INFINITE ASPIRATIONS


Bismillahir RHRH,
Assalamu alaikum WRWB,
HADITH-8 CLASS-Raqa,iq
TEXT:
Anas Ibn Malik RA reported that the prophet SAW said 'A man ages but
two things remain with him,love of worldly things and multitude of
hopes (and aspirations).'.....Bukh & Mus.
COMENTARY:
Life remains an individual's most important possession that is why man
prefers to have long life,and a-never-ending desire for worldly achieve-
ments.But both the Quran and Sunnah are replete with cautions for man in
his short stay in this world.
Allah SWT has said'The mutual rivalry for piling up(the good things of
this world)diverts you(from the serious things)..Until you visit the
grave'106:1-2.Hassan al-Basri says piling up wealth refered in the verse
means amassing wealth and children...and neither of these benefit one in
the hereafter,for the prophet said'Three things follow a dead man(to the
grave) but two return back while one stays with him;His family,wealth
and deeds escort him but only his deeds stay with him.'Again A,isha RA
reported that the prophet SAW frequently said;Even if a man were given
two treasures(valleys) of gold he would seek a third...And nothing fills
his belly(satisfies him) except earth' ie he would continue to seek more
until he is buried in mother earth.Allah SWT has given wealth to
serve as an aide in serving Him with prayers and zakat,not to distract
from serving Him.Abu Darda,i RA once commented about excessiveness of
human desires saying-You build what you will not reside in(ie yours is
the grave);you aspire to what you do not really need;you collect
what you will not eat from.....just like those before you had built,
amassed and had farfetched hopes,only for them to wake up and find their
houses as graveyards,their hopes had decieved them and their wealth of
no use to them.Similarly,Ali Ibn Abu Taleb RA cautioned,'I fear two
things for you multiple hopes and inclining to your own whims(or
fancies),the former makes mankind forget the hereafter while the latter
hinders and repels the truth.While Abu Dharr RA said that the best of
people is one who renounces the world and the worst of them is he who
collects from the world in excess of what is enough for him.

Abu Huraira RA reported that the prophet SAW said,'A man said my money,
my money...but really he owned only three parts of the wealth;what he
ate until it finished or what he dressed with until it wore out and what
he gave out as alms and it ran out(finished)....anything other than
those is a left over for people.'Elsewhere the prophet,while cautioning
against excessive hopes and desires said,'Desire for the world leads to
excessive worry and sorrow,while renouncing it leads to lightening of
the mind and body.It is not poverty I fear for you but rather,I fear for
you the wealth that bares open the world(and its glitters) like it
happened before you and then you become selfish like they did,leading
you to your destruction like it did to those before you.'In the comment-
ary of the textual hadith above,by Imam Muhammad Habib ash-Shinqeety who
said,excessive hopes are generally to be denounced except for seeking
useful knowledge,particularly religious,which is expected to improve on
ones deeds.

Unfortunately mankind always desire long life,even if at times not prod-
uctively spent.Many people including scholars hasten to buttress their
desires by citing the saying 'Seek in this world as if you will
live forever and seek for the hereafter as if you will die the next
day'.But it is doubtful whether the saying emanated from the prophet,its
validity remains critical.Ibn Qutaiba brought it in his book of doubtful
ahadiths entitled[Odd narrations].The world's most reknowned hadiths
scholar of our time,the Syrian based,Sheik Muhammad Nasirruddeen Albaniy
commented about the saying in his[Silsilat ahadithu dha,ifa],'It is
baseless,even though it is popular on peoples tongues'.Furthermore the
prophet SAW has said in an authentic hadith'You should frequently reme-
mber the great terminator of pleasures(ie death)'...Bukh & Mus.It is
reported that Umar Ibn abdal-Aziz used to frequent the graveyards saying
that is his permanent residence,for he is in the world only temporarily.

And Allah SWT cautioned'Nothing is the life of this world but play and
amusement.But best is the home in the hereafter for those
who are righteous.Will you not understand'6:32.So life in this world
should be regarded as a preparation for the eternal life not for mere
worldly ephemeral pleasures.And Abdullah Ibn Umar RA reported that the
prophet said,'Be in this world like a stranger or a wayfarer and start
counting yourself among the tenants of the grave'and Ibn Umar also said-
When you wake up in the morning do not be certain of reaching the
evening.when you reach it do not be certain of reaching the next morning
...and save out of your life for your death(hereafter) and during your
health for your sickness,for you do not know your name tommorrow.Sheikh
Abdurrahman al-Manawi summarises it all,saying....the key to all that is
good lies in desire for the next world....and the key for all that is
evil lies in the love of this world and of having infinite inspirations.
We pray Allah SWT curtail and restrict our worldly desires and guide us
unto the straight path,amen.And Allah SWT knows best.

Maasalam,AGH.