QUOTE : A popular saying (often erroneously identified as a hadith of the Prophet ) is, “Act for your world as if you will live forever, and act for your Hereafter as if you are going to die tomorrow.” Shaykh Bashīr ʿUthmān Bashīr, a contemporary scholar, said that people frequently misunderstand this saying and use it as a justification for working very hard for the world. However, the tradition states that we have forever to take care of our worldly affairs, but we must tend to the Hereafter as if death awaits tomorrow. This implies making even our worldly affairs for the sake of God. The point is not to suggest that a person neglect his work; rather, it speaks to one’s intentions, such that one’s work in the world does not detract from the Hereafter. The Qur’an says, “Do not forget your portion of this world” (QUR’AN, 28:77). There are two ways this can be interpreted. First, do not neglect what God has given you to expend for the Hereafter. Second, do not forget or neglect this world, even though the more important concern is the Hereafter. Both understandings are acceptable. Believers are not anti-worldly in a sense propagated by some Christian theologies. The world is a place God made for us to enjoy but not to the point that we forget our purpose and ultimate destiny.