“I am speaking of a tale from our Grandsheikh Abdullah concerning this dunya and its value in front of Awliya, saints. The story happened in the time of Abdul Qadir Jilani, a great saint from a royal family. Once a learned man intended to visit him, and traveled from Baghdad with two silver piasters tied in his belt, thinking he perhaps might be in need for it. On reaching the palace of Sheikh Abdul Qadir he saw a big hall with rich carpets and couches.
People were sitting at a feast in pairs. For each were one lamb and three turkeys. There was too much glory and pomp. The scholar was surprised, and in his heart thought: “This is a famous sheikh. How can he live a king’s life? A sheikh must be an ascetic.” The sheikh called him” “Oh scholar, come here. Don’t think that way because all the world to us is not as valuable as those two piasters tied in your belt are to you. When we are giving freely, not afraid, we are holding the world in our hands like a man picking up a dirty thing he holds it with the tips of his fingernails and then drops it in the first suitable place. We are giving where
there is need, not hoarding treasures.”
When something comes to you, use it for yourself and for others, don’t put the treasures of this world in your heart. You must not be like others. Love is for Allah Almighty, not for this life. You may earn from this world as much as you can; it is free for earning, but you must know that you must leave it one day. The best way is to keep it in the hands, not in the heart.
Depthless sorrow is for the one who dies and yet he loves the world’s treasures. No worry if you are keeping the whole world in your hand, but not in your heart.”