Fascination with this world

The life of this world is fleeting and is often focused on materialism
– it is so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of it all – but how
does that affect ourfaith?
We all love this life to some extent or another – our homes, our cars,
and most of all our family – but what we do not know is just how much
of a corruption it can be to our souls when we place so much
importance on material things in this life and loving the life of this
world. Read on, what you will find may change your entire outlook on
how you live your life and what is really important…
Imam Ibn Al-Qayyimsaid:
Loving this life is the father of sins which corrupts the Muslim's
faith in different ways:
1.Loving this life entails glorifying it, whereas Allaah Almighty has
despised it. One of the greatest sins is glorifying what Allaah
Almighty has despised.
2.Allaah Almighty has cursed it, detested it, and poured scorn on it,
with the exception of the goodthings in it such as remembering Allaah,
seeking knowledge, and spreading it. Whoever loves whatAllaah Almighty
has cursed and hated will expose himself/ herselfto Allaah's wrath and
detestation.
3.When someone loves this life, it becomes his/her ultimate goal.
Accordingly, the good deeds he/she performs will eventually be for the
sake of this life; and not the Hereafter. That type of love reverses
the natural process,invalidates the conventional wisdom, and moves the
lover in the wrong direction. In an authentic hadeeth, the
Prophetmentioned that the Mujahid)fighter(, the alms giver, and the
scholar of Islam whose ultimate goal is this life, seeking an elevated
social status and lookingfor people's praise, will be the first to be
burned into the Hellfire. Those people prefer this life to the
hereafter.
4.Loving this life prevents the servant from doing what will be of
great benefit to him/her in theHereafter because of obsession with
mundane matters such as money, social status, wife, or children. That
type of worldly love might keep a person away from maintaining Imaan
)Faith(, or doing the necessary things in life. The minimal adverse
effect ofloving this life is making the servant's heart oblivious to
lovingAllaah Almighty.
5.Loving this life makes the servant obsessed with it. Anasnarrated
that the Messenger of Allaahsaid:"He whose ultimate goal is the
Hereafter willbe endowed with richness in their hearts by Allaah, will
be granted a close-knit, protected familial environment, and will gain
as much as they want from this life despite its unwillingness.On the
contrary, Allaah will make those who are obsessed with thislife see
poverty in front of their eyes and break up their family ties, and
they will not gain from it except what they have been destined
for."]At-Tirmithi[
6.When someone loves something, he/she is tortured by that type of
love. Additionally, those who love this life are tortured as they try
to gain as much as they can from it, as they hanker after its
pleasures, and as they fight other people for its sake. Then, they
will be tortured in their graves missing it and suffering the agony of
not being able to go back to it. There will be no such better thing
that will compensate for the life they haveseemingly enjoyed. They
will be tortured by this life since they have been its servants and
captives which is depicted by the Prophet"Losers are the servants of
the Dinaar; losers are the servants of the Dirham,"referring to money.
Some scholars of Islam from the past generations said, "They )lovers
of this life( suffer the agony of collecting money and their love
towards money continues till the moment of breathing their last. They
are not even paying the amount of money that Allaah hasprescribed."
7.Whoever loves this life and prefers it to the hereafter is
considered one of the most ignorant and unwise people. He/she has
preferred the unreal to the real, slumber to wakefulness, and a
perishable house to an ever-lasting one. Yunus Ibn Abdul
Aa'lasaid,"This life can be compared to a man who sleeps and dreams of
what he likes and hates. Then, hewakes up."'Ali, may Allah be pleased
with him, described this life saying,"In this life, the healthy grow
old, the sick become penitent, the poor feel sad, and the nouveaux
riche are happy. The appraisal is in itspermissible practices, and the
punishment is in its forbidden practices."