WILD WILD WORLD

Allah swt has put us in this world and we all have our own relationship with the dunya, this
world that we live in and in this day and age we often see that this is a very materialistic
society and this modern society is often described as being a society which is dominated by
materialism, by capitalism, by consumerism and a lot of things; you are what you dress and
nowadays anyone you talk to is like that we have a lot of things. If you look at our
cupboards, our wardrobes, our shoes, our food, our furniture, our decorations, we have a lot
of the dunya. We have lot of things in this world. And if you look at all the stuff a person can
do in this world in terms of recreation, in terms of enjoyment is limitless. 0:50(check) In
Pakistan, you see there are restrictions sometime but if you look in Europe and UK and in US
there are always different types of new and more creative ways and different types of
recreation and different types of ways to enjoy life, to enjoy the world and our relationship
with the world, sometimes we think it's just being materialistic with Someone who is in love
with wealth or clothing or just in love with having fun. Basically love for the world can be
manifested in different ways. One is through wealth, one is through beauty, another is of
shehwat towards food, through different desires a person can have. So basically love for the
dunya is actually encompasses a lot of different things and it's like a net that suppose if net is
composed of different ropes, it is composed of different ropes. For somebody their main
snare might be love for wealth, for somebody it might be love for fame and fortune, love for
respect, love for praise, to be love for a certain person. So we all have our different nets that
catch us in this dunya. So basically today we are talking about is hub e dunya.

First of all what is it? This is actually comes in a famous Hadith that 2:02(Arabic) that the
love of the world is actually the root, the essence of all sins. If you look at it, if you look at
all the bad things that go on in this world, all evil that exists, all the negativity, it all actually
goes down, it boils down to love of the world. People who kill one another, people who are
greedy, people who are unjust to one another, all of it goes down, the root cause is actually
people having excessive love for the world, excessive attachment to the world. But also what
we see, we call it hub e dunya, love for the world but we don’t know what it actually means,
what are the Ahadiths pertaining to love of dunya and the verses in the Quran.

First of all the definition, what does hub e dunya means? So most scholars have defined to
love anything, cause dunya includes a lot of things, includes people, to love anything that
gives you enjoyment AND (the and should be in capitalized letters 2:58 should include it or
not?) makes you ghafil of Allah swt, makes you negligent of Allah swt and the akhirah. That
is actually hub e dunya. To love something that gives you enjoyment, it could be even your
children, it could be your spouse, it could be your friends, but at the same time, it makes you
heedless, it makes you negligent of Allah ta'ala, His commands, it makes you negligent of the
hereafter. That’s why it comes in so many places in the Quran that people who go to
jahannum, about them they used to be happy with their families and in their happiness,
excessive happiness with their families in their homes, it made them heedless of Allah swt.
And the believers when it comes that the people who go to jannat, they also had families,
they also were happy with their families but their happiness with their families did not
obstruct their love for Allah ta'ala.
So basically if you look at, if you try to understand hub e dunya, Islam is not against wealth,
is not against having good relationships with people, is not against having good and pure
recreational activities, it's basically having this excessive love that’s in your heart. The
heart is actually reserved for Allah swt's love, is reserved for the love of Prophet saw, is
reserved for the remembrance of Allah.

The things of this world are meant to be in the hands, not in the heart.

So this is something that we, as Muslims, in Islam, that this is something that if we look at
our situation, we have this hirs.

Hirs is hard to define in English, its excessive desire. Hirs for something and this is a
problem in the heart. This is the disease of the heart. Wanting things of the dunya and
that is what makes a person have this excessive attachment to the dunya.

If you look at Hadith and its actually interesting that in Hadith you sometimes see things that
seem contradictory. We have kind of a laughing 4:50 check relationships with the dunya and
it comes out in Hadith. We have to live in this dunya, Allah swt say that you have to live in
this dunya, you have to look well in this dunya, we can't separate our self, we can't live in a
cave, we can't live a-social life. We have to interact with people; we have to be a part of this
world and at the same time we can't let it affect us and take over our heart.

So there is a Hadith where Prophet saw have said, very intense Hadith actually that the
Prophet saw said, "everything in the world is accursed her cheez dunya me maloon hai,
maloon means jis per laanat ki gae hai 5:18(urdu:need to translate?) everything in the
world. The world and everything in it, actually the Hadith is dunya and everything in it is
accursed jis per laanat ki gae 5:29(urdu) except three things, one the remembrance Allah
swt dhikr ullah, next what is near it, what brings you closer to remembrance of Allah swt and
the third thing, actually there are four things, and the third thing which comes a scholar or
student, a person who is studying the deen or a person who is teaching it. So these are the
things which the Prophet saw said that they are exempted from this curse. Basically if you
look at this Hadith that the world is maloon, jis per laanat ki gae 5:58(urdu) what does
laanat means? Laanat means k Allah ki rehmat se kise cheez ko door karna 06:01(urdu) that
nothing has the rehmat of Allah swt except remembering Allah ta'ala, something that brings
you closer to Allah ta'ala, a person who is a scholar of Islam, a scholar of Allah and His
ehkamat 6:15(urdu) and fourth the person who is a student and is pursuing this knowledge.
If you look at this Hadith and it seems like the world is a really really bad place to be but let
me give you the other Hadith and then we will come back to this one. You have to
understand this Hadith.

There is another Hadith, total opposite, the Prophet saw said, "Don’t curse the world" and
look in the first Hadith the Prophet saw Himself is cursing the world. He is saying the world is
accursed. But he is saying that you don’t curse the world because Allah swt created it. And it
is a means of reaching, meaning it is means of reaching Allah ta'ala.
 So if you look at it, the world, we have a dual relationship with it. At one way we are not
supposed to let it enter into our heart and we are supposed to keep it at a distance from our
heart but at the same time we have to realize that this is the means that makes us closer to
Allah swt. So remembering Allah ta'ala is done in the world, bringing yourself closer to Allah
swt like good acts, good deeds, by helping people in this world, this is also a thing that you
have to do in this world.

So all these things, looking at these two Hadiths, if we put them together, basically the
world, if you look around sometimes you look at nature, you look at things around you, you
look at the climate change or you look at you know spring is in the air and these things
makes a person feel happier, makes a person feel more closer to Allah ta'ala, makes the
person ponder at the rehmat, ponder the beauty of Allah ta'ala zaat, ponder the qudrat of
Allah ta'al. So these things do make you closer. So basically if you look at these Ahadiths, all
the things that make you closer to Allah, those are the things which are exempted from this
curse. Those are the things which are okay to love. Those are the things that are okay to be a
part of in this world and everything else is something that we should consider that this is the
lower dunya, this is the lower world.

And if you look in the Arabic language, dunya comes from the same root words as adnaa. So
people who know Urdu, adnaa means, kya matlab hota hai? 8:12(Urdu) Something that is
hakeer, chhoti se cheez 8:14 so dunya hai hakeer cheez, chhoti se cheez 8:17 and this is
something many many Ahadiths attested.

