On the authority of Abu al-‘Abbas Sahl bin Sa’d al-Sa’idi (رضي الله عنه) who said:
A man came to the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an act which if I do it, [will cause] Allah to love me and people to love me.” He (صلي الله عليه وسلم) answered: “Be indifferent to the world and Allah will love you; be indifferent to what people possess and they will love you.”
[A sahih hadith related by Ibn Majah and others with good chains of authority]
If you notice, most (if not all) the people in the world desire the love of people. This desire is very damaging towards our ultimate purpose of life, which is to please Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى). Hence the love of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) should precede any other love that we desire.
The first aspect mentioned in this hadith, is that all provisions and sustenance come from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and not simply by our own actions. The second aspect, is that if we lose anything of this world, it should not bother us because we are seeking the Hereafter and not this world.
Many people have the misunderstanding of zuhd, and borrow it from other cultures. They disregard this world, forbid the permissible, voluntarily choose a life of poverty and refuse to work or follow the means to sustenance that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has laid down for this world. This is not from Islam.
The correct zuhd in Islam is not an act of renouncing or giving up the world. It is an act of being aloof from the world, in the sense that one’s heart is not attached to the things of this world, but to the aspects of the Hereafter and one is indifferent about losing the bounties of this world. Zuhd is an action of the heart and not an outward action.
Abu Idrees al-Khaulaani said, “Zuhd in this world does not mean forbidding what is permissible or wasting wealth. Zuhd with respect to this world is only where a person puts more trust in what is with Allah than what is in his own hand. If he is afflicted with a calamity, he is more hopeful for its reward and what is stored for him in the Hereafter than if it were to have remained with him.” [1]
Sulaiman al-Daaraani said, “Do not testify that anyone has zuhd for zuhd is in the heart (and cannot be witnessed by others).” [2]
Wahb ibn al-Warad said, “Zuhd in this world is where one does not despair because of what he is given of this world.”
Sufyaan ibn Uyainah said, “Zuhd with respect to this world is where one, if he is blessed with something, gives thanks and, if he is tried, is patient.” [2]
Anyone is capable of having zuhd in their heart. An extremely rich person can have zuhd as long as he or she does not get attached to their worldy blessings. Similarly, a poor person can also have zuhd as long as they are patient while striving in all good deeds and content with what they have. All of us need to dettach our emotions from the duniya and strive for the Hereafter, and that is the only way we can have the love of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and the people.
May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) enable all of us to strive and compete amongst ourselves in using all our blessings in His cause, just like the sahabas in the past (ameen).
[1] Zarabozo, Jamaal al-Din M., “Commentary on the Forty Hadith of Al-Nawawi, Volume 2.” Al-Basheer, 1999.
[2] Quoted in al-Bugha and Mistu, p217-219.