The Meaning of 'Umar's Statement: "The World Was Not the Preoccupation of Anyone Except That Four Things Took Hold of His Heart"
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Question:
This questioner asks: What is the meaning of the statement of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab where he says, "The world was not the preoccupation of anyone except that four things took hold of his heart: poverty whose wealth is not attained, anxiety whose end is not reached, a preoccupation whose beginning is not exhausted, and hope whose end is not attained"?
Answer:
This is what I know, meaning, if the report is authentic from 'Umar, but its meaning is correct. Whoever is preoccupied with the world to the detriment of religion, he suffers a great loss; he suffers a great loss. So it is obligatory that...
...a person's primary preoccupation be his religion. As for the world, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has guaranteed the sustenance of His servants. If one relies upon Allah, then Allah will suffice him. He, Mighty and Majestic, said:[At-Talaq 65:2-3] And among the supplications is: "Do not make the world our greatest concern." Yes.
This questioner asks: What is the meaning of the statement of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab where he says, "The world was not the preoccupation of anyone except that four things took hold of his heart: poverty whose wealth is not attained, anxiety whose end is not reached, a preoccupation whose beginning is not exhausted, and hope whose end is not attained"?
Answer:
This is what I know, meaning, if the report is authentic from 'Umar, but its meaning is correct. Whoever is preoccupied with the world to the detriment of religion, he suffers a great loss; he suffers a great loss. So it is obligatory that...
...a person's primary preoccupation be his religion. As for the world, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has guaranteed the sustenance of His servants. If one relies upon Allah, then Allah will suffice him. He, Mighty and Majestic, said:
And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out (3) And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will
وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما معنى قول عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه ما كانت الدنيا هَمّ أحد إلا لزم قلبه أربع وهي فقر... — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.