Prophet saw said in a Hadith that in eyes of Allah, this world and everything in it is not
worth the fly of a mosquito, is not worth even the fly. So this shows you that in eyes of Allah
this world is nothing but actually the things that make us closer to Him that is what going to
make our life in this world worthwhile. That’s what going to make our life in this world
acceptable to Allah ta'ala.

There are verses in the Quran as well. In the Quran in many places and actually if you look at
it, interestingly, people who study Arabic language, we often say the life of the world, but
actually if you look at the Arabic, the proper translation should be al hayat tud dunya 8:59,
the worldly life. So it's not the life of the world that’s wrong, it's actually the life that's full of
the world, full of hub e dunya. So in Quran, Allah swt says the worldly life is a place, is but a
place of deception. It’s a place of dar ul ghuroor. It’s a place k ap dhoka khate ho 9:15.

And this is all the Hadith when the Prophet saw is saying that fear the dunya 9:19(Arabic)
that fear the dunya, stay away from it. It's just like you know if someone goes and say
someone is a foreigner coming to Pakistan and people say to him that be careful when you
are in the market that people cheat in that market. People if go to that store or if you to that
area of the town, people are like just be careful. You give people warnings when they go to a
new place, you give them warnings that how can you live there, how can you stay there
without getting hurt. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go there but just heed the precautions,
heed these warnings so here the Prophet saw is doing the same thing that live in the world,
you have to live in the world but just fear, heed the precautions, heed these instructions and
if you heed them then this world will not affect your heart that you can come and live in this
world, be a part of this world but your heart will be unscathed, will not be effected.
 Maulana Rumi, famous Sufi poet, he has written, gave a tashbeeh, an analogy describing
how our relationship with the world should be and this is, I might have mentioned it many
times, but very beautiful if you understand it, how that life is that we have to live in this
world that you have to live in this world but not be of it 10:29(check) and he gives the
example that world is like an ocean and our hearts are like boats, as long as the boat is
above the ocean, the water does not enter the boat, the boat would stay afloat, the minute
the water enters the boat what happens? The boat starts sinking. So this is actually our
relationship with the dunya. We can live in the dunya, we can have it in our hand as much as
we want, but as long it does not affect our heart and this is something that the Prophet saw
in Hadith constantly constantly describe.

So another verse in the Quran, the worldly life is just play and futile act 11:06(Quranic
reference but not in Arabic) yeh just khel ki cheezen hain, bus waqt guzarna hai 11:09 like
you know when little kid, they go to the toy store, when they are little they'll going to play
but then they will outgrow it. We say that the child is going to outgrow something.

Rather there is a story of a buzurg that one time when his child, when his son became older
like 18, 19, 20, bara ho gya ta 11:28 one time in front of his whole friends, he addresses his
son, it was a special day or some occasion and he said I am going to give you something
really special, you really wanted it for so long and I kept it safely and today I thought to give
this thing to you, so he went and everyone is in anticipation that what it would be. He went
and he came back with a small ball, like a red rubber ball and he said that when you were
little, you cried and you cried and cried to have it and I didn’t buy it for you and now I am
giving it to you. You wanted it so badly. The child got upset with his father. The young man
at that point, he said that what are you doing, you are making me embarrass in front of my
friends. You make me really look bad in front of my friends. And the father made a point,
when you were little, you wanted it so badly, you cried and you cried and you cried and now
you don’t want it.

Giving them an example this is our love for the dunya. So sometimes you want something so
badly, on the Day of Judgment, you are going to be embarrassed that I wanted this. Mujhe
itne haqeer cheez, yeh chhote cheez chahiye te 12:26. So our teachers, the Scholars in the
old time, this is the way they used to do tarbiyat of their children. They used to give
examples. You know how you feel embarrassed in front of your friends now; iamgine
feeling this type of embarrassment in front of the whole of creation, in front of all of
humanity on the Day of Judgment when Allah swt would say that these are the things you
were used to ask for in this world. So sometimes, we are like children's asking for little play
things, for toy things and this is what Allah swt is saying. This worldly life is just like a child
trying to play; it's a life of play and the home of the akhirah 13:00(check) is better for those
who have taqwa. Actually this world is not for play and futile activity, it's to work on our
level, our relationship with Allah ta'ala and if the person develops their taqwa, develops his
relationship with Allah, the akhirah is better and then Allah ta'ala says that do you not
understand. These are the examples; they are analogies to make us understand. So this is
something you know many many analogies.
Another Hadith that Prophet saw has said that 13:27(Arabic) that the dunya is the prison for
the believer and 13:31(Arabic) and is the jannat for the disbeliever. Why? Because when a
person is living in the prison, they don’t live according to their own will, they don’t eat what
they want, they don’t sleep when they want, they can't make up their own rules, they have
to follow the rules of the prison. Just like that a moumin, a Muslim lives their life according
to the rule of Allah ta'ala, they can't change the rule, they can't bend the rules, they can't do
things what they want, they have to go according to the rules of Allah, so they are living in a
prison. And just like a prisoner when they leave that prison, you can imagine the state of
happiness, the freedom. Now there is freedom. Just like that when a moumin dies, it comes
in Hadith that for a moumin death is just a bridge, it's just a bridge uniting the lover to his
beloved. So death is just a bridge and they are now at the bridge to freedom. Now they have
the freedom to do whatever they wanted. So this is a person that is a moumin. And on the
other hand a kafir, a disbeliever, a person who doesn’t believe in Allah ta'ala, the Prophet
saw said that for them dunya is a jannat. And this is what we see, the world around us, the
people who are distant from Allah ta'ala, the people who don’t believe in Allah ta'ala, their
whole life is trying to make their life good, better, the best, trying to make their life a jannat,
trying to make their society, their home a small little heaven, a small little paradise. And this
is something that you see in the West or any really developed countries that a person can
get whatever they want to eat. You can go to the grocery store, that today I was talking
with someone 15:01(need to include?), that you will be surprised that one aisle of ice
cream, every single ice cream you can imagine, different combinations, different companies,
some is natural, some is organic, some is skim, some is diet, some is 80% fat 15:15(check),
some is reduced fat, some is fat free, you can get anything you want and all this here is all is
a little jannat. You can actually get whatever your heart desires. You can get whatever
mixture of fruit juices you want, pine apple, orange, strawberry, banana, a mix, cocktail. We
get one two things in Pakistan, we get so excited while you can get this in Pakistan now. But
these are the things that people in the disbelieving world, in Dar ul harb, in other places in
this world, have actually created a small little jannat for themselves. So this shows that the
dunya can be made into a jannat. But if you look, Allah ta'ala says, it's not such a well known
Hadith, but this dunya is not jo hamare talab ka hai 16:01 the dunya is not something that
we should aim for. We should not aim so low, in other words. The dunya is haqeer cheez
16:10 why are you keeping your aim so low?

