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Ethics

Moral Verses
Ifk Verses • Al-Ukhuwwa Verse • Al-It'am Verse • Al-Naba' Verse • Najwa Verse • Verse of Trusts • Al-Sulh Verse

Moral Hadiths
Hadith of qurb al-nawafil • Hadith Makarim al-akhlaq • Hadith of Mi'raj • Hadith Junud al-'Aql wa l-Jahl

Moral Virtues
Humility • Contentment • Generosity • Controlling Anger • Truthfulness • Hilm (forbearance) • Asceticism • Bravery • Chastity • Insaf (Equity) • Silat al-Rahim • Wara' • Islah dhat al-bayn

Moral Vices
Hubris • Greed • Envy • Lie • Backbiting • Namima (Talebearing) • Miserliness • Disobedience to Parents • 'Ujb (self-conceit) • Sum'a • Cutting blood relation • Spreading grave sins • Ingratitude • Hypocrisy • Tabdhir

Moral Terminologies
Jihad with the self • Self-critical soul • Commanding Soul • Soul at peace • Self-reckoning • Muraqaba • Musharata • Sin • Morality lessons • Istidraj

Scholars of Ethics
Muhammad Mahdi Naraqi • Ahmad al-Naraqi • Sayyid 'Ali Qadi Tabataba'i • Sayyid Rida Baha' al-Dini • Sayyid 'Abd al-Husayn Dastghayb • Muhammad Taqi Bahjat

References of Ethics

Qur'an • Nahj al-balagha • Misbah al-shari'a wa miftah al-haqiqa • Makarim al-Akhlaq • Al-Mahajjat al-bayda' • Tanbih al-khawatir wa nuzhat al-nawazir • Jami' al-sa'adat • Mi'raj al-sa'ada • Al-Muraqabat

Love of the world (Arabic: حب الدنیا, Ḥubb al-dunyā) denotes an affection for and attachment to worldly existence, a concept frequently censured in the Qur'an and the narrations of the Infallibles (a). Islamic scholars generally regard affection for the world as reprehensible if it is pursued solely for hedonistic pleasure; however, if it serves as a means to reform one's affairs for the Hereafter, it is considered commendable. The consequences of loving the world are stated to include prolonged hopes, Greed, Miserliness, regret, humiliation, and an inclination toward Sin. While attachment to the world is considered an element of the human fitra (innate nature), it becomes objectionable when it grows excessive to the point of causing one to forget the Hereafter. Scholars have identified a weakness of faith in the Hereafter, as well as carnal desires, as the roots of this reprehensible love. Methods for eradicating this attachment from the heart include financial Infaq, contemplation of the transient nature of the world in comparison to the Hereafter, and the Recitation of the Qur'an accompanied by reflection on its verses.

Position and Conceptology

Love of the world is defined as affection and attachment to mundane life.[1] Exegetes interpret several verses, such as Qur'an 89:20, Qur'an 100:8, and Qur'an 79:37, as reproaches against the world and the love thereof.[2] Sources attribute a saying to the Prophet (s) stating that the love of the world is the root of every sin and error.[3] Hadith compilations, such as Al-Kafi and Thawab al-a'mal, devote specific sections to this topic, collecting relevant traditions of the Infallibles (a).[4] In Mustadrak al-wasa'il, Muhaddith Nuri narrates a tradition from Prophet Jesus (a) asserting that hardheartedness stems from a "dryness of the eye" (a lack of weeping), which results from an accumulation of sins; these sins, in turn, arise from the love of the world, identifying friendship with the world as the root of all error.[5]

However, Islamic scholars do not universally condemn friendship with the world or the acquisition of wealth and status.[6] Mulla Ahmad Naraqi categorizes the world into the reprehensible and the praiseworthy.[7] He posits that affection for the world is reprehensible if directed toward pleasure and lust, but praiseworthy if it serves as a means to attain and reform the Hereafter.[8] A narration in Al-Sarair recounts that Ibn Abi Ya'fur told Imam al-Sadiq (a), "We love the world." The Imam asked, "What do you intend to do with the love of the world?" He replied, "I wish to marry, perform Hajj, provide for my family, and give to my brothers." The Imam responded, "These are not worldly matters, but are related to the Hereafter."[9]

Consequences of Love of the World

Religious and ethical sources delineate several adverse effects and consequences associated with the love of the world, including:

  • Prolonged Hopes: Preoccupation with worldly pleasures fosters a desire for permanence in this world, leading to long-term, futile aspirations.[10]
  • Worldly Regret: Excessive affection for the world, coupled with the impossibility of fulfilling every desire, results in regret over unachieved ambitions.[11]
  • Greed (Ḥirṣ): This is cited as one of the most potent and notorious consequences of worldly attachment.[12]
  • Miserliness (Bukhl): The ethicist Muhammad Mahdi Naraqi identifies stinginess as a direct result of loving the world.[13]
  • Humiliation and Abasement: One enchanted by the world fears death and is willing to submit to any humiliation to prolong life.[14]
  • Source of Rebellion and Sin: Love of the world instigates a state of rebellion within the human soul[15] and opens the door to sin.[16]
  • Negligence of Duty:[17] The Holy Qur'an reproaches those who refused to participate in Jihad, asking, "Are you satisfied with the life of the world instead of the Hereafter?"[18]

Imam Khomeini identified the love of the world as the primary cause of spiritual diseases of the heart.[19] He considered the pursuit of worldliness among scholars and officials to be particularly egregious, leading to public pessimism and societal corruption.[20]

