Giving up this world for the next
Al-Risala (English), February 1987, p. 30
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
Giving up this world for the next
1987 2 February 30 Giving up this world for the next (149) Some people from Iraq, came to see Umar, the second Caliph, When it was time for a meal, Umar brought them a bowl of food – some coarse bread and olive oil, and asked them to eat. Slowly –reluctantly – they complied. Seeing the tiny morsels they were taking, Umar said to them, “Listen, if I wished, I could also prepare for myself fine, rich food for the kind you are used to. But what we do here is save things up in this world so that we may receive them in the next. Have you not seen how Almighty God chastised a people for “squandering away their precious things in their worldly life,” (the Quran 46:20) “What is it that you people want?” asked Umar, according to another account. Things which are sweet and spicy, hot and cold? Whatever you eat will go to waste in your stomachs.”
(Hilyatul Auliya)
