Page 35 - Perfected Faith

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THE OUTLOOK OF PEOPLE OF PERFECTED FAITH ON THE LIFE OF THIS WORLD

lose all their charm. The most cherished moments pass quickly and
become history. After some time, everything good becomes a faint
memory. In one verse, Allah informs us of the passions that make
man feel attached to this world:
To mankind the love of worldly appetites is painted in glowing
colours: women and children, and heaped-up mounds of gold
and silver, and horses with fine markings, and livestock and
fertile farmland. All that is merely the enjoyment of the life of
this world. The best homecoming is in the presence of Allah.
(Surah Al 'Imran, 14)
The common trait of the worldly blessings stressed in the verse
above is their temporary and limited nature. For this reason, nothing
exists in this world to which man can greedily attach himself. Neither
the physical make-up of man, which is simply of bones and flesh, nor
other material things, all of which are very vulnerable and ultimately
perishable, allow man to attach himself to this world. The blessings
we see around us are but imperfect copies of the blessings of paradise
and are created with the purpose of foreshadowing the hereafter.
People of perfected faith who have grasped this important fact re-
ceive the best benefits possible in this world. But there is one essential
difference between them and those who are allured by this world;
they don't feel greedy for these blessings. On the contrary, they feel
grateful to Allah for what He has bestowed upon them, because, they
know that the real owner of all things on earth is Allah.
Those who assume that they possess property, beauty or power in
fact deceive themselves, because it is not they who have created all
these things. They are incapable of creating even a single one of them.
Furthermore, they cannot prevent them from disappearing. They are
beings who are created themselves… One day, they will certainly
taste death, leaving behind everything that belongs to this life.
Awareness of the verse, "These people love this fleeting world and
have put the thought of a Momentous Day behind their backs".