Imam Ghazali’s Symbolism of the River to the Dunya | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

The River as a Symbol of Dunya

Some scholars like Imam Ghazali rahimullah, he symbolizes this river as dunya. He symbolizes the river as dunya. Allah has made dunya our test.

It's a river for us, it's a river. And he's told us that as long as you do not put all of your eggs in one basket, you are okay. Just take from it at different portions, at different times.

Do not completely drown yourself in this dunya because you will not be able to succeed. Take one at a time, take little bits at times. And if you take everything, that means you've lost.

Shaitan and the Temptations of Dunya

It's that nahr — that nahr for us is dunya. That in different moments, it pops up. Like that nahr popped up. And they're thirsty. So in different moments of our life, Shaitan will bring different things to us. And he will bring it at the right time because he knows that that one thing can deviate us. Or that one thing will make us compromise.

He knows us better than we know ourselves. The best marketing manager in the world is Shaitan. One is to know someone's algorithms. And one is to know exactly what they're thinking to a certain extent. He flows inside of our body as the blood flows. So he knows what to place in front of us, at what time, during what catastrophe, during what blessing.

And when he brings it in front of us, that is dunya. And at that moment, if we just jump into it without our life jacket on, it will drown us. And if we first step inside of it, and we gauge the temperature of the water, then we will be allowed to continue taking from that water. Because it has not killed us. It has not engulfed us. It has not drowned us. But rather, we are in control of taking water based on our need and necessities. The water doesn't control us. We control the water.

Does Dunya Control You, or Does Allah?

Similarly, every one of us needs to ask ourselves this question. Does dunya control my decisions? Or does Allah control my decisions? What is the most important variable in my life? Is the most important variable, when I am making a decision, that this is simply better for me in my dunya, or it is simply better for me in regards to my children, or it is simply better for me in regards to ease and comfort — or is one of those variables that play a part of that decision: that will this make Allah happy?

Dear brothers and sisters, if that is not a variable, it needs to be. And it needs to be a variable that is on top of the list.

The Hadith on Making Allah the Ultimate Reference

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4681)

The Prophet tells us that the individual that loves, dislikes, takes, gives, and lives — with the strongest variable of their decisions being that Allah is my last reference point — that person will always be successful. So when making a decision, it should be a part of that list.

As a father, when I am asking my child what career path he wants to choose, I shouldn't only be thinking about what makes him the most money, or what gives her the most honor, but I should also be thinking about what protects their deen. What protects their honor as a Muslim sister or brother.

I should also be concerned, when I am opening a business, not only that this is the best spot because this spot has the most traffic, and the sign is on the main road so people will come to my business — but also think: because of this business, how many salats will I miss? How rarely would I be going to the masjid? It needs to be a variable. And if it's not a variable, there within lies the problem.

Taking from the River — Not Drowning in It

A person that drowns within it is not from amongst me. We take from it — غُرْفَةً بِيَدِهِ — we take from it with our hands. And we continue taking.

Dunya Was Made for You — You Were Made for Allah

So Allah says: إِنِّي خَلَقْتُ الْأَرْضَ لَكُمْ — that this dunya has been made for you. It's been made for us. You have been made for Me.

Dunya has been made for you, whilst you have been made for Me. What a disservice — what a catastrophe — it would be if we become those individuals that live a life as if we were made for the dunya. Whilst it was the complete opposite: the dunya was made for us.

It's there to serve us. It's there to serve our needs within the goalposts that have been set by Allah.