Now, this question arises as to what thing this divine grace...

Now, this question arises as to what thing this divine grace and loving look of Allah is attached; in explaining this point, His Holiness ( ‘a ) states: “Allah loves nothing more than faith and abstaining from the forbidden acts.” The most beloved thing before Allah in the first place is faith and second is fear of Allah and quitting forbidden acts.

It can be gathered from this hadith that quitting sins is more desirable than performing obligatory actions, even if it can be said that discharging obligatory actions is considered as a level of faith, for the reason that faith consists of both acts of the heart [or inward acts] and apparent [or outward] acts which are performed by means of the limbs and members of the body. Anything in the world that is a means of attaining faith and abstaining from sins is beloved in the sight of Allah.

Therefore, Allah has strongly recommended worldly affairs for the reason that man attains piety and proximity to Allah by means of them: Imam al-Sadiq ( ‘a ) narrates that the Noble Prophet (S) stated, “Nine tenths of worship is in trade and work.”[^1] In another hadith , Imam al-Sadiq ( ‘a ) states, “A person who marries has procured half of his religion, therefore let him enjoin piety in the other half.”[^2] Or in another hadith , the Noble Prophet (S) states, “In Islam, there is no foundation more beloved than marriage.”[^3] There is no doubt that these are affairs of the world but for the reason that they become channels for worship and devotional servitude to Allah and forsaking sins, they are beloved by Allah.

The Need for Loving the Hereafter “O Abu Dharr! Allah, the Exalted and Blessed, inspired revelation to my brother Jesus [‘Isa]: O Jesus [‘Isa], do not treasure the world, because I do not love it. Take pleasure in the hereafter since it is the abode of the last world.” The Noble Prophet (S) quotes the saying of Prophet Jesus ( ‘a ) that Allah inspired revelation that He did not love the world and Prophet Jesus too ought not to be friends with it.

It is natural that the Noble Prophet [of Islam] (S) is an enemy of the world too, because the criteria for the friendship and enmity of the Infallibles ( ‘a ) with a person or thing is friendship and enmity with Allah. It is natural that the best role model for the believers and the followers of right in encountering the world is the conduct or way of life of the Prophets (S) and the Infallibles.