The dunya is actually, there is a Hadith that I am going to talk about in a little bit now, that
there is a Hadith where Prophet saw said that the dunya is means that it is a corpse, dead
body, and those who have talab for it, those who seek it, those who desire it are like dogs.
Those who desire it are like dogs. Now in this Muhaddiseen, the people who are scholars of
Hadith, have actually went into the depths, to look at the dunya, it's like a corpse and those
who want it are like dogs. So what does it means? Why didn’t Allah swt say or why didn’t the
Prophet saw say that the people who want the dunya are like crows, or they are like
vultures? Why word dog used specifically? So here scholars have actually come up with
different reasons. The people who desire the world and search the world, what are their
traits? What makes them like dogs? One is if you compare dogs and crows, crows also eat
murdar, crows also eat corpses, vultures also eat, but what makes a dog and a crow
different;
 One is that when a crow eats something that is dead like a dead animal or dead
something it would actually crow, call out loudly, it would make noise and invite the
other crows to eat with it. We are so distant from nature nowadays, hum ghaur o
kikar nai karte 17:37(Urdu) , Allah swt has made this dunya tak hum dunya he me
dekh kar ghor o fikar kar saken 17:40 look at the animals, we don’t get up in time
for the fajar, we must look at the sunrise. There was a time when people who were
close to nature, those who look at world, they look at animals, they look at ants,
they look at the vegetation around them, they look at the sunrise and the sunset,
you know these things come naturally to them. This is the way our fitrat is but
unfortunately the material world, the dunyawi zindagi that we are living in, it cuts
us off from these things, it's just makes us materialistic, not really using the world as
it is meant to be used. So going back to the example that when a crow, most of us
are like I am saying it and you believe it, but if you ever look, when a crow occurs,
they come together. Something would be dead, one would crow out, one would call
out and then all the other crows would come. Whereas a dog, when a dog sees
something dead and it eats, it eats alone. It doesn’t call out to the other dogs that
hey there is free food, it eats alone.
 Another difference is that when a crow finds a dead body, a dead animal, crow
would eat every other thing that is dead except its own, a crow will not eat another
crow, will not eat a dead crow. Whereas a dog would eat another dead dog.

In all these analogies what's happening is that all those people who want the dunya
how are they being compared to dogs. One is that the person who craves the dunya
they just worry about themselves. They will eat even their own, they will backstab
their own brothers and sisters to get the dunya.
 The third difference is that when a crow, when one of its own, when a
fellow crow is killed in a certain area, this is something I myself have
actually seen, that when a crow is killed, like a crow dies, all the other crows
might come near it and they all are like, wo jo apne awaz nikalte hain 19:34,
swanking noise, they would make their noise but they will not go there,
they will not go by that dead crow because wo ibrat hasil karte hain 19:44
that this crow was killed here, it somehow died here, we will not go there.
wo ibrat hasil karte hain 19:53 whereas a dog, wo ibrat hasil nai karta hai
19:54 even if a dog is killed at that place, it would still got to that place.
 Another example and difference is that a crow would only eat in the
daylight hours. When there is daylight. Whereas a dog would eat in the
mornings and in the daylight -morning, night, noon anytime.
 The last difference is that a crow would only eat the soft meat because it is
a crow, it cannot eat the bones and stuff whereas a dog will eat everything,
the meat, the bones, the cartilage, everything.

So if you look why are those people who want the dunya, who have talab for the
dunya, who seek out the dunya, how are they being compared to dogs? They are
being compared to dogs because dogs have all these attributes. They have this
more worry about themselves. They don’t care about others. They will attack their
own kind. They are like being compared in this way. So when you see this that the
Prophet saw, when He used the word dogs, He meant that these type of traits.

And if you look, interestingly, people who are scholars, Hazrat Hasan Basri ra,
famous scholar of the taabaein, He has written actually that different animals have
different traits and the dog has a lot of these bad traits. But at the same time, He
says that even if you look at these bad traits of dog, it still has some good traits and
this is something that He actually wrote a small passage about this. I would mention
some of the traits of a dog that these traits that a dog has, if a human being was to
imbue or make one of these traits in their self, then Allah ta'ala would make them a
wali. Allah ta'ala has made everything and has put both shar and khair in
everything. Now dogs have these shar but they also have some khair we can learn
from. So Hassan Basri ra actually wrote about this and He said that one thing that
the dog always accepts what it gets. You'll throw the bone, it will take the bone. You
throw it something else to eat, it will eat it. There is qana'at, sabar in him 22:06
sabar wala. It has quality of sabar. Another trait that a dog has that if another dog
overcomes its territory, its area, if it fights it and overcomes it then that dog would
leave. This is the sign of being razi. Always being razi. That its not in my control, I
can't have it then I'll go, I'll leave it. So being razi. Another trait of the dog is that if
the owner hits it, we say that the owner would hit it, abuse it sometimes, it won't
leave the owner. It's loyal. This shows that they are sadiq. Aashiq e sadiq of their
malik. So this is the sign. Another, a dog, whenever something is being eaten in
front, if the malik, the owner is eating something in front of the dog, the dog can
see that he is having a juicy hamburger, juicy something g or eating something good
and the dog has the ability to go and to try to get it but the dog will control its
desire. They will not just grab and take it, its miskeen. This is the sign of being
miskeen. This is also a trait of the dog. Another is that a dog, whenever it sits, it
always picks the most lowest palce, the most adnaa place to sit. It will sit where the
shoes are. It will sit where the trash is. So this shows that a dog is humble. It is the
sign of the humility of the dog. Another trait of the dog is that you see that it has no
place to stay. It doesn’t have a home. No home is made for it. So a dog is tawakkul
karne wala 23:39 has tawakkul in Allah ta'ala that I'll find a place to stay at night.
Another trait of a dog is that it sleeps less. Even if there is a little noise, the dog is
the first one to start barking. So the dog has the habit that usk neend kachhi hote
hai, kam hote hai 23:54 this is the sign of the person who is muhabbat karne wala
23:59 those who love, sleep less. Their love, their loyalty does not let them sleep. So
Hazrat Hasan Basri ra writes that if you look all these good signs of a dog that
anyone, He writes if anyone person can have one of these traits in them, that
person will become a wali of Allah. But despite this, despite all these good traits
that a dog can have, if the dog has talab of the dunya, that would ruin everything.
So in the same way, a human, if you look at the analogy, I should take human being,
that a human being can have a lot and lot of good traits, they can be razi, they can
be miskeen, they can be humble, but if they have hub e dunya in their heart, that
hub e dunya will overcome, will override everything else, it will erase everything
else. That's why it's so important to stay away from it.
That’s why if you look even at the title of talk today 'wild wild world', the world is a wild
place and just like a wild animal, if you want to derive benefit from the wild animal, you
have to tame it. You have to learn how to tame it. It doesn’t happen automatically. It takes
time. I am sure a lot of you guys would have seen those things on TV where a person is
trying to overpower a bull or horse, a wild horse, they get jumped on top and after a while
they fall off. Then they don’t give up, they jump again and they try to hold on to the reins
and then they are kicked off again. Then they try the third time and finally they are able to
control that horse. Once it's controlled, it's controlled for life. So this is something that our
relationship with the dunya is like a wild animal, wild beast that we are trying to control.
Where we learn how to control it, then we can ride. That same dunya that is wild and it is
uncontrollable in our heart, when we learn to tame it, when we learn to control it, that same
dunya which is like a wild animal, we can learn how to ride it and to use it for the things that
bring us closer to Allah swt 25:50 (check) so these are the things that a person if we try to
bind our self with these traits.

