He
replied, "We have another house ]i.e., his house in Paradise[ to which
we send our good belongings." He added, "The owner of the house ]i.e.,
Allaah[ will not leave us in this house."
'Amr ibn Al-'Aassaid in a sermon that he delivered in Egypt, "What a
huge difference there is between your way and the guidance of your
Prophet! He was the most ascetic of people in this worldly life while
you are the most inclining of people towards it."
'Alisaid, "I married Faatimah while we had no bedding but the skin of
a ram that we would sleep on at night and place the fodder for the
camel on it during the day. I had no one to serve me but her, and she
would get so exhausted that her forelock would fall on the edge of the
bowl when she kneaded."
When Mu'aath ibn Jabalwas about to die, he said, "O Allaah, You know
that I did not love this worldly life and longevity in it for the sake
of digging rivers or planting trees ]i.e., the sustenance in this
worldly life[. Rather, ]I wanted it[ for the sake of fasting during
the day, performing voluntary prayers at night, and attending the
assemblies of remembering Allaah, despite them being crowded."
Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbalmentioned that the best person from the
generation that succeeded that of the Companions of the Prophetin
terms of knowledge was Sa'eed ibn Al-Musayyibbut the finest in general
was 'Uways Al-Qarni. 'Uwayswould say, "Take death as a pillow when you
go to sleep and put it before your eyes when you are awake."
Maalik ibn Dinaarsaid, "A person intends to marry the most beautiful
woman in the district, so she says to him. 'I want garments made of
wool', then she takes away his religion."
Many of the righteous predecessors would refuse to take lawful money
that was offered to them and would say, "We will not take it lest it
ruins our religion."
Hammaad ibn Salamahwould open his shop, and if he earned just two
Dirhams, he would close it.
Sa'eed ibn Al-Musayyibwould trade in oil, and after his death he left
four hundred Dinaars, saying, "I left them to protect my honor and
religion."
Sufyaan Ath-Thawrisaid, "Asceticism in this worldly life is to not
have the hope of a long life, rather it is to eat rough food or wear
rough clothes."
Ash-Shaafi'ialso dispraised this worldly life and being attached to it.
Abu Sulaymaan Ad-Daaraaniwould say, "All that distracts you from
Allaah The Almighty, whether family, wealth or children, is a
misfortune."
People Far Better than Us were Deprived of the Pleasures of this Worldly Life
It is enough to know that being ascetic is a part of taking the
Prophetand his companions as examples. This act is perfect reliance
upon Allaah The Almighty and instills contentment in the heart, which
in turn leads to the comfort of this worldly life and the happiness of
the Hereafter. The ascetic person is loved by Allaah The Almighty and
by other people. Therefore, if you have possessions, praise Allaah The
Almighty and do not let your heart be attached to the worldly life.
Likewise, if you are poor, be patient, for people who were better than
you were deprived of the pleasures of this worldly life. Our
Prophetwould sleep on a mat such that its marks appeared on his body,
and he died while there was no provision on the shelf of
'Aa'ishahexcept a handful of barley that she would eat from. If one
were to enter the rooms of his wives, his head would touch the
ceiling. 'Umar ibn Al-Khattaabthe caliph of the Muslims, once
delivered a sermon wearing a garment that had twelve patches.
These people were not deprived of the pleasures of this worldly life
because of their abasement in the sight of Allaah The Almighty, rather
because of the abasement of the worldly life in His sight, which does
not even equal the weight of a wing of a mosquito; and the two
voluntary units of prayer before Fajr prayer are better than this
worldly life and what it contains. In order for one not to despair
over what has eluded him, he should not exult in pride over what
Allaah The Almighty has given him. The believer does not become
disappointed over being disgraced in it nor compete with others over
its glory, as he has his own concern and they have other concerns.
Be the slave of Allaah The Almighty at times of hardship and ease, and
at times of activity and suffering. Whether the worldly life
approaches you or turns away from you, its approaching is refraining
and its turning away is approaching. The basic rule is that it
approaches you with what you dislike, and when it approaches you with
what you like, this is an exception.