Love of worldly wealth

By Sheikh Abdul Hamid Lachporia

“Al Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen was Salaatu was
Salaamu ‘alaa Ashrafil Anbiyaa’e wal Mursaleen”

“O Prophet, say to the people, “Shall we tell you who will
be the greatest losers in their works? Those whose striving
goes astray in the present life, while they think that they
were working good deeds.”

[Verses 103 & 104 Surahtul Al-Kahf].

Wa Ba’d:

Alal Muslimeena Jami’ah! What makes nations and communities alive, strong and successful? This question is vital in the context of the central theme of the Most Glorious Qur’an: the mission of the Muslim Ummah. To have a mission and purpose requires a life of giving, a life of caring and sharing and a life of Jihad. Jihad is an active pursuit, striving and struggling for the purpose and mission; making the necessary sacrifices: giving away [Infaq] possessions, especially of wealth and life. Thus Jihad and Infaq play a key and determining role in the life and decay, the rise and fall of the Ummah.

Fear of death and an overpowering love of worldly possessions sap and destroy the strength of a community. If people fear death, then death becomes the fate of their community. Those who have no fear of death, life is their destiny; while those who spend for the Pleasure of Almighty Allah will find their reward with their Rabb and no fear shall come upon them, neither shall they grieve. This is Almighty Allah’s promise.

One of the major causes of irreligion and inclination towards materialism are the weak reasons often advanced by unqualified people concerning issues pertaining to Divine Wisdom, will, and omnipotence, Divine justice, Divine dispositions [qada wa qadar], freewill and determinism, the world’s pre-eternity or its having come into existence [hudud wa qidam], life after death, purgatory [Barzakh], Resurrection, heaven and hell, the Bridge of Sirat, the Balance and so on etc. This often makes the listeners mistakenly imagine that what some of these ignorant persons say are the teachings of religion and that they speak from an in-depth knowledge of these teachings.

Man is compelled to obey his instinctive urges. He is endowed with certain instincts which urge him towards a goal envisaged in his creation. This does not mean that he should follow his instincts blindly; rather, what is meant is that the existence of these instincts is not purposeless, and that they may not be ignored. For example, man has an urge to have children. This urge is not a petty thing, but is a masterpiece of Divine creation. However, in the scheme of creation this urge has been placed in every animal as something attractive and sweet, so that each generation is employed in the service of the succeeding generation.

Among human instincts is the love of wealth. Of course, the love of wealth is not a primary instinct in man; that is, it is not that man loves wealth for its own sake. Rather, since it is in his nature and instinct to seek satisfaction of corporal needs of life, and since the means of satisfying these wants are money and wealth in certain societies, such as ours, he loves wealth as the key to all his material needs. One who possesses money seems to have all the keys, while the one without it finds all doors closed upon him. It has been said that when the rich wage war it’s the poor who die. There are men who gain from their wealth only the fear of losing it. When a person distinguishes the idea of felicity from the idea of wealth, it is the beginning of wisdom.

It is therefore not possible to convince everyone to forego everything and to forswear the mysterious magic of the key called “money” and “wealth” as something filthy and detestable. It is said that wealth is the means, and people are the ends. All our material riches will avail us little if we do not use them to expand the opportunities of our people. Wherever there is excessive wealth, there is also in the train of it excessive poverty; as, where the sun is brightest, the shade is deepest. To be poor without murmuring is difficult. Almighty Allah Azza Wajjal informs us in verse 188 of Surahtul Al-Baqara:

“And do not eat up your property among yourselves
for vanities, nor use is as bait for judges, with intent
that ye may eat up wrongfully and knowingly a little
of (other) people’s property.”

In a society where people are constantly reminded, in the name of Almighty Allah and His Din of Haqq, the path to happiness lies in turning one’s back on the allurements, the glitter, the glamour and the wealth of this egotistical world, an opening is automatically created for the accumulation of material wealth so that the lofty concepts of religion, with all its far-reaching implications, disappear from the scene. But this does not represent the true logic of religion.

