nawawiDay.arabicText

nawawiDay.englishTranslation

— Sahl ibn Sa‘d (RA) (Ibn Mājah (ḥasan))

nawawiDay.commentary

Zuhd is not poverty — it is the heart's distance from dunyā even while one possesses it.

nawawiDay.extendedExplanation

Two zuhds in one hadith: zuhd in dunyā (Allah loves you) and zuhd in what people possess (people love you). The second is psychologically brilliant — people unconsciously resent those who envy and crowd them, and unconsciously love those who do not.

Ibn Rajab carefully defines zuhd: it is not poverty, nor refusing wealth. ‘Alī (RA) said: ‘zuhd is contained in two phrases of the Qur’ān — “so that you do not despair over what eluded you, nor exult over what He gave you” (57:23). Whoever masters this is the zāhid.’

nawawiDay.fromScholars

"Zuhd is summed up in two words: do not grieve over what passes you by, do not rejoice over what comes — and you are the zāhid."

— ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib

"The Prophet ﷺ owned land, married, ate good food — yet he was the greatest zāhid. Zuhd is in the heart, not in the hand."

— Ibn Rajab · Jāmi‘ al-‘Ulūm wa al-Ḥikam

nawawiDay.fiqhRulings

  • •Owning wealth is not anti-zuhd; clinging to wealth in the heart is.
  • •Sūfī-style abandonment of dunyā (refusing to work, marry, eat) is not Sunnah — the Prophet ﷺ rebuked this in Bukhari.
  • •Love of being loved by people is human; manipulating others or sucking up to gain it is hypocrisy.

nawawiDay.quranCrossRefs

57:23The verse ‘Alī cited as the essence of zuhd.
20:131‘Do not extend your eyes toward what We have given some couples of them as splendour…’

nawawiDay.keyVocab

ازْهَدْizhad

be detached / abstain

الدُّنْيَاad-dunyā

the worldly life

nawawiDay.todaysReflection

What worldly object have you made too important? Detach from it inwardly today.

nawawiDay.keyBenefits

  • 1Love of Allah and love of people share a root: zuhd.
  • 2True zuhd is internal, not external.

nawawiDay.warnings

  • ⚠‘Zuhd in what people have’ does not mean refusing legitimate help, gifts, or partnership — only refusing to envy or covet.
  • ⚠Pretending zuhd while pursuing fame for ‘being a zāhid’ is the opposite of zuhd.

nawawiDay.relatedHadiths

Bukhari — Three came to the Prophet’s house: one would never marry, one would fast every day, one would never sleep. He rebuked them all.

Ibn Mājah — ‘The dunyā is the prison of the believer and the paradise of the disbeliever’

nawawiDay.memorisation