Another thing to look at is how do we know if we have hub e dunya? Like I say everyone
has a certain thing. Everyone has a weak point. Everyone has what you call a Kellies tendon
(confirm the phrase) something that is their weakness. And sometimes it could be one thing
and sometimes it could be something else. How could we decide how much hub e dunya do
we have?

1. One sign of hub e dunya, love for the world is are we a slave of our desires? Do we have
this nafs e ammara that our nafs owes us? That if it want something, then you can't say
no. do you have to listen? Do you have to give in? The nafs, I have given this example I
think before, but nafs is like many scholars have described it like a child. Like a three
year old child. Like a three old child who is going through a terrible tooth. Anyone who
has dealt with children, they know that a lot of people have shared like a spoilt brat. The
more you listen, the more you give in to that child, the more that child will rule your
world. She would be more stubborn, would do more tantrums. So sometimes you see a
mother who has like this one child and its two or three years old and the child would be
like "I want this!" and she doesn’t get it, the whole house would know, she would be
screaming and throwing tantrums. And now her mother is worried and she is like "ok ok
we have to give her what she wants". Sothis is like that the nafs is like this child who has
tantrums. And this is like child psychology, if more you give into the child, the more
tantrums they have, the more you give into them, the next time they are going to have a
bigger tantrum that would be a longer tantrum because they know it works. Whenever
you give in, this is what child psychologists say, the more you give in to a child's tantrum
or zid, the more they will have it the next time around. The more you are like that I'll
give him this time and just be quiet, the next time she is okay mama give it, I just have to
cry a bit louder and scream a bit stronger and then mama would listen. So the nafs is like
a child, the nafs, the more you give in to it the stronger it becomes, it becomes an
uncontrollable temper tantrum child, that just have to scream louder and longer for the
next time. So this is something when you are a slave of your desire that whatever your
 nafs says, you are always giving in, you are always giving in. This is the sign of hub e
dunya.
2. Another sign of hub e dunya is that a person is always interested, is always concerned
with how to have fun, how to enjoy, always try to find a way to enjoy, always avoiding
any type of serious discussion, always avoiding any type of thing that would bring them,
make them a bit more serious or make them down, any mention of death," no, let's not
talk about this", any mention of anything that’s a bit more important, they are more in
interested in just enjoying their life around them.
3. Another sign of hub e dunya is always thinking how to get more. Always thinking how
can I get more money? How can I get more this or more that? Or how can I increase my
qualifications? How can I increase my gpa? I mean increasing your gpa is also part of the
dunya. Always always 29:15(check) this being a predominant part of your heart,
predominant thinking of your heart. Always thinking how you can get more and more?
4. Another sign which I think is often important is sometimes we don’t realize one side of
being very attached to world is making long term plans. Making plans of okay 5 year
plans, a 10 year plan, a 15 year plan, a 20 year plan and to some extent we should have a
general idea that by 40 I want this in life, about 30 I want this in my life. general rules,
general things should be there but when we make really detailed, very long term plans
then that means your heart is so attached to the dunya that it becomes your be all end
all.
a. So this is something, there is a Hadith that Prophet saw is actually was once
sitting with the Companions, He took His walking stick and He made a line, He
actually made a box on the ground and in that box he made some lines and the
lines were actually exceeding the lines of the box and then He said that this is
your life, on one side is your death and these are your desires and the desires
were exceeding the boxes meaning k tamanna itne hote hai lakan moka kam
kile ga 30:19(check)(Hadith here but not in Arabic) and this is something,
b. in another Hadith Prophet saw said that in human beings the hirs of the money
would never end, if you have one mountain of money, you want another
mountain of money, the only thing that fills his stomach is the dirt of the
grave30:30(Anotehr Hadith in English). So this shows that to have hirs, having
desires of the world cannot end, it will just increase, increase and increase. A
person would say that I just need to make 1 lakh a month and when they make 1
lakh a month, he would be like no no I just need to make a little bit more and
then 1 and half lakh of amount. It will just increase, increase, increase. A person
will never be content, always looking for more and more and more.
5. Another sign scholars have written being attached to the material world, which I think is
very important in our day and age, having an abundant supply of entertainment goods.
Entertainment goods, ways to entertain yourself. It was actually a book that was written
in the US a couple of years ago "Entertaining Our Self to Death". That actually sitting in
front of the TV, going to movies, eating out, this whole entertainment culture, like
Pakistan has its own style but whole this entertainment is centered around food,
centered around eating a lot, eating out, watching movies, having a sedentary life. You
make yourself spiritually dead and you are also going to make yourself physically dead.
Physically dead meaning you are going to become alike people who are basically very
 sedentary. So this is something you know entertainment goods, having a lot of
entertainment also shows a decree of, a large decree of hub e dunya.
6. Another major sign of having hub e dunya is what is your reaction when money comes
and money goes? When things come and things go. This is also major indication. One
time there is a scholar, a famous story that one time he owned some ships, he had some
ships so this was his business, type of merchandising and commerce. And somebody ran
to him one time and said that "Sheikh! Sheikh! We have this news that your ship that
carried all this cargo in it, it was coming and it sank and you lost your ship, you lost your
cargo, you lost your crew" and that person who was Allahwala, he was like an old man,
he became quiet, he looked down and he quietly just said "Alhamdulillah" and then that
person went away. A little bit later, sometime later, he came back and he said that "O
we have some other news for you. Actually it wasn’t your ship; it was somebody else's
ship that sank. We got the wrong news and your ship has come to the dock and
everything is fine and your stuff is fine." Then all of a sudden he looked down, he did the
same thing and quietly said "Alhamdulillah." So the man who brought him the news, he
said, "I don’t understand. First time bad news was given to you and you said
Alhamdulillah. Second time good news was given to you, the same way you said
Alhamdulillah." He said, "Actually when you came with the bad news, first I looked in my
heart and I checked does my heart feel any type of sadness." This is your high level. Our
level is like you know kindergarten. We are infant level of our iman in Islam and at that
time he said he checked his heart, he was like did I feel any loss, did I feel any sorrow for
losing this dunya and he felt that no! I don’t feel any sadness so upon seeing that I don’t
have any sadness in my heart I said Alhamdulillah. He praised Allah. He did nisbat
towards Allah. Second time when he came with the good news and all of a sudden a lot
of us sometimes become really sad, we are theek hai jaise bhi hai 33:49 all of a sudden
we get a good news we can't hide. You can't hide these things. Someone gives you good
news your eyes, your body, your demeanor shows it. He had so much qooyat, he just
looked down and he said Alhamdulillah. So second time you came, again I checked in my
heart do I feel any happiness for like saving the money that I thought I lost, saving this
world and I didn’t feel any happiness. So upon that, upon finding that my heart was
empty of feeling the sadness of loss of wealth and empty of the happiness of gaining
wealth, then at that I said Alhamdulillah.
a. This is the level of being istaghna of the dunya. There is word called istaghna.
Istaghna means self sufficient, to be not emotionally needy, emotionally
attached. One is that yes I need money in my purse and in my pocket so I can
pay my fees, so that I can pay the bills and one is having it in your heart. So
parting with money, if a person can easily part with money then this shows a
type of istighna of the dunya, shows the lack of love for the dunya. But when
you feel like hoarding money, when you feel like not giving away money. When
you feel like okay let me give some sadqa and first you think okay I'll give a 1000
and then no no 500 is enough. When a person goes down, he thinks that no I
don’t need to give that much 35:09(check), this is the sign that the person is
attached to the dunya.
So this is something that what are the remedies of getting aware of the hub e dunya?

