A Rising Pandemic: Selfishness & Greed

What happened to contentment?

The ocean is so breathtakingly beautiful. But just as it is beautiful, it is also deadly. The same spellbinding waves, which we appreciate from the shore, can kill us if we enter them. Water, the same substance necessary to sustain life, can end life, in drowning. And the same ocean that holds ships afloat can shatter those ships to pieces.

This worldly life, the dunya, is just like the ocean. And our hearts are the ships. We can use the ocean for our needs and as a means to get to our final destination. But the ocean is only that: a means. It is a means for seeking food of the sea. It is a means of travel. It is a means of seeking a higher purpose. But it is something which we only pass through, but never think to remain in. Imagine what would happen if the ocean became our end – rather than just a means.

Eventually we would drown. - YM

You hear stories. Stories of things happening in the world. Stories of things happening close to you. Stories that will leave you perplexed. A society where criminals are glorified. Young women going out with men twice their fathers’ age. People stealing thousands of dollars from their parents. Young men engaging in fraudulent activities. Everyone wants to be incredibly wealthy. Everyone wants to marry someone who’s self-made. It’s a matter of life or death. Only a small percentage of people care about their source of income.

And for what? Money? Money that each and every one of us will leave behind eventually?

Narrated by Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A time will come when one will not care how one gains one's money, legally or illegally." (Bukhari)

This dunya deludes us. It has lured us into a race toward infinite desire, to accomplish more and more without taking the potential repercussions into consideration. It is immediate and present, and has taken majority of us hostage, but know this, it is only a means to an end.

Money is essential for our wellbeing, but there comes a point where our desire for it becomes unhealthy. A point where the dunya is no longer just the means but the ‘end’ for us. A point where the dunya – which was once under our control – begins to control us.

When the ocean’s water enters and overtakes a ship, that ship is no longer in control. The boat then becomes at the mercy of the ocean.

That is when the boat sinks.

Isn’t it incredible? This life is leaving us and the Hereafter is coming towards us, yet we keep ourselves busy with the one that is leaving and turn away from that which is coming, as if we are not going to arrive and settle therein.

The capitalist society we live in puts heavy pressure on us to produce or to perish and to compete or to be fired. It makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. There is no contentment, no satisfaction and no happiness. The love for wealth makes us compromise our beliefs – we can do anything so far it makes us wealthy. If greed is the epicentre at which we operate, we will find it difficult to see anything wrong in crossing boundaries. But if we actually understand that there will be a day when we’ll be held accountable for every dime we have – how we made it and how it was spent – then we’ll understand the blessings in staying content.

Greed is an omnipresent disease that ends only at death. It is never satisfied. More often than not, the more we get, the more we want. Material possessions will not protect us; neither in this life nor in the hereafter. Greed hints softly that we would be happier if we had more money, more things, and more power. In reality it creates discontent and a growing desire to do whatever it takes to gain position and possessions.  

The antidote, according to the sunnah, is to foster a sense of contentment. The Prophet (ﷺ) says, "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 people, who is not pointed out by people, and who is content with his provision." (Tirmidhi)

It is, of course, natural to seek pleasures and to pursue – actively – that which one perceives to be good and satisfying but, don’t let the love of wealth consume you. Seek it within the boundaries of Islam and give sadaqa to people that don’t have.

Like the ocean’s water entering the boat, the moment that we let the dunya enter our hearts, we will sink. The ocean was never intended to enter the boat; it was intended only as a means that must remain outside of it. The dunya, too, was never intended to enter our heart. It is only a means that must not enter or control us. It is a resource. It is a tool. It is the path—not the destination.

Contentment is a treasure that will never be depleted. We have to be satisfied with the little we have. Do your best, work hard and rely on Allah.

You don’t have to do whatever it takes to become a multi-millionaire. You don’t have to wear the most expensive dress at your wedding. You don’t have to own a birkin, or multiple. You don’t have to change your phone every single time apple releases a new product. You don’t have to steal to impress your peers.You don’t have to marry Bill gates. You don’t have to live above your means. You don’t have to be very wealthy to live a happy life. Not to mention, you can still disobey Allah and end up poor & dissatisfied. 2-0. Doing ‘whatever it takes’ does not guarantee automatic success.

Our lives will soon come to an end, and if we spend all our time chasing after our own desires – what will we have to show for our time in this world?

فَأيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ

So where are you going {81:26}

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