The world has been placed at the disposal of the man so that...

The world has been placed at the disposal of the man so that he may reach Allah by means of it. Now, if this man perceives the world as means of arriving at Allah, the mercy of Allah will always descend upon him because he is pursuing the [right] goal and is proceeding in the correct direction. An intelligent man never gets heedless of the goal and always sets his eyes on the destination and selects the path which makes him draw nigh to the destination.

In other than this case, the merciful look of Allah is withdrawn from man because he has turned his heels and back against his goal and the aim of the world’s creation. Instead of trudging the course of prosperity, he has traversed the course of misery and wretchedness. A companion of one of the slaves was sad because of the largeness of his income and occupation.

The Imam ( ‘a ) met him and asked, “Why are you unhappy?” The companion answered, “Your Highness, my wealth has increased, [and] I have become a victim of the world.” The Imam asked, “Why do you go after wealth and the acquisition of possessions?” The companion answered, “In order for me and my children not to be a burden to other people and so that I may manage to help my believing brothers.” His Holiness the Imam stated, “This is otherworldliness and is not materialism, and there is no need to be worried about it.

You ought to be worried when you get enamored with the gratifications of the world and be sad once you covet the world.” “There is nothing more abhorred by Allah than the world.

He created it and then turned it upside down and cut off the look of compassion and will not glance upon it till the Day of Resurrection.” The purport of this saying has been explained in a lot of ethical books by a large number of the great men of letters, especially the deceased Imam Khomeini, and dependence has been laid on it.

(It is very strange that for people of mystical knowledge, this very expression is enough to make them not inclined to the world in all their lives.) There is no doubt that Allah, the Exalted, loves all his creatures and they are the effects of the beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah and from the viewpoint that the whole world is a manifestation of the perfect Attributes and Names of Allah, he pays attention to them and grants them grace until the Day of Resurrection.

Allah does not pay attention to the world from the perspective that it is considered independent of him and primacy is given to it.