.036: The description of the material world and our responsibility while living in
Text of the Hadith:
قال رسول الله (صلي الله عليه و آله وسلم):ألا إن الدنيا قد ارتحلت مدبرة، و الاخرة قد احتملت مقبلة ألا و إنكم في يوم عمل لاحساب فيه،و يوشك أن تكونوا في يوم حساب ليس فيه عمل.و إن الله يعطي الدنيا من يحب و يبغض،و لا يعطي الاخرة إلا لمن يحب،و إن للدنيا أبناء و للآخرة أبناء.فكونوا من الآخرة،و لا تكونوا من أبناء الدنيا إن شر ما أتخوف عليكم:أتباع الهوي و طول الامل:يصرف هممكم إلي الدنيا،و ما بعدهما لاحد من خير يرجاه في دنيا و لاآخرة
TRANSLATION:
The Messenger of Allah (blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) say, Surely the material world has ceased to exist and has been left aside and is now gone and the next life is inexhaustible and is in front (of you). Surely you are all living in a day and age in which there is only the performing of deeds while there is no accountability (for your deeds at this juncture), however indubitably in the future, it will be a time in which there will be the accountability and no time to perform deeds. Most certainly Allah grants the (benefits) of this material world to those whom He loves and those whom He hates (both the believer and the disbeliever), however, He will not grant the Next Life to anyone except those whom He loves. Unquestionably this material world has its own offspring and the next life too has its own progeny and offspring, however you should be the offspring of the Next Life and not be the progeny of this life. Surely the most frightful of things which I am afraid for you all is the following of your lower desires and long dreams and aspirations. So then as for the following of your lower desires, this act shall divert your hearts from The Truth; and as for the long desires and aspirations, this act shall divert all of your thoughts to only about the material world and for the person who possesses these two traits in him, there is absolutely nothing good for him from either the material world or the Next Life.(1)
Commentary of Hadith:
This hadith has been divided up into various sections (by the Prophet of Islam (s.a.)) and it is in this manner of discussing it section by section through which we shall proceed forward to elucidate upon its meaning.
1. The first section of this hadith reads,ألا إن الدنيا
and at this introductory stage, we see that there are two sentences which the Prophet (s.a.) has related: Surely the material world has ceased to exist and has been left aside and is now gone, while the next life is inexhaustible and is in front (of you).
It is possible that the two statements which have been used in this part of the hadith of ارتحال andاحتمال
even though the life of this world has not yet passed us by and the life of the next world has not yet come) may have be mentioned in this fashion in the hadith since in the language of the `Arabs, anything which is imminent and is bound to occur is sometimes mentioned in the past tense (in `Arabic) just as it is said in this hadith that this world is finished and the life of the next world (already) came. Through such an expression, it is meant that the opportunity to perform good deeds in this world is very short, while the coming of the life of the next world is something certain.
2. The second portion of this hadith reads,ألا و إنكم في يوم عمل لاحساب فيه
which means that We are all living in a day and age which is solely for performing deeds while there is no accountability for our deeds at this juncture.
This is a very important issue which is brought forth that the nature of this material world and the nature of the life of the next world are completely different from one another. Here in this world, we can only perform actions and plant the seeds (of deeds), while it is in the next world that we shall reap our harvest and see the fruits of our labour.
Sometimes, a person sees the retribution of his deeds in this world however this is something insignificant, a minor issue and something unique (that may not always occur) and is in no way a general rule or a universal issue and this is the most important difference between this world and the next world. We know that in this world, there is no issue of accountability or reckoning (for the deeds which we perform) and thus we see that people do not give much attention to the outcome of the acts which are performed in this world since they do not see the outcome or product of their deeds. However, when they see the definite outcome of their deeds in the next life, then they will definitely reach to the conclusion and would hope that they could make up for the deeds done in the world, however at that time, they would have lost the opportunity and there is no way to return back to this world!
From the verses of the Noble Quran, we can deduce that one of the most regretful states of those who commit sins is when they realize that they had actually done a bad act and at that time they would wish they could offer some recompense for that act of theirs. At this time, they would let out a scream, however no one would pay any attention to their screams:
رب ارجعون
O my Lord! Return me back (to the world)!
