Source : Islamweb.net / 6 Mar 2013

Asceticism, or Zuhd, is to abandon the desire for something for the sake of something which is better, and to abandon the comfort of this world for the sake of that of the Hereafter. It also means that the heart should not desire anything that one does not possess. Knowing that this worldly life is temporary and will eventually come to an end helps the slave of Allah to be this way.