Be as a stranger in this world

Arabic

كُنْ فِي الدُّنْيَا كَأَنَّكَ غَرِيبٌ أَوْ عَابِرُ سَبِيلٍ. وَكَانَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ يَقُولُ: إِذَا أَمْسَيْتَ فَلَا تَنْتَظِرِ الصَّبَاحَ، وَإِذَا أَصْبَحْتَ فَلَا تَنْتَظِرِ الْمَسَاءَ، وَخُذْ مِنْ صِحَّتِكَ لِمَرَضِكَ، وَمِنْ حَيَاتِكَ لِمَوْتِكَ.

Translation

Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a traveller on the road. Ibn ʿUmar would add: When evening comes, do not wait for morning; when morning comes, do not wait for evening. Take from your health for your sickness, and from your life for your death.

Narrator

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar

Source

Bukhārī 6416

Commentary

The traveller does not furnish the motel. He knows he is leaving. This is not a call to poverty — it is a call to posture. Live in the dunyā as a guest, and you will not resent its losses.