The Deception of the World

THE DECEPTION OF THE WORLD

Allah Almighty made this world a dwelling place for humans and its blessings a decoration for this world. Allah Almighty said that those who do not think about where they came from, where they are going, and why they are here, those who get caught up in the temporary distractions of this world and consider them the goal of their lives, will undoubtedly experience the ultimate loss in the Hereafter. In an age where worldly distractions are at their highest, we should reevaluate our connection to this world so that the blessings we enjoy in this world will not be an eternal liability.

The word “dunya” (world) refers to one’s earthly life before death, the things that one interacts with in this life, one’s connection to, attachment to, and treatment of these things. The root meaning refers to “being near or nearest.” The term “al-hayatu’d-dunya” (the nearest life) is mentioned in the Qur’an in 61 places as a counterpart to the Hereafter.

Thus, “akhirah” means the afterlife that will come after this earthly, near-life. The root of “dunya” can also be derived from “dana’ah,” meaning “lowly or wicked” (Diyanet Encyclopedia of Islam, X, 22).

Imam Ghazali (quddisa sirruhu) writes that the spiritual essence of the human, the heart, has two states, one before death and one after death. The state before death refers to “dunya” (world), and the one after refers to the Hereafter. That is why Imam Ghazali (rahmatullahi alayh) considers one’s worldly intentions, desires, and pleasures to only belong to this earthly life (Ihyau Ulumi’d-Din, III, 280)

Imam Rabbani describes the world as follows: “Do you know what the world is? Women, children, wealth, fame, power, entertainment, and everything that distances you from Allah, is the world.” (Maktubat, I, 73rd Letter)

Balance between the world and the Hereafter

This world and the Hereafter have been compared in ayahs of the Qur’an and hadiths. The verdict of this comparison establishes that the Hereafter is superior to this world and that this world is of no worth.. 

However, one should note that the condemnation of this world concerns a lifestyle which completely trivializes and neglects the Hereafter. The worldly boons can be a blessing and a means to an end for a believer to attain eternal bliss as long as they do not harm one’s devotion to akhirah, or impede one’s progress in fulfilling their duties and achieving the outcome such devotion requires. Allah (subhanahu wa taala), Who created everything in this world for the benefit of humans, wants us to seek the happiness of this world as well as that of the Hereafter as can be seen from the following ayahs:

“It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth.” (Al-Baqarah, 29)

“Oh our Lord! Give us bliss in this world and in the Hereafter and protect us from the torment of hell fire.” (Al-Baqarah, 201)

When this world and the Hereafter are compared, this world is condemned and deemed worthless because humans can easily be deceived by the specious beauty of this world’s boons. The following verses indicate this property of the world’s boons:

“The enjoyment of worldly desires—women, children, treasures of gold and silver, fine horses, cattle, and fertile land—has been made appealing to people. These are the pleasures of this worldly life, but with Allah is the finest destination.” (Ali Imran, 14)

“Wealth and children are the adornment of this worldly life, but the everlasting good deeds are far better with your Lord in reward and in hope.” (Al-Kahf, 46)

“Know that this worldly life is no more than play, amusement, luxury, mutual boasting, and competition in wealth and children. This is like rain that causes plants to grow, to the delight of the planters. But later the plants dry up and you see them wither, then they are reduced to chaff. And in the Hereafter there will be either severe punishment or forgiveness and pleasure of Allah, whereas the life of this world is no more than the delusion of enjoyment.” (Al-Hadid, 20)

As can be seen, the Holy Qur’an describes this world as “deceiving”, “distracting”, “diverting”, “leading to heedlessness”, and “a temporary adornment.” This is the aspect of this world that is condemned.

In order to maintain a balance between this world and the Hereafter, some verses emphasize that the Hereafter is more valuable than this world, and one should prefer the Hereafter.

“But you prefer the worldly life, even though the Hereafter is far better and more lasting.” (Al-A’la, 16-17)

“So as for he who transgressed and preferred the life of the world, the Hellfire will certainly be their home.” (An-Naziat, 37-39)

Humans are born with a love of this world and the joy of living. That is why one would prefer to live even if they knew that they would face no hardship after death. We must keep our inclination towards this world in check or else it can lead us to our destruction.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) warned some of His wives who were tempted to break this balance by the Revelation of Allah and made them choose between the temporary enjoyment of this world, and the path of Allah, His Messenger and the Hereafter. This way, He established a fine criterion not only for His own family but also for all believers until the qiyamah.