Root of Love of the World

Attachment to the world is counted among the innate matters[21] of human nature, yet it is insatiable.[22] Murtada Mutahhari argued that while the basis of this love drives human growth and perfection, becoming preoccupied with and satisfied by it is reprehensible.[23] In his exposition of the sixth hadith in Chihil Hadith, Imam Khomeini explains that while the world of the Hereafter may be proven rationally, if a person lacks heartfelt faith in it, their love for the world inevitably increases.[24] In this context, some scholars regard the love of the world as a direct effect of carnal desires,[25] asserting that humans have the choice to either curb this love through self-control or to distance themselves from spiritual matters and proximity to God by unleashing it.[26]

Way of Eliminating Love of the World

Contemplating the nature of the world is considered a primary method for eliminating its love from the heart.[27] Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi, an Islamic philosopher, notes that the Qur'an draws comparisons between the world and the Hereafter that lead to the realization of the world's instability. For instance, the verse "What is with you will be exhausted, and what is with Allah is lasting"[28] constitutes a rational argument: even assuming worldly pleasures are attained, they are destined to perish, whereas the pleasures of the Hereafter are eternal and—according to Qur'an 32:17—infinite.[29] While a Muslim may know these truths, they are prone to forgetfulness; thus, Misbah Yazdi considers the study of the Qur'an essential for recalling this knowledge.[30] Another effective method is the practice of recommended Sadaqa, Infaq, and the payment of financial obligations such as Khums and Zakat.[31] Verses such as Qur'an 3:92 elucidate this principle; by spending what one has acquired through effort and attachment, one practically detaches the heart from wealth, thereby transforming the inner self.[32]

Notes

  1. ↑ Narāqī, Mullā Mahdī, Jāmiʿ al-saʿādāt, A'lami, vol. 2, p. 19.
  2. ↑ For example see: Bānū Amīn, Makhzan al-ʿirfān, 1361 Sh, vol. 14, p. 251 & vol. 15, p. 239; Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, 1378 Sh, vol. 3, p. 127; Sharīʿatī, Tafsīr-i nawīn, 1346 Sh, p. 184.
  3. ↑ Attributed to Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad (a), Miṣbāḥ al-sharīʿa, 1400 AH, p. 138; Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 2, p. 315; Al-Aṣbahānī, Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ, 1394 AH, vol. 6, p. 388.
  4. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 2, p. 315; Shaykh al-Ṣadūq, Thawāb al-aʿmāl, p. 254; Al-Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 16, p. 8.
  5. ↑ Nūrī, Mustadrak al-wasāʾil, Muʾassisa Āl al-Bayt (a) li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, vol. 12, p. 96.
  6. ↑ Tafsīr-i nawīn, 1346 Sh, p. 185; Ṭāliqānī, Kāshif al-asrār, p. 154; Jaʿfarī, Tafsīr-i kawthar, vol. 3, p. 248.
  7. ↑ Narāqī, Miʿrāj al-saʿāda, 1378 Sh, p. 328.
  8. ↑ Narāqī, Miʿrāj al-saʿāda, 1378 Sh, p. 328.
  9. ↑ Ibn Idrīs al-Ḥillī, Al-Sarāʾir, 1410 AH, vol. 3, p. 564.
  10. ↑ Ghazālī, Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, Dar al-Kitab al-Arabi, vol. 15, pp. 116-117.
  11. ↑ Ḥaqqānī, Niẓām-i akhlāqī-yi Islām, 1373 Sh, p. 159.
  12. ↑ Ḥaqqānī, "Ḥirṣ qawī-tarīn shākha-yi ḥubb-i dunyā", p. 40.
  13. ↑ Narāqī, Mullā Mahdī, Jāmiʿ al-saʿādāt, A'lami, vol. 2, p. 113.
  14. ↑ Āzādiyān, "Payāmad-hā-yi dilbastagī bi dunyā", p. 34.
  15. ↑ Ḥaqqānī, Niẓām-i akhlāqī-yi Islām, 1373 Sh, p. 153.
  16. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 2, p. 130.
  17. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 7, p. 416.
  18. ↑ Qur'an 9:38.
  19. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Sharḥ-i ḥadīth-i junūd, 1382 Sh, p. 253.
  20. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Jihād-i akbar, 1378 Sh, pp. 12-17; Imam Khomeini, Ṣaḥīfa-yi Imam, 1389 Sh, vol. 17, p. 376.
  21. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Chihil hadith, 1380 Sh, p. 122.
  22. ↑ Ḥaqqānī, Niẓām-i akhlāqī-yi Islām, 1373 Sh, p. 164.
  23. ↑ Muṭahharī, Majmūʿa-yi āthār, 1384 Sh, vol. 22, p. 228.
  24. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Chihil hadith, 1380 Sh, p. 122.
  25. ↑ Ḥaqqānī, Niẓām-i akhlāqī-yi Islām, 1373 Sh, p. 165.
  26. ↑ Ḥaqqānī, Niẓām-i akhlāqī-yi Islām, 1373 Sh, p. 164.
  27. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, "Ḥubb-i dunyā; wa rāh-hā-yi zudūdan-i ān", p. 12.
  28. ↑ Qur'an 16:96.
  29. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, "Ḥubb-i dunyā; wa rāh-hā-yi zudūdan-i ān", p. 12.
  30. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, "Ḥubb-i dunyā; wa rāh-hā-yi zudūdan-i ān", p. 13.
  31. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Ādāb al-ṣalāt, 1378 Sh, pp. 50-51.
  32. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, "Ḥubb-i dunyā; wa rāh-hā-yi zudūdan-i ān", p. 13.

References

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