1. One is that a person should reflect on the reality of the world. That the dunya is the
place of deception. The dunya is temporary. That whatever we get of this dunya is just
going to help us in our life here. When we go to our graves, when a person goes, first of
all the person goes alone. No one will go with you. No one is going to answer for you.
Why did you do this? Why didn’t you do this? You can't say I did it for my parents, I did it
for my spouse, I did it for my children. They are not there with you in the grave. You
have to account for your own deeds on your own.
a. Secondly you are not going to have your wealth. Money won't go with you.
Whatever you work for in this world, will not go with you. The only thing that
would help you is what you work for in this world, your good deeds, what you
spend. Actually what you spent will help you and what you safe will not help
you. That will all go to your warsa, it will all go to the people who are inherent.
b. Okay there is a hadith, a very beautiful hadith, Prophet saw once, He came
home and He had told Hazrat Ayesha ra they had a goat slaughtered and He said
distribute this meat and keep some. So when He came home, He asked Hazrat
Ayesha ra did you distribute. What's left? And Hazrat Ayasha ra replied that sub
kuch de dya bus yeh raan, yeh dast baki hai36:35 Prophet saw twisted the words
and He said that yeh baki nai hai baki sub kuchbaki hai, yeh khatam hone wale
hai36:40 meaning what you gave to other people for the sake of Allah swt, that
will be baki, baki means eternal. That sawab would be there for you for eternity,
whereas whatever you have left for us right now, that would be finished after
eating, that would be digested and it won't be a source of sawab and this is not
baki, it’s a fani thing. This shows the way of thinking. When a person realizes the
reality of this world then your way of thinking changes. The heart changes, the
way of thinking changes. A person has to reflect that this dunya, what actually I
do here, this money that I spend here that’s actually from where I'll get benefit
and the stuff that I leave behind, there is no benefit for me in it. In it, the people
who are left behind have benefit.
2. Second remedy is to remember death. Which is kind of we have already touched upon.
Remembering death because there comes in a Hadith that Prophet saw said," remember
death abundantly" the word of kasrat is used 37:39 this is something that you see in
Quran Allah swt uses the word dhikr and uses the word kasrat, in abundance. All these
other ibadats that we have namaz, roza, sadqa dena, zakat dena the word kasrat is
never ever used. It's never pray in abundantly, fast in abundantly, make dua in
abundance. The only word that is being used with kasrat is remembrance. Remember
Allah abundantly. Remember death abundantly. Why? Because this is something we can
do 24 hours a day technically. Because remembering doesn’t require to do wuddu, to
offer prayers or doesn’t require any type of restrictions and conditions. So this is
something that a person should do abundantly; remembering death. Our grave
remembers us 100 times a day. 100 times a day our grave remembers us and how much
do we remember our grave? So remembering death, rather, you know, some scholars
have said antipathy towards death, disliking death, disliking the mention of death. It
happens that some people are like let's not talk about it, it gives me the creeps. I don’t
 wanna talk more about this topic. But this is something that a person who does not like
to talk about death or a person who avoids talking about death, flees from talking about
death that don’t talk to me about death, that is also a disease of the heart; avoiding
talking about the death. So remembering death because death remembers us, our grave
remembers us. Chhote se jaga hai but we all have a place that is reserved for us. We
don’t know where, we don’t know when but it's there, waiting. It remembers us. So we
have to remember death. The more a person remembers death,
a. It comes in a hadith to remember death in abundance because this is something
that is the breaker of desire. It’s a breaker of hirs. It’s a breaker of hub e dunya.
The more you remember death, the thing is that our heart is not a vacuum, you
take something out, you have to put something in. You take out hub e dunya,
you have to put huubbullah. You take out the remembrance of the dunya, you
have put in the remembrance of mout39:39(check). So this is something that
when you take something out, you have to put the opposite in. So remembering
death.
3. The third way to break the love of the heart is to work on those matters that will help
you after death. Un cheezon per mehnat karna, kaam karna 39:53that will help you after
death. One time this young man came to a buzurg and he asked him that I'm really
scared of death. I'm scared of dying and what should I do? So the buzurg told him that
you should give more sadqa. So he started doing that and then sometime later he came
back and he said, "I did this and now I'm not scared of death rather I'm interested in, I'm
almost like looking forward to dying. Big nature change in desire and I don’t understand
why?" so then that buzurg explained to him that look! First you were working in this
dunya, all your efforts were for this dunya so that's why naturally your heart was
attached to the world. Jahan apka sarmaya hota hai, apka dil bhi wahen laga hota
hai.40:29 So when you started putting your goods, your efforts for the akhirah, now
your heart naturally is going to be more attached to the akhirah, so now death will not
be a scary thing for you, death will not be a dangerous thing to you.
a. And you know our concept of death, everyone naturally fears death but there
are two reasons that person can fear death; one you fear it because it will make
you end this world, you have to leave this world, you have to leave the pleasures
and the enjoyments of this world, you have to leave your friends, you have to
leave the things of this world. So that is one way of most people who fear death
that I have to leave this dunya, this small little41:07 of jannat that I have made
for myself. That is the wrong reason to fear death.
b. Then another reason of the fear of moumin has of death is that I'm not ready to
die. My deeds are not good enough. I haven't done tauba for this stuff I did. I
haven't repented for this deed I did. I haven't changed my life. I'm not
presentable. I'm not ready to be presented. Sometimes it happens when you are
ready to go somewhere and someone is like we have to go, we have to go right
now and we say no no no I'm not ready. Let me go wash out, I have to
immediately take a shower, I need to put my make up on, I need to press my
clothes. Then you are just like I need time, I need 10 minutes41:40 when death
comes, a person who is ready, a person who is always ready, a person who has a
habit that they get up eight in the morning and then they get ready and then
 somebody comes and tells them lets go and they are like okay I'm ready to go.
41:49 they are ready, they don’t need to get ready. So a moumin's shaan is that
they are always ready. They are ready and they want to be ready to be prepared
for death before it comes.
4. Another remedy towards hub e dunya is to when you feel attachment. Everyone is
attached to different different things. When you feel excessive attachment to something
and you feel that it makes you ghafil, makes you heedless of Allah swt, give it away. And
this is very difficult to do, give it away.
a. There is very famous story of the sahaba karaam. There is a famous story about
three sahaba karaam who basically stayed behind in this one battle when
everyone was supposed to go and he, one of them, stayed behind and it comes
in his own hadith that I stayed behind because I had a lot of wealth and I
became very attached to the wealth. So when he stayed behind and the Prophet
saw found out and he basically confessed to the Prophet saw. He was punished
for sometimes that no one was allowed to talk to him for fifty days and a very
long hadith, a very beautiful hadith that how they spent those fifty days and
then at the end when Allah swt accepted his tauba, he said as a part of my
tauba I want to give away all my wealth. That this wealth, this was the reason
that I was ghafil and it was because of this wealth that I was heedless of Allah
swt and now I want to give it away. When you fell that something makes you
heedless of Allah swt, some love, some attachment, some excessive attachment
to something and
b. this comes in the Quran that you cannot obtain taqwa, you cannot attain love of
Allah swt, pure love of Allah swt until you spent of that which you love. Spending
until you feel a pinch in your heart. For some people spending a hundred rupees,
he might feel the pinch, for another person spending five thousand rupees he
might feel the pinch. You feel that pinch in your heart when you give something
for the sake of Allah swt and something that you love. And this is very hard
when we have something that 43:42 I really love this outfit, I don’t want to give
this outfit. Those who were our akabir, women also they used to give those
things which they love. If they thought they were excessively attached to one
outfit, I love this outfit, I love this piece of jewelry, I love it too much I want to
give it away. The same women will say, these are the women who still exist,
there are so women who are like this, they will say the more I enjoyed giving it
away much more than I ever enjoyed wearing it. This is the muhabbat, this is
what Allah swt fills in your heart. When you do something for the sake of Allah
ta'ala, whether you give something away, whether you sacrifice something,
Allah swt puts something in your heart which will fulfill, will compensate for that
loss to such an extent that you would feel like I actually enjoyed doing this then I
enjoyed doing something else. The example which I gave last week, then we
taste the sweetness of emaan, we taste the sweetness of this deen. This deen
Allah swt has made it sweet; Allah swt has made it enjoyable. When you taste
the sweetness of the enjoyment of listening to Allah swt's commands, following
Allah swt's commands, developing a relationship with Allah swt's commands
then now those same things in the dunya, the things that you used to enjoy in
 the world, they won't give you that enjoyment. Apko un cheezon me lazzat he
nai mile ge.44:46 They are still good, you can still do them but you say I don’t
feel the same way that I used to because now you know, you know a person
who does not what true love is, when all of a sudden they know what true love
is then they fell like that oh! Those little crushes that I had and my, you know,
eighth grade, ninth grade, tenth grade they are nothing. They are nothing when
compared to this one true love. So this is when Allah swt gives you taste of His
muhabbat, a taste of what real love is, what hubbullah is then hub e dunya kuch
nai, koi cheez nai hote hai45:14. The things that would make you so happy.
5. The last thing, now end, is that to work against the nafs. Like I have mentioned you
before that our nafs is like a small child and a little 45:30 brings you down. The nafs is
something that’s from the material world. It will try to bring you down to the material
world and the ruh, Allah swt has given everyone ruh as well, the ruh is made from aalim
e amar, made from the spiritual realm45:40, is made from the spiritual substance. And
that is trying to bring you up. Allah ta'ala ne shar bhi dale, khair bhi dale 45:45 our ruh is
trying, bringing us towards khair because up, closer to Allah swt and our shar , the nafs is
trying to bring us to the base ball, to the base desires of this world. So this is something
that we have to work against our nafs with mujahida.

