. J "" (cont.)

As for the moderate ones: Those are the ones who take from this world in a permissible fashion; they fulfill its obligations; they take for themselves the obligatory provisions and go beyond that to enjoy part of what this world has to offer. There is no punishment for them for what they have done. However, they have lessened their rewards [in the Hereafter] ... As for those who race forward to good deeds by the permission of Allah: They understand what is the purpose of this world Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi and they work according to what that requires. They know full well that Allah has placed His servants in this abode in order to test them to see which of them are the best in deeds ... Saeed ibn Jubair said, "The deceiving pleasures and possessions are those that divert you from seeking the Hereafter. What does not divert you [from that goal] are not deceiving pleasures and possessions but pleasures and possessions that make you reach what is better than it." Yahya ibn Muaadh said, "How can I not love this world? Decreed for me in it is the food by which I acquire life, by which I achieve acts of obedience and by which I attain Paradise."1 "Like a Stranger" This hadith shows that a believer should have one of two attitudes toward this world. The first is that of a stranger in a strange land. He feels that he is in a place where he does not belong. This is not his home and he cannot feel entirely happy here. His heart can never be tied to this land. Instead, his heart and mind are preoccupied with getting back to his home. His time and his efforts are filled with that purpose. He is spending his time, money and capabilities to gather together what he needs to return to his home. His time is not spent or wasted on entrenching himself deeply in this environment to which he knows that he does not belong. Therefore, the believer's life, long-term aspirations, goal in life, time, efforts, work and wealth should never be spent for the purposes of this worldly life alone. Instead, they should all be guided by his urgent desire to reach his true home, where he knows he belongs. They must all be guided by his want to please Allah and to be entered among Allah's pious servants in the everlasting home of Paradise. This is how a stranger behaves when he is in a foreign land. He is not happy with his day unless he feels that during it he has done something that will eventually lead him back to his home or that has helped him reach his final goal. Furthermore, he does not try to compete with the inhabitants of that strange land because his interests and their interests are completely at odds. In addition, he is not trying to win their respect or praise, as in his heart he is merely seeking to return to his land. Al-Hasan al-Basri once said, "The believer is in the world like a stranger. He does not become unhappy from its humiliation, nor does he compete for its honor. He has one purpose and the people have another purpose."2 Thus, the believer will not compete against 1 Ahmad Fareed, Tazkiyah al-Nufoos (Alexandria, Egypt: Daar al-Aqeedah li-1-Turaath, 1993), rP· 59-6 1 . Quoted in ibn Rajah, Jaami, vol. 2 , p . 379. Hadith #40: "Be in the World Like a Stranger . . . " others for this world. Many times, this will be considered something very strange to others. However, he will not care if they consider him different or strange. In fact, he will definitely be a stranger to them because his concerns are so very different from theirs. lbn Rajah points out that Allah originally placed Adam and Eve in Paradise. Then they were expelled from it. But they and their pious descendants were promised to be returned to that original home. Hence, that is the believer's real home. In this world, he is a stranger, away from his home. Therefore, the believer is always yearning to return to that original home from whence he came.1 There are some other points that need to be explicitly stated concerning the stranger. A stranger desires to return to his land. However, he knows that he cannot return to his homeland if he starves to death where he is or if he makes extra efforts to survive where he is while sacrificing efforts to provide for his journey. It is true that the believer's heart is not attached to this world, but at the same time, he must realize that he has to work in this world to be able to make it back to his homeland. That is, for the believer, this is the place of workingworking with the goal of getting to where he belongs. This work involves true faith and performing the good deeds that are obligatory or recommended for him.