The Spider's House: Every Attachment to Other Than Allah Is a Flimsy Thread

Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on 24 September 2026 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

And grant us right guidance in our affairs, bless us in what You have provided for us, protect us from the punishment of the Fire, and turn away from us the causes of punishment in this world and the Hereafter, by Your mercy and good pleasure, Your kindness and generosity, O Lord of the worlds. Turn to us in forgiveness and guide us, spread Your covering over us, preserve for us Your well-being, and make us secure in ourselves and our families. O Allah, do not try us with more evil deeds, and forgive us what You know better than we, O Most Merciful of the merciful, keep us firm upon guidance, and mend our hearts with greater nearness to You.

I had opened the recitation with the words of Allah, exalted is He: ﴿مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ كَمَثَلِ الْعَنكَبُوتِ اتَّخَذَتْ بَيْتًا ۖ وَإِنَّ أَوْهَنَ الْبُيُوتِ لَبَيْتُ الْعَنكَبُوتِ ۖ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾ (The likeness of those who take protectors other than Allah is that of the spider, which makes a house; and the frailest of houses is the spider's house, if only they knew).^[1]

The Triviality of the World in the Creator's Scale

Look, at first glance, at this blessed text: it makes you feel how trivial the world is with everything in it. For those who take protectors other than Allah are nothing but a part of this universe, of this life, of this system which the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, created. Imagine a person working in an organization, who attaches himself to those working with him and courts them, rather than the owner of the company, or the one who makes the decisions. Glory be to the Creator, the Great!

What I mean is that you find a person who nearly kills himself to attain the post of a minister, for example, and courts this one and that one, then forgets the Creator, glory be to Him, exalted is He. Or a person who thinks that multiplying wealth is an impregnable fortress for him, and that the greater the number in his hands, the more secure he is. And this is a common feeling among people: that numbers are the first means of protection in his life, with which he can buy and insure and obtain. So if you ask him, he gives you the answer common on people's tongues: «بس عايز أأمّن مستقبل الأولاد» (I just want to secure the children's future). And this is a notion found in many people.

Taking the Means and Belief

Following the means is one matter, and belief is another. The Prophet ﷺ speaks to his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, saying: «لأن تَدَعَ ورثتك أغنياءَ خيرٌ من أن تدَعهم عالةً يتكففون الناس» (That you leave your heirs wealthy is better than that you leave them in poverty, begging from people).^[2] But this is within the framework of following the means. We are speaking about those who have attached their hearts to these riches, and those who have attached their hearts to positions, and those who have attached their hearts to persons, to human beings. Our Lord, glory be to Him, exalted is He, tells us that any attachment to other than Him is only a very simple likeness to a spider that spun its threads and its house in one of the corners and thinks that is sturdy, and then at the slightest wind, the slightest breeze passing by, takes it all away, or at the least breaks it with a breaking that makes the spider bear long losses of time until it re-spins this weaving again.

Every Soul Will Taste Death

And our Lord, glory be to Him, exalted is He, tells us after a number of verses: ﴿كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ ۖ ثُمَّ إِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ﴾ (Every soul will taste death; then to Us you will be returned).^[3] It is as though He, glory be to Him, is saying to you: if there is no lesson for you in this whole life except that you leave what you were attached to and around which you spun your threads, you leave it and depart from it by the command of Allah, who is the Owner and King of this whole universe.

I will not lengthen it for you, and I know that time has grown short before work. I ask Allah, glory be to Him, exalted is He, to establish this faith firmly in our hearts, to awaken the sense of consciousness of Him in our minds and souls, to bless us in the righteous deeds we have in our hands, and not to disgrace us with disobedience after obedience, nor with doubt after certainty. O Allah, amen.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat al-ʿAnkabūt, verse 41. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: The ḥadīth of Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, may Allah be pleased with him, in the story of his bequest, agreed upon, and its wording is: «إنك أن تَذَرَ ورثتك أغنياءَ خيرٌ من أن تذرهم عالةً يتكففون الناس». The speaker cited it by meaning, as in the body text. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat al-ʿAnkabūt, verse 57.