And the last example that I want to give is that if you really look the world, the dunya
and the one really beautiful analogy that I heard, it said that the dunya 46:53 the more
you run after it, the more it will escape your grasp, just like a shadow. One time a
scholar said that this world, running after this world is like running after your shadow.
You can run and run and run and you will never catch your shadow. But the minute you
turned around and you said forget it, forget you I can't catch you and you start walking
the opposite direction, what happens? The shadow will start following you. The shadow,
khud peche peche a jae ga46:36.

So this is our relationship with the dunya. When we ignore it, when we show that this
dunya is a haqeer thing, I'm not attached to it, Allah swt Himself fill your pockets 46:46
Allah ta'ala khud peche le kara jaen ge. So this is something, the more we show the
istighna of the dunya, the more we turn our face, our tawajjuh, our heart towards Allah
ta'ala ki zaat, Allah ta'ala yeh haqeer dunya ko khud ba khud de den ge46:58 to make us
happy, to make our life in this world enjoyable and so we can spend our, what our
purpose, our maqsad e zindagi, us me phir hum sahe tarah waqt apna sahe tarah kharch
kar saken47:07.

So may Allah ta'ala grant us the ability to have His love and to decrease this hub e dunya
that we have in our heart and have that ability to control this hub e dunya, the love of
the world that we have in our hearts and have the ability to tame this wild beast?

Because it is, now it seems like it is wilder and wilder and wilder. The world is just
becoming more more attraction, more more things to do, more more beautiful things to
find and do and we have to really remember what is our maqsade zindagi? What is our
relationship in this world? Because when we discover what our real relationship in this
world, then we can really work on our proper relationship with Allah swt.
ILMI NUKTA:
ALLAH knows that the human is weak and he will have some love for the DUNYA.
So He did not stop us from desiring the Dunya at all.
But when this Dunya is more dear to us than the mohabbat for ALLAH (s.w.t.) then, it is
forbidden

Dunya ki mohabbat say mana nahin kiya

Dunya ki ahabbiyat say mana farmaya hai (when this Dunya is more lovely for us than
the commands of ALLAH (s.w.t.) Ahabbiyat: more loving [Ism-e-tafzeel], superlative form
)

Whenever a human realizes a profit, he will be happy. Since he is a human being.

Whenever he suffers a loss, he gets sad. Since he is a human being.

But this should not be so great so as to make one forgetful of ALLAH (s.w.t.)

‫ُقْل ِإن َك اَن آَباُؤ ُك ْم َو َأْبَناُؤ ُك ْم َو ِإْخ َو اُنُك ْم َو َأْز َو اُج ُك ْم َو َعِش َريُتُك ْم َو َأْم َو اٌل اْقَتَر ْفُتُم وَه ا َو َجِتاَر ٌة‬
‫ا َأ َّب ِإَل ُك م ِّم الَّلـِه وِلِه ِج اٍد يِف ِبيِلِه‬
‫َس‬ ‫َن َو َرُس َو َه‬ ‫ْخَتَش ْو َن َك َس اَدَه ا َو َمَس اِكُن َتْر َضْو َنَه َح ْي‬
٢٤﴿ ‫﴾َفَتَر َّبُصوا َح ٰىَّت َيْأَيِت الَّلـُه ِبَأْم ِرِه ۗ َو الَّلـُه اَل َيْه ِد ي اْلَق ْو َم اْلَف اِس ِق َني‬

Say, [O Muhammad], "If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your
relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and
ARE MORE BELOVED TO YOU THAN
dwellings with which you are pleased
ALLAH AND HIS MESSENGER AND JIHAD IN HIS CAUSE, then
wait until Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly
disobedient people." (9: 24)

So, you see ALLAH (s.w.t.) says these are OK as long as they don’t become more beloved
than…

When they start clashing with the love for ALLAH (s.w.t.) then O momin, pass these
things, your destination is someplace else (the Akhira)
Two other things that keep us from Allah swt:
1. There is the Dunya,
2. and Makhlooq.