They will ask for the right to return back so that they may be able to make amends for their deeds, however the call will come to them that this is not possible. once again, their cry shall be:
ما فرطت في جنب الله
Alas my grief that I was unmindful of Allah!
Sometimes while in this world, the following issue would come up for a person that for example the teacher would say to one of his students, While you are still young and have the ability and free time and since you are not busy with a wife and children and the difficulties of life are not chasing after you, you should focus on your studies. However many times, the student would not listen to such advice. Later on, when that student’s life has passed him by, he would realize that he does not have the physical strength to study, nor is his soul in a state to take in the information. At this point in time, he realizes that no matter what job he wishes to get into, he must be educated, and since he has no education, thus, he is compelled to a life of being either being worthless to society or he must go forth and perform jobs which are of a low status! At this time would he become regretful and wish to himself that while he was young if he had only listened to his elders! He would wish that he was once again a youth such that he would, this time, study properly! However as we know, it is not possible for his youth to return back to him again. The next life is just the same!
Amir al-Mominin `Ali ibn Abi
Talib has stated the following in a speech in Nahjul Balagha where he has stated that: These dead people that you are now carrying upon your shoulders (to the graveyard) and that you are carrying every day to the graveyard are the best preachers for you:
فكني و اعظا بموتي
So then sufficient is it as a preacher (for you) the deceased one's
When those who are dead are being brought to the graveyard, they would think to themselves, It is as if we were never even living in this world.
We just need to take a cursory glance at the ceremony of burying a person and how the dirt is thrown over the dead person; how the Suratul Fatiha is read over them and then how we say farewell to the deceased. When we look back at the entire episode, it is as if that person has been in that graveyard for the past one hundred years and that the life of the next world has been his abode for eternity!
We see that as soon as a person dies, others rush to quickly perform the rites of the burial and to bury him so that the smell of the body does not start to come out and annoy others! They carry the deceased person to the graveyard, however if when he was alive, if that same person was told to go to the graveyard for even one minute, he would not have gone since he was terrified of that place!
3. The third point states that,و إن الله يعطي الدنيا من يحب و يبغض
or that Surely Allah grants the (benefits) of this world to those whom He loves and those whom He hates both the believer and the disbeliever, however, the next life is strictly reserved for the true believers.
This part of the hadith shows us that in the presence of Allah this material world has absolutely no value to it since if it were not like this, then He would have reserved this material world for only those whom He loves.
In other ahadith, something similar to this has also been mentioned and these hadith state that if this material world had even the worth of the wing of a fly to it, then Allah would not have permitted the disbeliever even one drink from it!
As we know, this material world is the place of test and examination. In no way is possessing material gain from this world a sign of a person possessing some character, nor is giving it all up a sign that a person has no character, however since the Next Life is the one with value, it (the Next Life) will only be given to His friends.
The same theme which is contained in this sentence of the hadith can more or less be seen in the verses of the Noble Quran in which the general meaning is that if you see that a person is well taken care of in relation to this material world, then you should realize that sometimes this influence and authority which he has in this material world is actually a source of punishment from Allah:
إنما يريد الله أن يعذبهم بها
Surely Allah only intends to punish them through this.
Thus, we must not become upset or saddened and if one day we see that Allah K takes away the bounties of the material world from us and we should not say to ourselves that we have been expelled from the spiritual presence of Allah! At the same time, we should also not be happy at the good fortune and luck that the material world brings us just as how we should we be upset at the adversity and hardships which come to us.
If we truly look at the world with this type of an outlook, then definitely this material world would look very low and insignificant to us and we would no longer pay any attention to these things which possess no value. Rather, the person must stick firmly to his own faith and belief (in Allah) and must not sacrifice this on the path of this material world.
4. The forth point reads,إن للدنيا أنباء
or that Surely both this material world and the next life have children and offspring. There are some people who are children of the next life, while others are the offspring of this material world.
This is a very remarkable expression used here since we know that a child inherits certain characteristics and traits from his father. Not only do the rules of inheritance have an aspect in the rules laid down by the Creator, but they also have a share from the point of view of the natural world around us and this law of inheritance also plays a role in our children since we know that he child definitely inherits the characteristics and traits of his father.