Islam directs our attention to authentic spiritual values, basing themselves on belief in the Glorious Creator and presenting mankind with comprehensive teachings and principles for living. They extend our vision to the frontiers of the heavenly realm and deliver us from the servitude of self-worship and materialism, and at the same time permit us to enjoy material wealth and all the pleasures to a reasonable extent. We are reminded of this with words of wisdom in verse 28 of Surahtul Al Anfal:

“And know ye that your possessions and your property are
but a trial; and that it is Allah with whom lies your reward.”

Some people imagine that the free enjoyment of certain things that Islam has prohibited will guarantee them happiness. They think that Islam is obstinately fighting against all enjoyment and it is in no mood to compromise with the pleasures of this Doonya, as if Almighty Allah Rabbul Ala’meen were forcing us to choose between happiness in this world and happiness in the Aghirah [Hereafter]. This attitude is totally misleading and unrealistic. If Islam seeks to play a role in mankind’s efforts and choice of direction, it is because unbridled indulgence of desire, unconditional surrender to instinct and appetite, and obedience to the command of the ego darken man’s life and propel him into a form of unconscious slavery.

Islam does not condemn man to enduring one or two forms of misery. It is entirely possible to combine happiness in this world with happiness in the Hereafter. Why should Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala, Whose treasury of Mercy and Grace is inexhaustible, not wish for His servants a complete happiness that embraces both this Doonya and the Aghirah? This is precisely what He does wish. Another factor in the spread of materialistic ideas has been the indulgence of passion and immersion in the cesspool of lust. A man or woman who worships his or her lusts will gradually lose all exalted ideas about Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala.

Once he or she chooses an axis for his or her existence other than the Most Glorious Creator and Sustainer and imagines that whatever exists in this world has simply been cast into it, free of any purpose, so that the very idea of an aim in life becomes meaningless, he or she begins to devote all his or her mental energies to the maximizing of sensual pleasures. This humiliating and degrading plunge to the lowly plane of existence withers the roots of all aspiration for growth and development. In an environment where people are immersed in sin, dissipation and corruption, and refuse to accept any limitation governing their deeds, religion can exist only in name.

The materialistic human being dwells in the dark wilderness of greed and materialism, helpless in the midst of the shoreless sea of appetites and pluralities. Every moment he or she is knocked around by the waves of material attachments. Before recovering his or her balance after being struck down by a wave, he or she is knocked down again by another, a more fearsome and terrible wave arising from love and attachment to wealth, money, name and fame, wife and children. These waves, with their perpetual assaults, draw him or her into the dark depths of this fearsome ocean and their cries and laments are drowned in the uproar of the waves.

The power of will is a great heavenly gift which must never be left idle or used for amassing worldly wealth or used for filthy purposes and inhuman goals instead of being employed in the path of duty. Every human being is free to either obey or disobey the commands of his or her conscience. We are all the masters of our soul and our will. We may choose rectitude and purity, liberate ourselves from the bondage of wealth and lust and endless desires, make chivalrous, kindness, and giving of ourselves our motto, and abstain from injustice and cruelty.

Yes! these qualities and virtues are within our reach and we may adorn ourselves with them through persistent effort. We may also take the opposite path, the path of greed, love of wealth, decadence and vice, and dive into the ocean of variegated lusts and pleasures. Almighty Allah reminds us in verse 15 of Surahtul Al-Israa:

“Whoever is guided, is only guided to his own gain,
and whoever goes astray, it is only to his own loss;
no soul laden bears the load of another.”

A loving father gives the following counsel to his son:

“My son, let it be that you remain poor and penniless while others gather and strive for wealth in front of your eyes through deceit and treachery. Lead your life without position and glory and let others crave for high positions through obsequiousness and servility. Put up with the misery and let others satisfy their desires by the means of flattery and sycophancy”.

“It is better for you to put on the garment of virtue and piety so that when your head turns white there will not be a single blot on your honour and good name. At that time, thank Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala and surrender to death with an easy mind and with a happy and contented heart of a true Muh’min.”

And Almighty Allah knows best and to Him Belongs all Praise and Glory.
The Truth is from Allah, the errors are mine and I stand to be corrected.

Baarak Allaahu Feekum wa-sal-Allaahu wa-Sallam ‘alaa
Nabiyyinaa Muhammad Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam.

Was Salamualaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu