The righteous follow the way of the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam, as he was the model example. 'Ali, may Allaah be pleased with
him, said, "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', may Allaah be pleased with him, 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-Zubayr, may Allaah have mercy upon him, reported that
the Mother of the Believers, 'Aa'ishah, may Allaah be pleased with
her, once received eighty thousand Dirhams from Mu'aawiyah, may Allaah
be pleased with him, and 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'ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, said, "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 'Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, reached 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 Tharr, may Allaah be pleased with him, and 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-'Aas, may Allaah be pleased with him, said in a sermon
that he delivered in Egypt, "What a huge difference there is between
your way and the guidance of your Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam! He was the most ascetic of people in this worldly life while
you are the most inclining of people towards it."
'Ali, may Allaah be pleased with him, said, "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 Jabal, may Allaah be pleased with him, was 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 Hanbal, may Allaah have mercy upon him, mentioned that
the best person from the generation that succeeded that of the
Companions of the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, in terms of
knowledge was Sa'eed ibn Al-Musayyib, may Allaah have mercy upon him,
but the finest in general was 'Uways Al-Qarni, may Allaah have mercy
upon him. 'Uways, may Allaah have mercy upon him, would say, "Take
death as a pillow when you go to sleep and put it before your eyes
when you are awake."
Maalik ibn Dinaar, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said, "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 Salamah, may Allaah have mercy upon him, would open his
shop, and if he earned just two Dirhams, he would close it.
Sa'eed ibn Al-Musayyib, may Allaah have mercy upon him, would trade in
oil, and after his death he left four hundred Dinaars, saying, "I left
them to protect my honor and religion."
Sufyaan Ath-Thawri, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said, "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'i, may Allaah have mercy upon him, also dispraised this
worldly life and being attached to it.
Abu Sulaymaan Ad-Daaraani, may Allaah have mercy upon him, would 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
Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and 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 Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam, would 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'ishah,
may Allaah be pleased with her, except 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-Khattaab, may Allaah be pleased
with him, the 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.
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