Page 111 - Sincerity Described in the Qur'an

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Avoiding Attitudes Harming Sincerity

bargain that you have made." Humans are destined to enjoy
the blessings of this world only briefly. At death, one will be
forced to leave behind not only his body, but also the
belongings he had accumulated. The blessings to be
bestowed by Allah in the hereafter are the true means for
one’s attainment of success or happiness.

Bediuzzaman expresses the condition of those who are
deeply attached to their belongings and lives, and who then
come to comprehend their futility, as follows:
"Thus, there are in man thousands of emotions, each of which has
two degrees, one metaphorical, the other, true. For example, the
emotion of anxiety for the future is present in everyone. Then a
person is intensely anxious at the future, but he sees that he
possesses nothing to guarantee that he will reach the future he is
anxious about. Also, in respect of sustenance, there is an
undertaking for it, and the future is brief and not worth such
intense worry. So he turns away from the future towards the true
future beyond the grave, which is long lasting, and which for the
heedless, there is no undertaking." 38

In the same work, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi points out the
futility of men’s passion for material objects and their
personal selves in the following manner:
"Man also displays intense ambition for possessions and position,
then he sees that the transient property which has been put
temporarily under his supervision, and calamitous fame and
position, which is dangerous and leads to hypocrisy, are not worth
such intense ambition. He turns away from them towards spiritual
rank and degrees in closeness to Allah, which constitute true rank,
and towards provisions for the Hereafter, and good works which are
true property. Metaphorical ambition, which is a bad quality, is