70 – Second narration: Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The world is sweet and green, and Allah is appointing you as stewards in it to see how you will act. Therefore, beware of the world and beware of women, for the first trial of the Children of Israel was over women.” Muslim related it.

Explanation

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—cites this ḥadīth because it contains the Prophet’s instruction to practice taqwā after describing the true nature of worldly life. He said, “The world is sweet and green”: sweet to the palate, green to the eye. When something is at once verdant and sweet, the eye is drawn to it first and the soul craves it next; when both eye and soul desire the same thing, a person is on the verge of falling for it. Thus the world is delicious in taste and attractive in appearance; a man becomes infatuated with it, immerses himself in it, and makes it his greatest concern.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) then made it clear that Allah, exalted is He, has made us vice-gerents in this world to observe how we behave. He said, “Allah, exalted is He, is appointing you as stewards in it to see how you will act.” Will you obey Him, curb the whims of the self, fulfill the obligations He has placed upon you, and refuse to be deceived by the world, or will it be the opposite? Hence his words, “So beware of the world,” meaning: carry out what He has commanded, leave what He has forbidden, and do not let the sweetness and luster of this world beguile you, as He, the Exalted, says: “So let not the life of this world deceive you, and let not the Deceiver deceive you about Allah” (Luqmān 31:33).