|
HIRS (GREED)
“And you will most certainly find them the
greediest of men for life than even those who are polytheist; every one
of them loves that he should be granted a life of thousand years”. (The
Holy Quraan 2:96)
This verse points to the greedy nature of
some people who wish to live long even upto a thousand years. They are
those who either do not understand or do not believe in life after
death. As such they are lacking in Islamic belief in second life after
death and tend to be more greedy in this worldly life.
Greed
is a condition which makes man dissatisfied with whatever he possesses
and makes him covet for yet more and more. Greed is one of the worst of
destructive vices and is not limited to worldly possessions but also
includes indulgences such as contact with women and other worldly
pleasures.Moreover, disputes between individuals, wars between tribes or
countries mainly arise out of greed to dominate others.
Imam al-Baqir(as) has compared the greedy
with a silk-worm saying,
“The greedy man in his love of the world
is like a silk-worm; the more it wraps itself in its cocoon, the less
chance it has of escaping from it, until finally it dies of grief”.
A greedy person who is engrossed in
earning more and more of worldly wealth even at the expense of his own
dignity, family welfare or personal health eventually dies of grief.
GREED
IN OLD AGE
The Holy Prophet (saw) has said,
“As man grows in age, two of his
characteristics become young; greed and far-flung hopes”.
Haroon ar-Rasheed, the Abbaside Caliph,
once arranged for an old man in Yemen who had seen the Holy Prophet
(saw) personally to come to baghdad and visit him.As the old man was
very weak, he was brought on a stretcher.On entering his court, Haroon
welcomed and made the Old man sit besides his throne.He then asked him
whether he had seen the Holy Prophet (saw) personally. The Old man in
his weak and lowly voice replied,
“Yes, I used to sit near the pulpit and
hear his ahadith (sayings)”.
Haroon asked him to describe the main
features and appearance of the Prophet and he said,
“The Prophet looked handsome and of sound physique.He had black and
curly hair.His face was luminscent. He was fond of perfume and made use
of it so much so that his fragrance would remain behind for quite
sometime wherever he passed”.
Haroon then asked whether he remembered
any saying of the Prophet. The Old man said that he could still remember
one in which he said,
“Man grows old but two qualities in him
remain young; greed and far-flung hopes”.
Haroon was very happy to meet the Old man
and hear from him about the Prophet. He then instructed to his people to
present him with a handsome gift of money and return him home to Yemen
comfortably. As he was being carried away, the Old man asked to be
returned to the Caliph as he had an important matter to discuss with
him. On arrival in the court, the Old man said,
“O’Caliph! Tell me whether this gift of
money you gave me was only the first and the last or whether I should
come every year to receive a similar gift from you?”
On hearing this, Haroon laughed and said,
“You had rightly quoted the Prophet as
saying that the two qualities of greed and long hopes remain young and
active even in old age”.
Haroon then promised the Old man that he
could expect repeated gifts as long as he lived but alas! The greedy Old
man was not even destined to enjoy the first gift he had received and
died on his way to Yemen.
In order to free oneself from the evil of greed, one should think of the
harmful consequences. One should realize that it is the characteristic
of animals who are restricted in satisfying their desires. He should
train himself to exercise self-control and have the virtue of
contentment which enables one to satisfy himself with little and devote
more time in the service of his Creator. The instinct of greed should
instead be applied for acquiring more knowledge and awareness and for
earning more and more of the pleasure of Allah (SWT) in obedience to
Him.
Released by:
Mulla Mujaheedali Sheriff
mulla@almahdi.org.uk |