A Heart Attached To The Dunya with Sh Waleed Basyouni

Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَهْدِيهِ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ.

All praise is due to Allah, and His praise and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions, and his followers until the Day of Judgment. I bear witness that Allah is the only one worthy of worship and Muhammad, peace be upon him, is His last and final messenger.

The Dunya is Little and Temporary

My dear brothers and sisters, Allah says:

Say — remind, inform each and every one of us — that the enjoyment of this world is little, is temporary, is insignificant. وَالْآخِرَةُ — and the hereafter is better for he who fears Allah.

Allah also says:

Again Allah is saying: Are you satisfied with the life of this world rather than the hereafter? But what is the enjoyment of this worldly life compared to the hereafter? Except a very little.

Yes, there is a joy in this dunya. But it's temporary. But it is short. But it's not pure. It doesn't last for long. It's not a pure joy.

The Prophet's Simple Life — The Story of 'Umar

'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, once entered the house of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. The Prophet was sleeping — laying down on a very rough material that had marked the side of the Prophet, peace be upon him. And 'Umar was in tears when he saw the Prophet like this.

He said: I looked at the Prophet's room — nothing that I can look at that would fulfill my eyes, nothing worth looking at in the Prophet's house. So simple.

Then he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4913; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1479)

"O Messenger of Allah, Kisra and Qaysar — the people of disbelief — they are sleeping on silk and fine cloth, sleeping on the finest and softest of beds. And you, O Messenger of Allah — you are the beloved of Allah, you are the first one for whom Jannah will be opened, you are the Messenger of Allah — and you sleep on such material?"

The Prophet, peace be upon him, responded: "Are you in doubt, O 'Umar?" He said: No, I am not in doubt about who is upon the truth, but I am just wondering.

The Prophet then said: "O 'Umar, those people — Allah rewarded them for their effort in this dunya. They put so much work into it — don't think being an emperor of Rome or Persia is an easy task. They worked hard for that, and Allah gave them their reward in the dunya. As for us, what we do in the dunya is not a reward for it. This whole worldly life is not a reward for it. Wouldn't it be fair — the worldly life for them, and the ākhirah for us?"

He said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah."

Two Types of Hearts

There are two types of people. There are people whose main concern — what occupies their mind, their biggest goal, most of their thoughts and concerns — is things related to this worldly life: to fulfill their desires. That is the ultimate thing they are looking for.

And be careful — listen to me carefully. So many times we say we are not like that, but our actions contradict our statements. We say, "No, no, no — the ākhirah is our biggest concern." But our actions every day shout out very loud and say that you are lying. That is not true.

There are people whose heart is attached to the ākhirah, and there are people whose heart is attached to the dunya.

Allah says:

Whoever desires the harvest of the hereafter — We increase for him in his harvest. So he will find, or she will find, they will find themselves naturally increasing in the ibadah, naturally increasing the things that take them closer to the ākhirah, to Allah. And whoever desires the harvest of this world — We give them of it, but there is nothing for them in the hereafter, any share to claim.

Allah also says:

Those who are seeking the dunya, whose heart is attached to the dunya — We will give it to them for whomever We wish. We hasten for them what We will, to whom We intend. Then We have made for him Hell, which he will enter to burn — as a form of punishment.

And this is for the person who has no interest in the ākhirah. Allah tells us about these two groups:

And from among the people is he who says: "Our Lord, bring us good in this world" — and for him in the hereafter there is no share. Because dunya — he doesn't want anything but the dunya. And among the people is he who says: "O Lord, give us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire."

The One Hated by Allah — Consumed by the Dunya

Allah hates those who know so much about the dunya and know nothing about the ākhirah. In the night they sleep like a dead person. In the day, they work like a donkey — working so hard. That is someone hated by Allah. Not because he works hard, not because he sleeps at night — no. But because he has no share in the ākhirah, no concern for the ākhirah. His main concern is in the dunya.

Does Your Heart Think of the Ākhirah?

Another thing that you can look at in your heart is how much your heart thinks about the ākhirah. A heart that is attached to the dunya is a heart that always thinks about the dunya — not about the ākhirah, not about the hereafter.

How many moments come and pass by you where you connect what you see to Jannah, or to the Hellfire, or to the standing before Allah?

Indeed, those whose hearts are attached to the dunya — their hearts do not attach themselves to the ākhirah and do not remember the ākhirah.

Allah says in Surah Yunus:

Indeed, those who do not expect the meeting with Us, and are satisfied with the life of this world, and feel secure and comfortable — their hearts attached to it — those are heedless of Our signs. Nothing reminds them of the ākhirah. Their abode is the Fire because of what they used to earn.

