Tradition

أَصْدَقُ كَلِمَة قالَتْها الْعَرَبُ كَلِمَةُ لُبَيْد: ألا كُلُّ شَىء ما خَلاَ اللّه باطِلُ، وَ كُلُّ نَعِيْم لا مَحَالَةَ زائلُ

The Prophet (S) is narrated to have said: “The most correct and far reaching sentence which the Arabs have mentioned can be found in the words of Lubayd (a famous Arab poet) when he said: ‘Know that everything except God is void and useless and every blessing will eventually slip through your hands.’”1

Brief Commentary

The finite nature of wealth and social position, as well as their inevitable loss, teaches us that we should be careful to earn them in lawful and just ways, and we should also be careful to spend them in moderate and lawful ways. We should understand that the only infinite existence is that of God and we all exist due to his mercy. This thought should be enough to keep us humble while we are living the life of this world.

• 1. Misbah al-Shari’ah, p. 45, Bihar Al-Anwar, vol. 67, p. 294.