Each time I learn about my deen, I thank Allah (swt) and also pray to Him to keep me on this path till I breath my last breathe.

Islam teaches everything – from the way you relate to your spouse to the way you take food to your mouth – I mean everything.

One of the prophetic traditions I read of recent is

Watch out for greed because the people before you perished from it. Greed led them to be miserly so they became misers. Greed led them to break the ties (of kinship) so they broke it. Greed led them to sins so they committed sins.” (Abu Dawud)

The Evil That is Greed

Of course, I understand that greed perishes a nation, but I still need this prophetic reminder. People are heedless because they want to have everything.

In another narration,

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: I heard the Prophet saying, "If the son of Adam (the human being) had two valley of money, he would wish for a third, for nothing can fill the belly of Adam's son except dust, and Allah forgives him who repents to Him. (Bukhari)

Lack of Contentment

The problem is we are never content; we strive to have it all. But Islam is teaching us to be contented and seek the bounties of Allah in the halal (legitimate) ways.

Everyone complains about how greedy our political office holders have become, but the truth is that we are not better off. A friend of mine once said that you can’t become wealthy without altering figures. It can’t be any worse.

Then we have different religious groups preaching prosperity, to them: you must be strikingly rich to tell people you are serving God. Again, Islam comes with the answer:

The most enviable of my friends is a believer with little property who finds pleasure in prayer, who performs the worship of his Lord well, who obeys Him in secret, who is obscure among men, who is not pointed out by people, and who is content with his provision. (Tirmidhi)

Don't be Misinformed

Don’t get me wrong, it is no crime to seek wealth [Abd Rahman ibn Awf (ra) was one of the richest in his time], but it becomes makrooh (disliked) if it becomes the focal point of our lives. Wealth accumulation shouldn’t be our circle of concern but wanting to serve Allah (swt) in the best of our ability should.

We seek wealth because we want to be seen as the best amongst people, this explains why political office holders see themselves as minigods – you don’t dare correct them. If greed is the epicentre at which you operate, you will find it difficult to see anything wrong in sinning or breaking the ties of kinship [just like the prophet (s) pointed out].

Give Alms Instead

The love for wealth makes you compromise your beliefs – you can do anything so far it makes you wealthy. But if you actually understand that there will be a day when you’ll account for every dime you have – how you made it and how it was spent – then you’ll understand the blessings in staying contented with what you have, and giving sadaqa (alms).

Don’t let the love of wealth consume you, seek it within the boundaries of Islam and offer sadaqa to people that don’t have. This is one of the best ways you can save your life from the fire. The prophet says: save yourself from the fire, even if it is by offering half a date in sadaqa.

Instead of the love of wealth, train yourself to fall in love with giving out sadaqa, not only are you saving your life, but also breeding love. I’ll end this post by quoting another tradition from the prophet (s) (don’t be bored by my numerous quotes)

The best charity is given while you are healthy, desirous (of that money), hoping for wealth but fearing poverty. Don’t delay it until your death bed saying, “This is for so-and-so” and “this is for so-and-so.” while it was already written for so-and-so* (Abu Dawud)

*that is, it has been destined to so-and-so

NICE PIECE. JAZAKUMLLAHU KHYRAN

deeteeneey: NICE PIECE. JAZAKUMLLAHU KHYRAN

Wa iyyakum