What is wara' and what is zuhd, and how can a Muslim be scrupulous and ascetic like the righteous Salaf?
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The questioner : The questioner from the UAE, Usamah Khalid, says: O honorable Shaykh, what is wara' and what is zuhd, and how can a Muslim be scrupulous and ascetic like the righteous Salaf? I ask for your guidance. May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Zuhd is a higher description than wara'. The difference between them is that wara' is leaving what is harmful in the Hereafter, while zuhd is leaving what is not beneficial in the Hereafter. So the ascetic does not do anything except what is beneficial for him in his Hereafter. The scrupulous person does what is beneficial and what is not beneficial, but he does not do what is harmful. This is because matters have three states: either they are beneficial, or they are harmful, or they are neither beneficial nor harmful. The ascetic and the scrupulous person agree in avoiding the harmful; neither of them does the harmful. They differ in what has no benefit and no harm: the ascetic avoids it, while the scrupulous person does it. The ascetic avoids it because he wants his life to be a life of earnestness in everything, where there is good in everything he does in this world. So he seizes his time and is careful that not even a small amount of time passes without him filling it with obedience to Allah that benefits him on the Day of Resurrection. The scrupulous person is not at that level; he does permissible things, and his time passes without benefit, but he does not do what is forbidden. He avoids the forbidden and does not leave the obligatory; he performs the obligatory.
Based on that, zuhd is a higher rank than wara'. However, one of them may be used to mean the other; it may be said, "So-and-so is an ascetic," meaning he is scrupulous, or "he is scrupulous," meaning he is an ascetic. But when we say wara' and zuhd, this is the difference between them. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Zuhd is a higher description than wara'. The difference between them is that wara' is leaving what is harmful in the Hereafter, while zuhd is leaving what is not beneficial in the Hereafter. So the ascetic does not do anything except what is beneficial for him in his Hereafter. The scrupulous person does what is beneficial and what is not beneficial, but he does not do what is harmful. This is because matters have three states: either they are beneficial, or they are harmful, or they are neither beneficial nor harmful. The ascetic and the scrupulous person agree in avoiding the harmful; neither of them does the harmful. They differ in what has no benefit and no harm: the ascetic avoids it, while the scrupulous person does it. The ascetic avoids it because he wants his life to be a life of earnestness in everything, where there is good in everything he does in this world. So he seizes his time and is careful that not even a small amount of time passes without him filling it with obedience to Allah that benefits him on the Day of Resurrection. The scrupulous person is not at that level; he does permissible things, and his time passes without benefit, but he does not do what is forbidden. He avoids the forbidden and does not leave the obligatory; he performs the obligatory.
Based on that, zuhd is a higher rank than wara'. However, one of them may be used to mean the other; it may be said, "So-and-so is an ascetic," meaning he is scrupulous, or "he is scrupulous," meaning he is an ascetic. But when we say wara' and zuhd, this is the difference between them. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.