Be in This World Like a Stranger: Hadith 40 of an-Nawawi

The Prophet ﷺ once took a companion by the shoulder and gave him advice in a single line. That line is Hadith 40 of Imam an-Nawawi’s collection, often called the be in this world as a stranger hadith. It asks us to live here the way a traveler lives on the road: fully present, but never forgetting where home is.

The hadith

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ took hold of his shoulder and said:

In the same narration, al-Bukhari records what Ibn ‘Umar himself used to say. These are Ibn ‘Umar’s own words, not the Prophet’s ﷺ, but they show how he lived by this advice:

A stranger or a traveler: what is the difference?

HadeethEnc explains the two pictures in the hadith:

• The stranger has arrived in a land where he has no house of his own and no family around him. He lives there, but he does not belong there.
• The traveler goes a step further. He does not settle at all. He passes through, takes only what he needs for the road, and his whole concern is reaching home.

HadeethEnc adds that the traveler’s level is the higher of the two, and that for the believer, home is Paradise. This world is the road, not the destination.

Ibn ‘Umar’s advice: don’t wait

Ibn ‘Umar turned the hadith into two habits. First, don’t count on tomorrow: if you reach the evening, don’t plan as if the morning is certain. Second, use what you have now. HadeethEnc explains this as hurrying to obey Allah while you are healthy, before illness stops you, and using your life to prepare for what comes after death.

Does this mean leaving the world?

No. HadeethEnc is clear that the hadith does not tell us to stop earning a living or forbid the good things of this world. It is about the heart: not being attached, taking less, and keeping our hopes here modest. We look at this balance more closely in Hadith 31 on zuhd. Allah reminds us what this life is:

Reflection: think of a traveler waiting at an airport. He might buy a drink or sit somewhere comfortable, and that is fine. But he would never repaint the gate or argue for hours over the best seat, because he is leaving soon. So many of our worries, the things we chase and the arguments we cannot let go of, shrink when we remember we are only waiting for our flight.

How to put it into practice

The hadith gives no fixed steps, so these are suggestions:

• Stop saying “later” to one good deed: a prayer, a call to a parent, a debt to repay.
• Use your healthy days for worship you may not manage when you are ill or older.
• Travel light. Before buying something, ask whether it helps you on the road.
• Practice contentment with what you have; see qana’ah in Islam.
• Remember what lasts. Only deeds go with us; see 3 things that follow a person to the grave.

Key lessons

• This world is a road, and Paradise is the believer’s home.
• A traveler takes only what he needs for the journey.
• Don’t count on tomorrow; do the good deed today.
• Use your health and your life before they are gone.
• Living lightly does not mean giving up halal work or good things.

Questions people ask

May Allah make this world light in our hands and the Hereafter heavy in our hearts, and bring every one of us safely home.

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