The material world has both the apparent aspect to it, as well as a hidden or inner aspect and the people of the world are the same. The world can, all of a sudden either day or night - overturn, and the people of the world are just the same. The inner aspect of the material world is empty, ruined and continuously changing and those who are offspring of the world are the same they are empty inside (spiritually), corrupt and destroyed. Today they may be your friend, but tomorrow they may be your enemy. one day, the person may help and assist you and another day, he will come and kick your gravestone.
However the children of the next life are much better than the children of the material world in all aspects.
The children of the next life are those who are faithful, firm and resolute, and are a pleasure to be with their outer characteristics and inner-self are one.
This hadith tells us that we must be children of the next life. Of course this sentence may also point to other issues such as the fact that the relationship and love between a child and his father is one which is very strong and firm in other words, the child is always under the support and protection of his father. Similarly, the children of these two (both the material world and the next life) are, in relation to their father (either the material world or the next life), children possessing a very close relationship and bond.
5. The fifth point is thatأن شر ما الخوف عليكم
or that Surely the most frightful of things which I am afraid for you all is
This phrase and way of speaking can also be seen in many other ahadith from the Noble Prophet (s.a.) and Amir al- Mominin `Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) however the most important thing is the contents of that which comes after this phrase. In any case, in this hadith, the Prophet (s.a.) has advised us to be aware of and keep away from two things:
1) Following of our lower desires.
2) Having long wishes or aspirations.
The Noble Prophet (s.a.) has then gone ahead and explained each of these in detail:
1)Following our lower desires leads a person to becoming misled from the path of the truth since sometimes it is possible that what is the truth would not be what is in the advantage of that person. If he comes to a point in his life where that which is the truth is not in his advantage or profit, then he would place himself and his wishes in front of the religion. Thus, in this instance, it is clear that he is a person who only wishes what he himself wants and not one who wishes what Allah K wants. Such a person would be a perfect example of:
نؤمن ببعض و نكفر ببعض
You believe in some of it while you disbelieve in some of it.
And this is the meaning of showing bias or partiality in relation to the religion.
Wanting only what one personally desires and worshipping the lower self result in veils being placed in front of the sight of the person and result in that person only liking and wanting those things which he himself wants (as opposed to that which Allah wants for him) and leaving everything else. Thus, the worshipping of the lower soul is actually a barrier in the face of the truth.
The worshipping of the lower soul not only results in not acting (properly), rather, it prevents one from having a clear perception of things around him meaning that a person who worships his lower self can no longer comprehend what is bad. Worshipping of the lower soul actually takes the intelligence away from a person and prevents him from being able to perceive the realities around him and through this he is not able to come to a suitable outcome in decision making.
However in this issue, we see that there is a difference between the people who possess knowledge and the common people (who do not have a deep knowledge of the religion). When it comes to those issues which go along with the person’s soul and what he wants (but contradict what Allah has ordered) the common people would say that, It is true that Allah has said so and so, however, I am a sinner and thus, I will do what I want
However, those who (apparently) possess knowledge of Islam (but still commit sins) would try to rationalize and explain the performance of that bad deed by saying that, This issue is one of those related to the Hukumul Thanawiyyah2 issue, or that in this instance, one is compelled to do it out of necessity (thus, it is permissible).
It is possible that such people might also state, The Islamic proofs in relation to the prohibited nature of that act are weak or they would state that There is absolutely no proof evidence to support that issue as being forbidden. Thus, such a person would try to bring forth thousands of religious excuses so that he would be excused from the sin of that particular act.
Therefore, in order to have a complete understanding of the laws of Allah we must first seek to purify and cleanse our soul.
2) The long desires keep a person’s thoughts pre-occupied with the material world and when he becomes like this, he would naturally forget the next life. When a person possesses these long desires in relation to the material world, then he has no time for the next life.
Thus in summary, if a person was to possess these two characteristics, then he would definitely not have any share of goodness of either this world or the next life. He would be tirelessly working day and night, however he would not see any rest or tranquility.
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Author: Ayatullah Seyyed Muhammad Shirazi
