The Quranic Framing of al-Dunya
The Quran does not condemn the world (dunya) as inherently evil — it is a divine creation. What it condemns is over-valuing the dunya relative to the akhira:
“But you prefer the worldly life, while the Hereafter is better and more enduring.” (87:16-17)
“Know that the life of this world is but amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one another and competition in increase of wealth and children.” (57:20) — the surah al-Hadid’s description: five modes of dunya-attachment, each escalating from mere play to competitive accumulation.
“What is with you must end, and what is with Allah will remain.” (16:96) — the fundamental asymmetry: everything of this world is exhaustible; everything of Allah’s decree is permanent.
The Prophetic Parable
“What do I have to do with this world? My example and the example of the world is only like a traveler who seeks shade under a tree and then goes on and leaves it.” (Tirmidhi, Ahmad)
This hadith establishes the attitude: not hatred of the world but non-attachment — using it as a traveler uses shade: gratefully, without claiming it as a destination.
Zuhd: The Response to Hubb al-Dunya
Zuhd (renunciation/detachment) is the Islamic virtue cultivated in response to hubb al-dunya. Classical Sufi authors distinguish three levels:
- Zuhd from the haram (the forbidden) — not even using what is lawfully one’s own if it leads to attachment
- Zuhd from the halal beyond need — taking only what is necessary
- Zuhd from anything that distracts from Allah — the highest level, characteristic of the awliya’
Importantly, Islamic zuhd is not asceticism in the sense of rejecting the world. It is non-dependence — having things without being had by them.
See also: Tazkiyah, Sulook, Zikr Al Mawt, Al Ghazali, Muhasaba, Sabr Wa Shukr