How do they keep us from Allah swt?

The World and Creation. And the way that Dunya and Makhlooq keep us from Allah
swt is:
• They make us forget how to spend the journey,
• and they try to delude us about the end.
So when you think the purpose of life is not to meet Allah swt but you start thinking
the purpose of life is to get something in the Dunya;
> whether it is money,
> whether it is status,
> whether it is bank,
> whether it's distinction..
..then you will forget the Adaab of the journey. When you forget that the end of life,
the purpose of life is to meet Allah swt, then other things will come up to take your
passion. So
> some people are passionate about their job,
> some people are passionate about their career,
> some OVERLY passionate about their job and career,
> overly ambitious,
> overly passionate about their family.
EXAMPLE: That's why Allah swt said in Quran that your wives and children are a
test for you. In what sense? Otherwise wives and children are a blessing for you,
they're a bounty for you. But there's a slight chance that you may forget that the end is
the meeting with Allah swt, and become overly passionate about them. So someone
will say i take rishwat for the sake of my wife and children, or i disobey Allah swt in
so many ways for the sake of my wife and children. That means they
1) exceeded, they
2) became overly passionate, and they
3) forgot the end.

Imam Ghazali – explains using an example

A man being chased by a lion
Tried to jump into a well, but in well there is a big black snake inside
So got hold of some grass growing on the well’s wall and hung there.

In a little while, he saw 2 rats, one black and one white rat, they start nibbling at the
grass
Got afraid, not knowing what to do. Looks around and…
Sees a honey comb nearby, full of honey, but empty of bees
He thought, how does it taste? So, held the grass with one hand and with other tasted
the honey.
 Really liked it.
Now he is eating it and he forget, the lion, the snake, the rats.

NOW THINK WHAT WILL HIS END BE

We are like that person.

The Angel of Death  after us like a lion

Qabar ka azaab  snake
Days and nights of our life  like the rats (they are cutting our life)
Grass  our life
Honey  pleasures of the dunya

Now think, what our end will be

By engaging in the pleasures of this world, we make ALLAH (s.w.t.) angry from us

Some have:
- Gluttony
- Good clothes
- Lust
- Fame and worldly stature

Make us forgetful of the Akhira.

Difference in how the a) Dunya and Makhlooq, and b) Shaitan and Nafs affect us
So the Dunya and Makhlooq, this World and the Creation in it; that is how they
distract us. They distract us from Allah. Shaitan and the Nafs dont distract you from
Allah. Shaitan and the Nafs do not distract you from Allah. Dunya and the Makhlooq
distract you from Allah!
• The nafs will involve you in sin, but you will still feel love for Allah swt.
• The nafs will involve you in sin, but eventhough you did that sin, you wont
loose your Yakeen in Allah swt.
• Shaitaan will put a waswasa in your heart.. you will still love Allah swt.
So shaitan and the nafs can not diminish your good side, but they can increase your
bad side. And Dunya and the Makhlooq - they diminish your good side. They
disconnect you from Allah swt. We're lost in the Dunya.

What is Dunya?
Anything can be Dunya. Dunya is not the name of money in Islam. You can be
extremely wealthy and have zero Dunya. You can be very poor and be completely lost
in the Dunya. Now, its just that Dunya can be anything that is ghairullah. Anything,
Dunya is anything that is ghairullah that distracts you from Allah. For some people
studies are the Dunya. For some people teaching is their Dunya. Anything can be
Dunya. Anything that is ghairullah that distracts you from Allah, anything that is
other than Allah swt that distracts you from Allah, that is Dunya. That is the definition
of Dunya in Islam.

Hasanaat of the Dunya

That is why Allah ta'ala taught us in the Quran (00:10:16)
‫َوِم ْنُهم َّم ن َيُقوُل َر َّبَنا آِتَنا ِفي الُّد ْنَيا َح َس َنًة َوِفي اآْل ِخ َرِة َح َس َنًة َوِقَنا َع َذ اَب الَّنار‬
But among them is he who says, "Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good
and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the
Fire." (Surah 2: Ayah 201)
(check 00:10:20) misunderstanding, especially in Pakistan k Allah ta'ala nay Quran
mein kaha kay Dunya, Akhirat dono maango - Dunya ka kya kaha kay maango?
Hasanaat kaha kay maango! ‫ َر َّبَنا آِتَنا ِفي الُّد ْنَيا‬...not Rabbana aatina Dunya... ‫َر َّبَنا آِتَنا ِفي الُّد ْنَيا‬
‫ َح َس َنة‬...Allah ta'ala, grant us Hasanaat in the Dunya! Dont grant us the Dunya.
Hasanaat. Hasanaat will not distract you from Allah. Hasanaat is not Dunya. Those
people, therefore, that were able to what people think kay hum Deen aur Dunya ko,
dono chalaein gay - wo Deen aur Dunya ko dono nai chala rahay hotay. Dunya kay
hasanaat lay rahay thay, aur sath sath Deen aur Akhirat ka kaam kar rahay thay. Kyun
kay Dunya kay hasanaat Deen se munaafi nahin hain.
1) They took the noble, virtuous, pure things of this world. They took those things
from this world that do NOT distract from Allah swt.
2) And along with that, they were firm on their Deen,
3) and always thinking about their Akhira.

