Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 849 [Read full issue]
This World
This world and the next world are two conditions of your mind. Everything before death is the world and everything after death is the next world. The things which gives you pleasure before death increase your greed and give you a taste for this world while the things which will give you pleasure after death are of the next world.
Three kinds of things are not this world:
First, the things that will go to the next world with a person are knowledge and actions. The objects of knowledge are God, His Attributes, His Actions, His sovereignty over heaven and earth, and so forth. Actions mean the actions done for the sake of God and His satisfaction. The learned person is one who possesses these two attributes. This knowledge is a position of the world, yet it cannot be called world. It is included within the next world. The Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “Three things of the world are dear to me: woman, perfume and prayer.” [Ahmad, Al-Nasai] Even prayer was considered as belonging to the world. The things which can be perceived by the five senses are of this world. Prayer is done by the movement of the bodily organs and therefore it is included within the world.
Second, these things are also not included within the world and these are such things as are absolutely necessary for a person in this world. What is not absolutely necessary is this world. What is not done for the next world is attachment to this world and not the next world, just as to enjoy lawful things in excess of necessity, to enjoy silver and gold, horse, cattle, landed property, houses and buildings, clothes and delicious foods of various kinds.
Third, the things of the third kind are in the intermediary between the above two classes. This is to work with the object of doing next worldly actions, such as taking food and drink only to save life, to wear cloth only to cover one’s private parts and to do such works from which there is no escape. So what is necessary of food and drink to save life and health is not world.
Compiled From:
"Attachment to this World" - Muhammad Al-Ghazali