Love of and Greed for Worldly Things

7. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Yahya ibn ‘Uqbah al-Azdi from abu ‘ Abd Allah عليه السلام who has said the following: “Abu Ja’far عليه السلام has said, ‘A person greedy of the worldly things is like a silkworm, the more silk it produces around itself the more difficult it becomes to come out, until it dies in sorrow.’ Abu ‘Abd Allah عليه السلام then said, ‘The richest person is one who is not a captive of greed.’ The Imam has said, ‘Do not allow your hearts to become preoccupied with what has already gone; it distracts your hearts from the task of readiness for what is to come.’”