Ice in the Sun

“A man came to the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Guide me to such an action that when I do it, Allah will love me and the people will also love me.’ He (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, ‘Be detached from this world and then Allah will love you, and do not be attached to what people have and then people will love you.’” [Ibn Majah; Kitab az-Zuhd]

This hadith shows that Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) loves those who live simply in this life. It has been said that if having love for Allah is the best state to be in, then living simply is the best condition to be in.

Living simply means that you should restrain your desire for worldly things in the hope of receiving something better instead. In order to achieve this more easily you should first realize that the things which people yearn for in this world are in fact worthless when compared with what we hope for in the next world.

If we know that what Allah has will remain and that the life to come is better and more lasting, then we realize that the life of this world is really like a piece of ice left out in the sun – it soon melts and vanishes. The Akhira, however, never vanishes. The desire one has to exchange this life for the one to come is strengthened by the certainty that there is no comparison between this life and the next.

Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) says: “Yes, you prefer the life of this world, but the next world is better and more lasting.” [Quran: Surah al-A’la, Ayaat 16-17]