The Words of the Tābi'īn — No Effort for Jannah

One of the scholars of the Tābi'īn said: "I have never seen anything like it — a Hellfire that someone fears so much, yet he sleeps and doesn't run away from it. And a Jannah that people want so much, yet a person is asleep — he never really puts in the effort to go to it."

Yes — if the heart is attached to the dunya, it would be different.

Ibrāhīm al-Taymi's Meditation on the Ākhirah

Ibrāhīm al-Taymi said: "I thought about — one moment I was thinking about the ākhirah. What if I am in the Hellfire, eating from the zaqqūm, and drinking from that boiling water of the Hellfire, and screaming in the valleys of the Hellfire? I was thinking: what if I am there?"

Then he said: "Then I also thought — what if I am in Jannah, eating from its fruits, drinking from its rivers, and being with the people of Jannah?"

Then he said to himself:

"O my soul, which of the two abodes do you want — this Jannah or the Hellfire? What do you desire?"

His soul said: "I wish to go back to the dunya and do good deeds so that I may attain the home of everlasting delight." And he would say to his soul: "Here you are — you ARE in the dunya. So do good and you will rejoice."

He would say to himself: imagine if you die now, and that is your position — Hellfire and Paradise. What would you like to do? He said: I will go back to the dunya and do good so I can end up in Jannah. Then he would say to himself: Here you go — you are in the dunya. Make sure that you do good. Make sure that you prepare yourself for that day.

Why Are Our Hearts Not Attached to the Ākhirah?

One of the scholars, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked: "Why are people's hearts not attached to the ākhirah? Why don't they think much about the ākhirah? Why am I not excited about it?"

He said: "Because all that you do, all that you invest in, is in the dunya. And nobody would ever like to leave what they have invested in for something they have not invested in so much."

He gave an example: if I tell you — you know what, I'm going to make you move to Beaumont. And you say: "Shaykh, I just bought a house, I just finished the landscape, I just did this and that, I started a business, my kids are in school. I'm ready to enjoy my life. You say Beaumont?" Nobody would be excited to go there because you didn't invest anything there.

All you're investing in is this dunya. That's why you never want to leave it. You don't want to leave to the ākhirah because that is not where your real investment is.

When the Blessings of Allah Deceive the Heart

The heart that is attached to the dunya — the blessings of Allah deceive it. They make the person do more wrong and stay more away from Allah. Instead of these blessings — like health, like wealth, like Allah never exposing them, like Allah giving them a good position, good reputation, good fame — the more Allah gives to this heart which is attached to the dunya, that heart unfortunately uses these blessings to be even more attached to the dunya and forgets the One who blessed him or her with all of this. To the extent that the person would never even think about the day when they will die and they will meet Allah.

Someone was asked: "Who is going to pray for you after your death? Who can fast or donate on your behalf after you die? If your home is the grave, if the one sitting in your grave with you is the two angels — Munkar and Nakīr — if the sand and the soil of the grave is what you will be covered with, what do you think your life will look like?"

Then he said: if this is the case, the person will prepare very well for such a place. Very well for such a place. And he will take advantage of these blessings to utilize them in a way that pleases Allah.

The Story of Ḥajjāj and the Righteous Man

Ḥajjāj, the famous general during the Umayyad times, saw one of the righteous people and said: "Come and join me for food — I have prepared very good food."

The righteous man said: "I was invited by someone better than you."

Ḥajjāj said: "Who could be better than me?"

He said: "Allah. I am fasting."

Ḥajjāj said: "Break your fast and eat with me, and fast tomorrow."

The man said: "If you can guarantee me that I will live until tomorrow, I will do it."

Ḥajjāj said: "I cannot guarantee you that. But I can tell you something — this food is so delicious. That is what I can guarantee for you."

Listen to the answer of this man — a man who realized the blessing of Allah, whose heart is not attached to the dunya. It is not about how delicious the food is.

What made that food delicious is not how well it was cooked or the skill of your professional chef. What made it delicious is that Allah made you healthy so you can enjoy your food. Ask those who have digestive problems, or who are going through sickness, or going through chemotherapy, or going through pain in their back, or their nerves, or even their teeth — give them the best food ever, give them a $26 cheesecake slice — it will taste terrible.

That is what the heart that is truly attached to Allah recognizes — that the good of any blessing is because of Allah, not because of you or your chef.

Where Does Your Heart Go in Times of Trial?

If you want to know whether your heart is attached to the dunya, look at where your heart goes in times of problems. What is the first thing that comes to your mind? Who is the first one you turn to?

That is the difference between a heart attached to the ākhirah — attached to Allah — and a heart that is attached to the dunya.