Duniya (The World)

The Sufi Masters regard negligence of Allah Almighty as duniya. Maulana Rumi has said:

What is duniya (worldliness) It is negligence of God.

It is neither wealth, gold, silver, nor wife or children.

It is this worldliness, described as ablivion to God Almighty, that is looked down upon and condemned by the Sufis. Regarding such worldly people, Maulana Rumi Said:

The woridly are thankless people,

Always busy in eating, drinking, quarrelling

Allah, the Most Exalted, says in the Holy Quran:

Know that the life of this world is

Only play, and idle talk, and

Pageantry, and boasting among you,

And rivalry in respect of wealth and

children; as the likeness of

vegetation after rain, whereof the

growth is pleasing to the

husbandman, but afterward it drieth

up and thou seest it turning yellow,

then it becometh straw. And in the

Hereafter there is grievous

Punishment, and (also) forgiveness

From Allah and His good pleasure,

Whereas the life of the world is but

Matter of illusion (Al-Hadid, 57:20)

Generally, life before death is called worldly life and life after death is called the Hereafter (this worldliness and other worldliness). In other words, life this side of the grave is worldliness and life the other side of the grave is other worldliness. But the fact is that the life of this world which is spent in ameliorating the life for the next world is not at all a worldly life, it is a fore-runner of the Hereafter. What is condemned in Islam is a life in which one’s energy and attention is directed towards acquisition of wealth and power, where one is negligent of the next life, and is forgetful of the remembrance of God. Clearly, that contemptible and trite life confined to attaining worldly goals deserves to be censured.

However, from another point of view, life in this world is the root and the Hereafter is the branch or the harvest thereof. In other words “as you sow, so shall you reap.” That is to say the reward we get in the Hereafter is the result of what we do in this world. In the scale of creation too, this world has to be lived before attaining the other world. But the pleasures and comforts of the Hereafter are far superior and more lasting than those in this world. This is because the human soul is freer to enjoy the pleasures of life in the Hereafter than in this world where impurities do not allow the soul to properly distinguish good from evil, suitable from unsuitable, and harmless from harmful. For instance, a rich man besought with worries or suffering from a disease cannot enjoy the pleasures of life as much as a healthy and carefree person. Moreover, the very thought that the pleasures of this world are transitory, haunts a wealthy person, and cause bitterness in all his affairs. From this point of view, life of the Hereafter is superior to life in this world. It is life the analogy of the son being more capable than his father, or the fruit more valuable than the tree, or like meanings more significant than words although meanings result from words. The pure are always superior to the impure. This world is the abode of indignity and humility while the other world is the abode of dignity and grace. In the Hereafter, Divine forgiveness shall be unlimited whereas in this world it is limited.

The Sufi Masters regard negligence of Allah Almighty as duniya. Maulana Rumi has said:

What is duniya (worldliness) It is negligence of God.

It is neither wealth, gold, silver, nor wife or children.

It is this worldliness, described as ablivion to God Almighty, that is looked down upon and condemned by the Sufis. Regarding such worldly people, Maulana Rumi Said:

The woridly are thankless people,

Always busy in eating, drinking, quarrelling

Allah, the Most Exalted, says in the Holy Quran:

Know that the life of this world is

Only play, and idle talk, and

Pageantry, and boasting among you,

And rivalry in respect of wealth and

children; as the likeness of

vegetation after rain, whereof the

growth is pleasing to the

husbandman, but afterward it drieth

up and thou seest it turning yellow,

then it becometh straw. And in the

Hereafter there is grievous

Punishment, and (also) forgiveness

From Allah and His good pleasure,

Whereas the life of the world is but

Matter of illusion (Al-Hadid, 57:20)

Generally, life before death is called worldly life and life after death is called the Hereafter (this worldliness and other worldliness). In other words, life this side of the grave is worldliness and life the other side of the grave is other worldliness. But the fact is that the life of this world which is spent in ameliorating the life for the next world is not at all a worldly life, it is a fore-runner of the Hereafter. What is condemned in Islam is a life in which one’s energy and attention is directed towards acquisition of wealth and power, where one is negligent of the next life, and is forgetful of the remembrance of God. Clearly, that contemptible and trite life confined to attaining worldly goals deserves to be censured.

However, from another point of view, life in this world is the root and the Hereafter is the branch or the harvest thereof. In other words “as you sow, so shall you reap.” That is to say the reward we get in the Hereafter is the result of what we do in this world. In the scale of creation too, this world has to be lived before attaining the other world. But the pleasures and comforts of the Hereafter are far superior and more lasting than those in this world. This is because the human soul is freer to enjoy the pleasures of life in the Hereafter than in this world where impurities do not allow the soul to properly distinguish good from evil, suitable from unsuitable, and harmless from harmful. For instance, a rich man besought with worries or suffering from a disease cannot enjoy the pleasures of life as much as a healthy and carefree person. Moreover, the very thought that the pleasures of this world are transitory, haunts a wealthy person, and cause bitterness in all his affairs. From this point of view, life of the Hereafter is superior to life in this world. It is life the analogy of the son being more capable than his father, or the fruit more valuable than the tree, or like meanings more significant than words although meanings result from words. The pure are always superior to the impure. This world is the abode of indignity and humility while the other world is the abode of dignity and grace. In the Hereafter, Divine forgiveness shall be unlimited whereas in this world it is limited.