among the people of this community are those who harbor elements of disbelief or polytheism that expel them completely from Islam. They may obey Allah with outwardly genuine devotion, seeking His reward in the Hereafter, yet they persist in deeds that invalidate their Islam and block the acceptance of any act they perform. This category, too, was cited by Anas ibn Mālik and others in connection with the verse, and the early generations were afraid of falling into it. Thus ends the quotation of Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (may Allah have mercy on him).
Both verses embrace all four categories, for their wording is unrestricted. The matter is therefore grave: a Muslim must beware of using works intended for the next life as a means to obtain the fleeting gains of this world.
Sahih al-Bukhārī records that whoever sets his sights exclusively on the world and pursues it with all his energy ends up a slave to it. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Ruined is the slave of the dinar, ruined is the slave of the dirham, ruined is the slave of the fine cloak, ruined is the slave of the plush robe. If he is given, he is pleased; if he is withheld, he is resentful. May he be ruined and relapse, and if he is pricked by a thorn, may he find no one to remove it.”
Linguistically, taʿisa means “to fall”; here it signifies “to perish.” He named such a person a slave of those things because they are the object of his deeds. Anyone who directs his intention to something other than Allah has made that object a partner with Him in his servitude— and that, sadly, is the condition of most people.
In this ḥadīth the Prophet ﷺ invoked misery, relapse, and helplessness upon the one whose sole aim and concern is the world. Whoever embodies this blameworthy trait will inevitably feel the impact of that supplication, falling into harm in both his worldly life and his Hereafter.
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said: “The Prophet ﷺ therefore called him ‘the slave of the dinar and the dirham, the slave of the quilt and the cloak,’ and in the narration he included a supplication cast in the form of an informative statement, namely …”