Without Losing Your Heart to the World
Allah Almighty puts us through various tests throughout our lives. As a matter of fact, it is stated in this verse: “We will certainly test you with a touch of fear and famine and loss of property, life, and crops. Give good tidings to the patient.” (Al-Baqarah, 155)
From this statement of our mubarra (pure and perfect) Book, we understand that a Muslim should appraise the troubles they experience as a part of the tests that this world has in store for them. However, because of the difficulties and hardships they encounter in the worldly struggle, and their natural weakness, they sometimes forget that they are being tested.
Our greatest battle, the one ceaseless conflict we throw ourselves into every waking moment of our lives, whether we know it or not, is the struggle with our nafs. This struggle begins after professing one’s belief in the unity of Allah and that our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is His Messenger. If we think about it, we will see that concepts such as patience, contentment, and the surety and conviction of the heart, are directly related to the nafs.
The famous hadith scholar Imam Nawawi (rahmatullahi alayh) also said about patience: “The meaning of patience is to keep the nafs in line with what is ordered and to confine it within the boundaries of these orders. This is achieved by enduring the difficulties of worship, trials, tribulations, and harmful elements and occurrences other than sins. Patience is one of the foremost principles of those who walk the path of the hereafter. All the books in Islamic literature that deal with spiritual discipline have a section dedicated to patience.”
The following point reported in the Qur’an reveals what kind of test a human being goes through: “And We will surely test you until We make evident those who strive among you [for the cause of Allah] and the patient, and We will test your affairs.” (Muhammad, 31).
When we examine the world with a general outlook, from the perspective of patience and contentment, we see that today’s people are getting weaker and increasingly surrendering to their own nafs. In these modern times, the opportunities offered to the service of people and the conveniences that provide a layer of facility to life make this an even more common phenomenon. As a result of this, disbelief or impatience, which are a matter of nafs and therefore an individual, become a matter of society. People are faced with the daunting situation of surrendering to their egos en masse. So the fight against this collapse, this dark, dreaded downfall, gains an entirely different dimension.
People should be capable of finding contentment with what they have. To be content is to accept what fate Allah metes out to one, to be satisfied with His will, and to convince the nafs. Iman is also a state of conviction through self-persuasion. No matter the circumstances, a believer must maintain this state of belief. In any case, the state of tawakkul (trusting that Allah will arrange things for the best) that a Muslim should have is achieved by being content with everything Allah ordains and unconditionally placing one’s trust in Allah, the Absolute Sustainer. Not giving up hope in Allah is a requirement of iman.
Since ancient times, people of tasawwuf have placed great emphasis on the elements of our mujalla (bright) religion, such as patience, contentment, surety of heart, tawakkul, and ikhlas. Tasawwuf is firmly enshrined within the deepest recesses of this mode of thinking because it stands for living our religion better, understanding it more accurately, and applying it to our lives. What meaning we may absorb from the verses of the Qur’an and the life of our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) are undoubtedly as understood and practiced by the people of tasawwuf. The reason behind the friends of Allah being withdrawn from worldly allures and attachments as much as possible is directly related to this issue.
Our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever makes the hereafter his goal, Allah makes his heart rich, and organizes his affairs, and the world comes to him whether it wants to or not. And whoever makes the world his goal, Allah puts his poverty right before his eyes, and disorganizes his affairs, and the world does not come to him, except what has been decreed for him.” (Tirmidhi, 2465).
He ordered in yet another hadith, “Work for this world as if you will never die, and work for the hereafter as if you will die tomorrow” (Jamiu’s-Saghir, 1201). This expression specifies the line that a Muslim must stand between this world and the hereafter. What we need to do is to consider where we stand today in light of this guidance shown to us.
For example, as a result of the fierce dissatisfaction of society, we see the ravages of constant demand for more leaving deeper scars on the facade of our humanity. A life lived in the shadow of predatory terms such as advertising, ratings, fashion, and social media trends—widespread epidemics of the consumption culture that have become far more feverish and debilitating in the last decade—are a far cry from the life of contentment that our scholars and forefathers have been ardent advocates of. Such elements grievously injure our spiritual world when we get carried away in their rapidly evolving currents that drag everything along at breakneck speeds. Diseases such as an addiction to technology and shopping sprees, pursued with all of one’s financial might without even sparing a thought for more essential needs, are undoubtedly harmful fruits of the same process.
Ultimately, it is crucial to protect our nafs from this blitz of constant degradation. Protection will only be conferred upon us if we walk on the path of tasawwuf. After all, worldly elements are like a vehicle. A Muslim uses the world and its contents to maintain their life, provide for their family, and not be dependent on anyone for livelihood. Being dependent on the material assets of the world for fulfillment and satisfaction, as opposed to having a healthy appraisal of these assets as only a means to an end, is the true deprivation.
Imam Ghazali (rahmatullahi alayh) said the following about eating, one of the most essential human needs:
“One should take care to eat less. Because eating to the fullest hinders worship, let alone gives strength to it. One of the necessary consequences of this situation is to curb desires, to be content with little, and not to be wasteful.”
The guidelines and limits that Imam Ghazali (rahmatullahi alayh) declared regarding food are also applicable to our other needs. That’s why we should know that when we go beyond the prescribed limits in many of our daily needs, we move the needle to the part of the gauge that stops indicating a balanced thrift and points towards waste. Of course, there are obvious differences between the situation in today’s world and the living conditions present then. But still, people should know their limits. In general, they should prefer the path of moderation. Their guiding principle on this path should always be the importance Islam attributes to patience and contentment. We hope that the nafs can be disciplined by adhering to this principle.
To acquiesce to the deception of the nafs by saying that today’s needs and lifestyles are different, losing our hearts to the world, will make things more difficult for us. To reiterate our initial argument, human beings are constantly tested in this world. The blessings and the opportunities to benefit from them may have increased in our time. Even the surprises of daily life that we are inevitably a part of can force us to be momentarily overbalanced in this regard. But one should not forget that they are always in a test and should try to emerge victorious from this struggle.
Our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) gave good news to those who are contented and show patience by saying, “Glad tidings to whoever is guided to Islam, his livelihood was sufficient, and he was satisfied.” (Tirmidhi). We need to make a serious effort to be among those referred to by these glad tidings.
A Muslim should pay attention to their steps and arrange their life according to the requirements of Islam. The path is clear, and the borders drawn by Islam are perfectly defined. We must ensure that where we draw the line and where Islam does are one and the same. We are to keep our nafs within these limits at all times to placate its needs.
We should know that patience, contentment, and tawakkul make up a state of continuity. A Muslim should always be equipped with this state. To ingrain ourselves with these traits, we must struggle with ourselves and keep the love of the world away from our hearts as much as we can. Our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Love of the world is the beginning of all kinds of wrong behavior. Your love for something makes you blind and deaf.
” (Abu Dawud, Bayhaqi).
No matter how daunting our circumstances may be, we can turn our hearts away from the world and return to Allah (jalla jalaluhu). Let’s not forget that there are many who have succeeded in doing this under much more difficult conditions than us and have become distinguished servants of Allah. In addition, patience, gratitude, and tawakkul are the blessed ornaments that make life in this world beautiful.
With his tawfiq and inayah…
Sheikh Sayyid M. Mübarek Elhüseyni
