Riyad al-Salihin - Al-Nawawi - (1/38)

Riyad al-SalihinAl-Nawawi

and to turn away from the fortunes of this world through asceticism, for it is an abode that passes away,(1) not a place of everlasting stay; a vessel for crossing,(2) not a dwelling of delight; a watering-place of parting,(3) not a station of permanence. Thus, those who are awake to its reality among its inhabitants are the true servants of Allah, and the wisest people in it are the renunciants. Allah the Exalted has said:

“The likeness of the life of this world is but that of water which We send down from the sky. By it the vegetation of the earth mingles and grows—something that people and livestock eat—until, when the earth has taken on its adornment,(4) is beautified, and its people think they have power over it, Our command(5) comes to it by night or by day, and We reduce it to stubble,(6) as though it had not flourished the day before. Thus do We make clear the signs for a people who reflect.” ⦗10:24⦘

There are many verses that convey this meaning. Someone has aptly said:

Indeed, Allah has perceptive servants,(7)
who divorced the world and feared its trials.
They examined it, and when they realised
that it is no homeland for the living,
They deemed it a raging sea,(8)
and took righteous deeds upon it as their ships.

If this is the condition of the world as I have described, and our own condition and the purpose for which we were created are as I have set forth, then it is incumbent upon every accountable person to follow the course of the virtuous, to tread the path of those endowed with intellect and insight, to prepare for what I have indicated, and to concern himself with what I have highlighted. The soundest way for him in that regard—the most rightly guided of all paths—is to discipline himself by what has been authentically transmitted from our Prophet, the leader of the first and the last, the most honoured of those who came before and those who will come after. May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him and upon all the prophets. Allah the Exalted has said, “Help one another in righteousness and God-consciousness” ⦗5:2⦘. And it has been authentically reported

(1) That is, it will perish; it is not an everlasting abode. (2) That is, it is merely a means to reach the Hereafter, not a dwelling of joy and delight. (3) Meaning: cessation. (4) That is, its adornment and beauty. (5) Meaning: Our decree. (6) Meaning: harvested; and “as though it had not flourished yesterday” means it had never sprouted. (7) Plural of fatin, referring to one who possesses intellect and considers consequences. (8) That is, it is like a sea that can only be crossed by ships.

حُظُوظُ الدُّنْيَا بِالزَّهَادَةِ ، فَإِنَّهَا دَارُ نَفَادٍ (١) لَا مَحَلُّ إِخْلَادٍ ، وَمَرْكَبُ عُبُورٍ (٢) لَا مَنْزِلُ حُبُورٍ ، وَمَشْرَعُ أَنْفِصَامٍ (٣) لَا مَوْطِنُ دَوَامٍ ، فَلِهَذَا كَانَ الْإِيقَاظُ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا هُمُ الْعِبَادُ ، وَأَعْقَلُ النَّاسِ فِيهَا هُمُ الزُّهَّادُ . قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ﴿ إِنَّمَا مَثَلُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا كَمَاءٍ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَاخْتَلَطَ بِهِ نَبَاتُ الْأَرْضِ مِمَّا يَأْكُلُ النَّاسُ وَالْأَنْعَامُ حَتَّى إِذَا أَخَذَتِ الْأَرْضُ زُخْرُفَهَا (٤) وَأَزَيَّنَتْ وَظَنَّ أَهْلُهَا أَنَّهُمْ قَادِرُونَ عَلَيْهَا أَتَاهَا أَمْرُنَا (٥) لَيْلًا أَوْ نَهَارًا فَجَعَلْنَاهَا حَصِيدًا (٦) كَأَنْ لَمْ تَغْنَ بِالْأَمْسِ كَذَلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ﴾ [ يونس : ٢٤ ] . والآيات في هذا المعنى كثيرة . ولقد أحسن القائل : إِنَّ لِلَّهِ عِبَادًا فُطِنَا (٧) … طَلَّقُوا الدُّنْيَا وَخَافُوا الْفِتَنَا نَظَرُوا فِيهَا فَلَمَّا عَلِمُوا … أَنَّهَا لَيْسَتْ لِحَيٍّ وَطَنَا جَعَلُوهَا لُجَّةً (٨) وَأَتَّخَذُوا … صَالِحَ الْأَعْمَالِ فِيهَا سُفُنَا فَإِذَا كَانَ حَالُهَا مَا وَصَفْتُهُ ، وَحَالُنَا وَمَا خَلَقْنَا لَهُ مَا قَدَّمْتُهُ ؛ فَحَقٌّ عَلَى الْمُكَلَّفِ أَنْ يَذْهَبَ بِنَفْسِهِ مَذْهَبَ الْأَخْيَارِ ، وَيَسْلُكَ مَسْلَكَ أُولِي النُّهَى وَالْأَبْصَارِ ، وَيَتَأَهَّبَ لِمَا أَشَرْتُ إِلَيْهِ ، وَيَهْتَمُّ لِمَا نَبَّهْتُ عَلَيْهِ . وَأَصْوَبُ طَرِيقٍ لَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ ، وَأَرْشَدُ مَا يَسْلُكُهُ مِنَ الْمَسَالِكِ : التَّأَدُّبُ بِمَا صَحَّ عَنْ نَبِيِّنَا سَيِّدِ الْأَوَّلِينَ وَالْآخِرِينَ ، وَأَكْرَمُ السَّابِقِينَ وَاللَّاحِقِينَ ، صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى سَائِرِ النَّبِيِّينَ . وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ﴿ وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى ﴾ [ المائدة : ٢ ] وَقَدْ صَحَّ عَنْ

(١) أي : فناء ، لا دار خلود . (٢) أي : يتوصل بها إلى الدار الآخرة وليست منزل الفرح والسرور . (٣) أي : انقطاع . (٤) أي : زينتها وحسنها . (٥) أي : قضاؤنا . (٦) أي : محصودة ، ( كأن لم تغن بالأمس ) أي : لم تنبت . (٧) جمع فطن وهو من له عقل ونظر في العواقب . (٨) أي : بمثابة البحر ، ولا يقطع إلا بالسفن .