Not Dunya - a few True Stories

1. ZUBAIDA KHATOON - Love for the Quran.
There was a very pious woman by the name of Zubaida Khatoon. She was the
husband [wife] of the Khalifa of the Ummah Haroon urRasheed. Zubaida
Khatoon was such a pious woman, that she had hired several hundred
Hafizaat, several hundred women who were Hafizah of the Quran. And she
made 3 shifts, three 8-hour shifts. But this was not a three-shift work for us to
acquire the Dunya. The purpose of this 3-shift workforce was to recite Quran
in every single corner of the royal palace. Because she wanted that anytime
she walks anywhere in the palace, she'd be able to hear Quran. And this was
before this speaker system. So the entire palace, the entire royal court with all
of the attendants, all of the staff, all of the other people used to live there - in
every single place she had put a Hafizah. So that there was no single place
where you could walk where she wouldn't be able to hear the Quran. In no
time of the day or no time of the night where she could walk, in which she
couldn't hear the Quran. Ab, now tell me whatever money she must have had
to be able to hire those people, was that money Dunya? No, it's not Dunya. So
much love for the Quran.
2. ZUBAIDA KHATOON & HAROON RASHID- Love for the Creation of Allah
swt.
And so much love for the Creation of Allah, that between her place in Iraq and
Makkah Mukarramah, when the people of that area used to travel for Hajj, on
the way there was a piece of very dry Arab desert land where there was
 absolutely no water whatsoever. And that was considered the most difficult
part of the journey. And just for that part of the journey they used to take so
much water with them, even the camels would need to drink (check 00:14:13)
on that journey. They themselves would do Tayammum, they wouldn't be able
to make Wudhu, but they had to carry water for the sake of the camels and
they had to carry drinking water for themselves. And just that part of the
journey itself, some people either would die on the way, become Shaheed on
the way for going for Hajj. So she learnt of this, she found out, so she told her
husband i want to divert - Allahu Akbar - i want to divert part of the water of
the Tigris in Euphrates, the (check 00:14:44) river, over there. And make a
canal - what me and you would call a canal - so that when the Hujjaat are
travelling through that area, they have access to water, to drink for themselves,
and they have water for their camels to drink. This is a massive project, even
by modern engineering standards to divert water of a river to some other place
and make a canal. Haroon Rashid expended the resources to do so. Must've
been an incredible amount of money, resources, labour, brick, cement, Allahu
Aalam. Not Dunya. None of that was Dunya. And they did it.
3. BEHLOL - Iman bil Ghaib.
In that time, there was a big Sheikh, a big Wali of Allah swt, by the name of
Behlol (R.A). Behlol was known for two things:
i. Number one, for being a Wali
ii. and number two, for seeming to be crazy.
To put it simply for you in English.. Behlol was known for two things: number
one, being a Wali, and number two, seeming to be crazy. But looks can be
deceiving. So one day Haroon Rasheed and Zubaida Khatoon were walking -
went for a walk. And they saw on the beach Behlol. And Behlol was making
sand castles. Mazay mein. And he was calling out that whoever buys this sand
castle for one Dinar, i'll make Dua that Allah ta'ala give them a house in
Jannat; a mansion, a palace in Jannat. Whoever buys my palace in the sand
for one Dinar, i will make Dua that Allah ta'ala will grant them a palace
in Jannat.
Toh Haroon Rashid walked by and laughed at him. He said, "Behlol what are
u doing making these castles?" Walked on.
Zubaida Khatoon stopped, she took out one dinar. She said, "Behlol, i buy
your castle. Make Dua that Allah ta'ala grant me a palace in Jannat." Behlol
took the dinar, made dua.
That night Haroon Rashid went to sleep. When he went to sleep he had a
dream; in that dream, he saw a huge palace in Jannat, made up of marble and
all incredible things.. and on top of the palace, it said "Zubaida". So he went
and he showed up, and there was a guard there standing, and the guard said,
"No admission without permission. Right of entry reserved."
He said, "I'm her husband.. Mian jee."
He said, "No, no no.. only that person for whom this palace has been made,
only they can come in."
He woke up. He thought that okay, i'd better make some time out today and go
visit Behlol, and buy one of those sand castles. So again, they went for a walk.
Again, they found Behlol on the beach. And again Behlol making the sand
castles and saying that whoever buys this sand castle, i'll make Dua that Allah
 ta'ala grant them a palace in Jannat. So Haroon Rashid goes, takes out one
Dinar.
Behlol says, "Haroon Rashid, it's no longer costing one Dinar". Behlol said,
"It's going to cost the Kingdom of the entire Earth." The entire Earth! Just
not even what Haroon Rashid had. He would have the rule of the Momineen.
The kingdom of the ENTIRE earth! Toh Haroon Rashid nay poocha keh
"Behlol, kal ap aik Dinar ki day rahay thay, aaj aap poori dunya ki saltanat
maang rahay hain?"
Toh Behlol nay kaha kay "Kal bin daikhay soda tha, aaj daikh kar aye hain
ap."Kal bin daikhay soda tha, aaj ap daikh kar aye hain."

Iman bil ghaib

Isi tarah hai Iman bil ghaib. Iman bil ghaib in Allah swt.
> You've not seen Allah swt. You will see Him on that day.
> You've not wittnessed the Jalaal, the Azmat of Allah swt. You will see it on
that day.
> You have not seen the Jamaal, the Rehmat, the Beauty and the Mercy of
Allah swt. You will see it on that day.
• If aap bin daikh kar soda kartey hain, one Dinar, just a few a'maal of a
trivial eighty years life that you have to offer, and Allah ta'ala will give
you endless bliss in the Akhira, will take you into Jannah.
• If you dont do it now, and you try to show up on that day, Allah ta'ala
will ask you to bring something that you cant offer. It comes in Quran
that the people will beg Allah, that Ya Allah, send us back! Main nay
dekh liya. Ap ko hum nay daikh lia. Humain wapis bhaijain, hum tikaa
kar zindagi guzarein gay. No. You cant go back. You've got one shot.
One shot. You've to start making use of it.

Valuing our time

But too distracted in the Dunya and we're too distracted by Makhlooq. And every day
is passing by, every year is passing by. Couple of the kids i knew as freshmen, they've
graduated! I'm getting old. When we first came to lums, we taught old sixes. Now i
teach old thirteens. So they're seven years younger and i'm five years older! So, there's
a 12-year bigger gap between me and my students now, than from when i first started.
[skipped some lines]

How to taste the sweetness of Deen and forget wordly pleasures - replacing one
Lazzat with another
If we can spend even just one month like that, if we can spend even a few days like
that, then you will taste the sweetness of this path of the Deen. Then you will forget
all the pleasures of this world. Then you will forget all the distractions of this world.
Even in this world, when you are addicted to something, the way they get you off that
addiction is to hook you onto something else.
EXAMPLE: In America, when somebody would say that they want to quit smoking,
they would ask him, "What do you like?" So he would say, "Chewing Gum." They'd
say, "Okay, now anytime you want to smoke, you start chewing Gum." Because we
will replace one lazzat with the other lazzat.

How to pull ourselves away from the Dunyawi pleasures

So if we have led a life in which we forgot the Commandments of Allah swt, we
allowed ourselves to feel some lazzat of this world, only one thing can take you out of
that - one thing. Only one thing can take you out - there's nothing else! If you want
out, there's only one thing that can take you out; and that is if you taste the lazzat of
being the servant of Allah.
> Once you taste the pleasure of Ibaadat,
> you taste the pleasure of Zikr,
> you taste the pleasure of Obedience,
> you taste the pleasure of Sunnah,
..Only when you taste and experience the sweetness of the life of the Deen, then you
will feel no need for the sweetnesses that this world has to offer. Only one way.
Nothing else will take you out. Your shame, your regret, your.. anything. It may make
it forgiven but it wont take you out. You'll go right back to it again in a matter of time.
You'll go right back to it again after Ramadan.

Ramadan - an Exit!
If you want this Ramadan to be an exit, if you want this Ramadan to be a change, toh
that change is only by tasting and experiencing the sweetness of the Deen, the
sweetness of the love for Allah swt. Once that enters your heart.. it's beyond
description. Beyond description... mazey mein. Anything can be happening in the
world, inside ap mazey mein hain. Aur wo aisa maza hai kay koi aap se chheen nai
sakta.