“O Prophet! Say to your wives, “If you desire the life of this world and its luxury, then come, I will give you a suitable compensation for divorce and let you go graciously. But if you desire Allah and His Messenger and the everlasting Home of the Hereafter, then Surely Allah has prepared a great reward for those of you who do good.” (Al-Ahzab, 28-29)

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) indicated that the wealth of this world is sweet and enticing (Bukhari, Jihad, 37), but warned those who might be lured by it by saying that this world has less worth in the esteem of Allah than the wing of a mosquito. (Tirmidhi, Zuhd, 13)

“The blessings of this world compared to the blessings of the Hereafter are like one of you dipping his finger into the sea. Look at how much water the finger can capture.” (Tirmidhi, Zuhd, 15)

The state of mankind in the world

Eternal bliss is won in this earthly life. This makes this world a place of opportunity. One need not completely abandon the world to win the Hereafter. One can attain eternal bliss while living in comfort in this world. Those who lose their Hereafter will also be unhappy in this world. The condemnation of this world in the Qur’an and hadiths applies when the blessings of this world are used for the desires of the self instead of the pleasure of Allah.

For this reason, Islam tells us to be the master of the material world instead of its servant. It is strongly recommended that we maintain a balance in our relationship with the boons of this world. 

Therefore, a believer should be in control of this world with consideration of the Hereafter, instead of being a slave to the world. They should use the boons of this world in accordance with the pleasure of Allah to attain peace in the Hereafter. These possessions and means are not part of the world that is condemned. What is condemned is one’s attachment to this material world. The material world refers to the prioritization of material interests, whereas the Hereafter refers to the prioritization of spirituality. 

In summary, the world that is condemned is the unhealthy relationship between material things and one’s heart (Diyanet Encyclopedia of Islam, X, 22). Abu Safwan ar-Ru’ayni (rahmatullahi alayh) summarizes this by saying, “What one does solely for worldly gain is the world, what one does for the Hereafter is the Hereafter.” (Abu Talib al-Makki, Qutu’l-Qulub, I, 444)

According to Imam Ghazali (quddisa sirruhu), people are divided into three groups based on their attitude towards material possessions, described as the “adornment of the world” in the Qur’an.

* Those who live for this world without any consideration of the Hereafter. Imam Ghazali (quddisa sirruhu) says that most people fall in this category which is described as “worshippers of taghut (false gods)” (Al-Maidah, 60) in the Qur’an.

*Those who only live for the Hereafter and completely ignore this world in stark contrast to the first group.

* Those who do justice to this world and the Hereafter. This last group, which includes the Prophets, is the most superior. One who manages their worldly and spiritual affairs properly is the “vicegerent of Allah.” The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) says that since humans are subjects of Allah” (Under Allah’s watch and protection) (Muslim, Itq, 16), it can be an act of worship to serve humanity. (Ghazali, Mizanu’l-Amal, 58)

How is one deceived?

Can a person surrounded by the boons of this world stay away from temptation? Or how does one sense the temptation? How does temptation manifest itself?

Let us consider Mawlana Jalaladdin Rumi’s (quddisa sirruhu) words: “When the water is in the boat, it causes destruction. But when the water is under the boat, it moves it to its destination.” (Mathnawi, 985)

For Rumi (quddisa sirruhu), who likens the world-human relationship to the water-boat relationship, worldly means are as necessary and vital for a human as water is for a boat. Just like a boat has to cross a sea to reach its destination, a human has to cross this world to reach his destination in the Hereafter.

But in this journey, if water which is supposed to be under the boat happens to be in it, the boat sinks. Similarly, if the water of this world, such as wealth, fame, family, and ambition, leaks into one’s heart, the human, like the boat, perishes, spelling a disastrous end for the person involved. 

Whether one is swimming in riches or living hand to mouth, it matters not as long as love of this world leaks into their heart. A person who pursues worldly goals and the desires of the self is deceived by this world even if they have no worldly possessions.

The verses of the Qur’an that mention “the adornment of the world” emphasize the following: Wealth, women, children, gold, silver, livestock, bounties of a harvest, and the like are temporary. What is everlasting is the Hereafter and the reward of Allah. A person who is attached to these things and forgets why they are in this world has been deceived by the world. However, a person who uses their means and possessions for the sake of Allah seeks the endless reward from Allah.

