The Harm of Worldly Love to the Heart
For those devoted to Sufism, the world is a temporary field of trial that should not be allowed into the heart. Being captivated by the world and its adornments is the thickest veil obstructing love for Allah and the afterlife. Abdülkadir Geylani (may Allah be pleased with him) explains this truth with an immense example: “Take the world in one hand and the hereafter in the other… Let your heart be bare; let it contain neither the world nor the hereafter.” For the heart is only the presence of the Creator. As long as there is greed for worldly possessions and a passion for accumulating wealth (tul-i emel) in the heart, it is impossible for divine lights to manifest there. A person who forgets his Lord while pursuing worldly desires is a misguided one who loses lasting treasures for the sake of temporary whims.
The Balance of Work and Asceticism
In Islam, asceticism does not mean being lazy or completely withdrawing from the world and becoming a burden on others. A servant should work to earn his livelihood through lawful means and provide for his family; but at the same time, he should connect his heart to the Giver of Sustenance, not to wealth. Geylani (may Allah be pleased with him), who said, “Make your shop and property a means of working for the sustenance of your children… Connect your heart to Allah,” commands that material means should only be seen as tools. The true ascetic is one whose pocket may be full of money, but whose heart is completely independent of it, who does not grieve when he loses his wealth, and who does not become arrogant when he gains.
Living Without Expectation and the Freedom of Contentment
The key to liberation from worldly ambitions is contentment. When a person takes only what he needs through lawful means and spends the surplus in the way of Allah, his heart attains great freedom. While greed and avarice enslave people to material things, asceticism and contentment make people spiritual emperors. A believer who sees the world as a field (tarlası) for the hereafter transfers every blessing he gains here as capital to the land of eternity. A servant who realizes that the world is transient and lives prepared for the afterlife at every moment achieves true peace and inner satisfaction.