The Difference between the World and the Hereafter

The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘He who loves his world has harmed his Hereafter.

Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Verily the world and the Hereafter are two opposing enemies and two different paths, so whoever loves and befriends the world has despised the Hereafter and has made it his enemy. They [the world and the Hereafter] are like the east and the west and whoever walks between them, however much he gets closer to one, he distances himself from the other. After all, they are like two wives of the same husband.

Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The bitterness of the world is the sweetness of the Hereafter, and the sweetness of the world is the bitterness of the Hereafter.

Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Seeking to bring together this world and the next is from the deception of the soul.

Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘No one tastes a worldly pleasure except that he will face a torment on the Day of Resurrection.

Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The wealth of this world is the poverty of the Hereafter.

Imam Zayn al-Abidin (AS) said, ‘By Allah, this world and the next are naught but two scales of a balance, so whichever scale is weightier, it will overpower the other.

Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘The last prophet to enter paradise will be Solomon [Prophet Solomon (AS) is known as Sulayman in the Arabic tradition (ed.)] son of David (AS) due to what he was given in this world.