Abul-‘Abbaas, Sahl bin Sa’d
As-Saa’idee (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “A man to the Prophet
(sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) and said: ‘O Allaah’s Messenger guide me to a
deed which if I act upon it, Allaah will love and the people will love me’.
Then the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said: ‘Don’t
be engrossed with the pleasures of this world, Allaah will love you; and don’t
look forward to that which is in the hands of the people; the people will love
you.” A Hasan hadeeth recorded by Ibn Maajah and others with a hasan
isnads.
Commenting on the above
hadeeth, Shaykh Saalih bin Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) stated:
This is a magnificent hadeeth.
The scholars have stated that it is one of the principles of Islaam, which a
Muslim should traverse upon. This man came to ask the Prophet (sallallaahu
alayhi wasallam) about an action that would make Allaah and the people will love
him. This is a lofty thing if Allaah loves you and the people love you. It is bliss and abundant goodness that no one
should hate you. So, what is the action through which you would attain Allaah’s
pleasure and the pleasure of the people? There is a proof in this hadeeth that the
pleasure of the people is something desirable as long as such does not contain
sin and wrongdoing.
The Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi
wasallam) said: “Don’t be engrossed with the pleasures of this world, Allaah
will love you; and don’t look forward to that which in the hands of the people;
the people will love you”. Az-Zuhd means abandonment, renunciation. That
is to say, renounce the world. The intended meaning is not that you should
abandon what you desire and what you are in need of such as seeking for
provision and lawful earning. This is prohibited. However, refrain from what
you are not in need of.
Zuhd does
not mean refraining from permissible things that you and your children are in
need of; rather, zuhd means refraining from excesses that you are not in
need of in the world. A Muslim should be moderate in seeking for something [of
the world]. He should not crave too much after the world while he possesses
what suffices him. This is the principle: “Don’t be engrossed with the
pleasures of this world, Allaah will love you.” If you do not crave after
the world, Allaah will love. This contains praise for abstention in regard to
that which a person is not in need of…
The Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi
wasallam) stated further: “And don’t look forward to that which is in the
hands of the people; the people will love you.” meaning: do not yearn for
what is in the hands of the people, because if you yearn for what is in their hands
and ask them, they will hate you. This is because they do not like or desire to
give out what is in their hands. So, if you want them to love you, do not beg
them. Seek assistance from Allaah the Mighty and Majestic as long as that is
feasible for you.
But if you are pressed to ask,
it is permissible when there is need or necessity. However, as long as it is
possible for you to dispense with people [don’t ask them for anything], because
when you burden them with your request, they will hate you as stated by the one
who said:
“Do not
ask the son of Aadam of your need. Ask the One Whose doors are never closed.
Allaah gets angry if you abandon asking Him, but the son of Aadam gets angry
when you ask him.”[1]
When you beg people, they will
hate you. But if you ask Allaah, He will love you because He is the Richest and
Most Generous. This is the principle: “If you desire the action that would make
Allaah and the people to love you then: “Don’t be engrossed with the
pleasures of this world, Allaah will love you; and don’t look long for what is in
the hands of the people; the people will love you.”
Source: al-Minhatur-Rabbaaniyyah fee Sharh al-Arba’een
an-Nawawiyyah, p. 244-246, by Shaykh Saalih bin Fawzaan, translated by
Abdus-Samee’ Abdus-Salaam.
[1]
These two couplets were mentioned by Abu Sulaymaan al-Khattaabee in his book,
‘al-Uzlah (p.67) and he attributed them to al-Khuzaymee. See Sharh
at-Tahaawiyah of Ibn Abil-‘Izz (p.519), Fathul-Qadeer (1/556) and Tuhfah
al-Ahwadhee (9/221)