At the foundation of being deceived by the world lies being content with worldly possessions, being attached to them and having an ignorance of the Hereafter. The level of this ignorance depends on the level of deception. As Imam Ghazali noted above, a person whose only concern is this world has nothing in store for him in the Hereafter except for Hellfire.

“Whoever desires only this worldly life and its luxuries, We will pay them in full for their deeds in this life—nothing will be left out. It is they who will have nothing in the Hereafter except the Fire. Their efforts in this life will be fruitless and their deeds will be useless.” (Al-Hud, 15-16)

It is inappropriate for a believer to work for this world and forget the Hereafter. But it is also not appropriate for a believer to completely desert the world and spend all their time for an ascetic type of life. When the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) noticed that some of the Companions like Abdullah bin Omar, Abu ad-Derda, and Uthman bin Mazun (radiyallahu anhum) were spending all of their time in prayer and ignoring their families, He warned them by saying:

“You are the people that such and such have been said about. Pay attention! By Allah, I am the most God-fearing and the most pious of you. Nevertheless, I sometimes fast and I sometimes eat. I sometimes pray at night and sometimes sleep at night. I marry women. Whoever deviates from my path (sunnah) is not from me.” (Bukhari, Nikah, 1)

Since the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is the One Who best understands what Allah expects of us and best fulfills it, we must live by His example and live by the below guidelines of Allah:

“Rather, seek the reward of the Hereafter by means of what Allah has granted you, without forgetting your share of this world. And be good to others as Allah has been good to you. Do not seek to spread corruption in the land, for Allah certainly does not like the corruptors.” (Al-Qasas, 77)

“But whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it accordingly, and is a ˹true˺ believer, it is they whose striving will be appreciated (by Allah).” (Al-Isra, 19)

How to avoid this world’s deception

We can easily see that we have been deceived by the world to varying degrees in our personal and social life despite all of Allah’s warnings and advice from His Messenger. If we only care about ourselves, live for ourselves, invest for ourselves, and disregard everyone else, we have been deceived by this world. 

If we base our plans for our children’s future on the best university, the best career choice, and a comfortable life all the while completely disregarding their spiritual needs, it means that we have been totally deceived by this world. Suppose we replace our furniture simply because we are bored or seek a change and buy more luxurious and more fashionable furniture even if it means going into debt. In that case, it means the world has completely deceived us. 

If we fail to come together as a family, at least one day a week, to talk about and discuss matters of religion in a way that is both educational and affectionate, and if we are always on our phone ignoring our family members, it means that we have been deceived by this world. Even though it is possible to do a deeper investigation of this issue, we believe that the main problem can be identified as the fact that our relationship with Allah is weak. The disease of heedlessness that overruns our hearts spreads from individuals to families and from families to society, and our worldly concerns far outweigh our spiritual concerns.

What to do?

Verse 28 of the surah Al-Kahf shows us the solution:

“And patiently stick with those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His pleasure. Do not let your eyes look beyond them, desiring the luxuries of this worldly life. And do not obey those whose hearts We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who follow only their desires and whose state is total loss.”

This verse was revealed in response to some people from Quraysh telling the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) that they would meet with him if he distanced himself from the poor Muslims who were around him. According to Baydawi, this verse clearly states that superiority and honor do not come from material status but from one’s heart. (Tafsir al-Baydawi, III, 279)

According to the commandment in this verse given to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), the following attitude is expected of Muslims:

If you persist in keeping the company of those who are constantly mindful of their relationship with Allah and seek to gain His pleasure, then you will be saved from being deceived by this world. If you follow the example of those whose hearts are devoid of the remembrance of Allah, who are governed by their selfish desires, and who cross legal, moral, and religious boundaries in their deeds, you will have chosen the adornment of this world.

In order to prevent attachment to the adornment of this world, we first must awaken our hearts with the remembrance of Allah. For this, we must first repent sincerely and keep the company of those whose hearts cannot be distracted from the remembrance of Allah by the adornment of this world, as this verse describes:

“(Those are) men who are not distracted—either by buying or selling—from Allah’s remembrance, or performing prayer, or paying alms-tax. They fear a Day when hearts and eyes will tremble.” (An-Nur, 37)