In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the All-Compassionate

 

"May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You"

 

   Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah

          As-Salaam Alaykum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakaatuh

 

Can Money buy Happiness?

All praise and thanks are due to Allah the Rabb of the Worlds and peace and blessings on His Messenger the last and final Nabi and Rasool, our master Muhammad, his family and companions and all those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. Thereafter –

Someone asked me a question. ‘Can money buy happiness?’

I answered, ‘Yes it can. But you should know where to get it from!’ Today I want to show you how to buy happiness. To understand this you need to understand that there are two kinds of hunger: A hunger of the body and a hunger of the soul/spirit. Both these hungers need to be assuaged.

The hunger of the body drives this world. It is the motive force behind all that happens in this world, generally speaking. It is the reason why most people get up every day to go to work. It is the reason for all kinds of activity in the Duniya: economic, political, educational, research, manufacture and service. All these activities are driven by the hunger of the body. We call it by different names; ambition, entrepreneurship, drives to succeed, rat race and so on.

This hunger of the body is driven by two things: Fear and Greed

Fear that tomorrow I will not have enough. Fear of imaginary disaster, loss or suffering if there is no money or less money. It is this fear that drives some people to suicide when the stock exchange dips by 10 points. The tragedy is that this dip is illusory but it is enough to drive some people to a level of despair where they take a leap from the 20^th floor window. However when that jumper meets the pavement he is still worth 20 million. Yet that 20 million is not enough to take away his fear.

It is this unrealistic fear of poverty that drives people to indulge in actions that surely destroy their Akhira. For example people deal in interest and accept a declaration of war from Allah and Rasoolullaah because they fear that they will not be able to have a house or a business if they don’t take an interest based loan. They don’t remind themselves that it is Allah who provides our provision and does that by his power and strength and that He is not dependent on anyone to help Him. About fear being a driver Alláh said:

???????????? ?????????? ????????? ????????????? ????????????? ???????? ????????? ??????????? ??????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ???????

Baqara 2:268. Shaytaan threatens you with poverty and orders you to commit Fahisha (evil deeds); whereas Allah promises you Forgiveness from Himself and Bounty, and Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower.

The second driver is greed. To own more, to have more, to consume more. Greed for more and more possessions by people who don’t understand that possessions add cost, not value.

Greed which convinces you that your value as a human being depends on what you possess. Or actually in this illusory world, what you appear to possess, whether you actually own that thing or not. That somehow the person with the bigger house, car and branded clothes is a better human being, more worthy of being respected and deferred to, than the one who has a smaller house, no car and wears plain and simple clothes. The illusion is all important. Therefore you don’t even ask yourself, ‘Does he own that Mercedes or does his bank? Does that house belong to him or to his bank?’  We call them High Net Worth individuals where Net Worth is a dollar value. Men are sold, subtly perhaps, but sold.

The appearance of wealth is more important than actual wealth. Deception is the name of the game – deceiving others but in fact deceiving only yourself and then allowing this self-inflicted deception to draw upon itself anxiety, stress, heartburn, jealousy, envy, cardiac illness and insomnia. Deception that ensures that since you are only focused on more and more and on comparing with others, you are condemned to not even enjoy what you have. There is no satisfaction even in owning all those possessions because you are either worried about losing them or about the catching up with someone else who has more.

So greed drives the individual to work harder and harder to accumulate more and more possessions, experience more and more sensations. To run from sensation to sensation from possession to possession, searching for happiness.  Happiness doesn’t come to him but the man never gives up until he meets his end. There is another aspect to this greed. It is not simply the desire to own more but to own more than the next person. So it is not about having a car as a means of transport but as a means of turning heads. It is not about wearing jewelry to a party but about turning others green with envy at the size of the rocks hanging from your ears. It is not about wearing a watch to tell time but about wearing a watch to tell the world who you are. But there is a rider to this: Illusions are not free. 25% of the US population – 10.8 million people owes more on their homes than the house is worth. So why are they still paying their mortgages? And what happens if they stop paying? The illusion is not free. It is about such a race that Allah said:

??????????? ????????????

?????? ???????? ????????????

Takathur 102:1. The mutual rivalry for piling up of worldly things diverts you, 2. Until you visit the graves (i.e. till you die).

That is why Allah warned us against this deception and destructive competition and told us what real success is. He said:

????????? ???????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ????????? ??????????? ?????????? ??????????? ??? ???????????? ?????????????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ??????????? ????????? ????? ??????? ????????? ?????????? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ?????????? ??????? ??????? ???????????? ????? ??????? ??????????? ????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ??????????

Hadid 57:20. Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children, as the likeness of vegetation after rain, thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw. But in the Hereafter (there is) a severe torment (for the disbelievers, evil-doers), and (there is) Forgiveness from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure (for the believers, good-doers), whereas the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment.

Allah reminded us that real success is not in accumulating stuff that you will have to leave behind one day anyway. Or in competing with others in worldly things but to focus on maximizing the return on the investment we make towards our Akhirah. AllahY reminded us that though we may see some transitory benefit of our deeds – both good and bad – in this life, the real and full payment will be made in the Aakhira. So it is the intelligent thing to do to focus on ensuring that it is only good.

????? ?????? ????????? ????????? ?????????? ??????????? ??????????? ?????? ???????????? ????? ???????? ???? ???????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ??????????

A’al Imraan 3:185. Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection will you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing).

The hunger of the soul is driven by two things: Love and Hope

The soul seeks closeness to AllahY. Its food is the Dhikr of AllahY. The soul seeks to express its love for AllahY and hopes for His pleasure and Jannah. That is why the ultimate reward for the Muttaqoon is the Deedaar of Allah. The hunger of the soul arises out of the reason why AllahY created mankind about which He said:

????? ???????? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ?????????????

??? ??????? ??????? ???? ??????? ????? ??????? ??? ???????????

????? ??????? ???? ??????????? ??? ?????????? ??????????

Dhariyaat 51:56. And I (Allah) created not the jinn and humans except they should worship Me (Alone). 57. I seek not any provision from them nor do I ask that they should feed Me. 58. Verily, Allah is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong.

The soul seeks to fulfill its purpose and is pleased and content when the person allows it to do so and cooperates with it in seeking the pleasure of AllahY. Then the hunger of the soul is assuaged and it is at peace and is content. AllahY said:

????????? ???????? ????????????? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?????? ??????????? ??????????

????????? ???????? ??????????? ????????????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?????

Ar Ra’ad: 13:28. Those who believe (Muslims), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. 29. Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism), and work righteousness, Tuba (it means all kinds of happiness or name of a tree in Paradise) is for them and a beautiful place of (final) return.

The problem happens when we seek to fulfill the hunger of the soul by the things that are meant for the body. People seek happiness (which is a state of being of the soul) by indulging the senses in various sensations (food, drink, drugs, sex, shopping) and when they find that they are still unhappy once the effect of the stimulant wears off, they seek more and stronger or stranger. Stronger dose, higher potency, stranger sensation, bigger thriller, more powerful kick. But once again they find that there is a landing and it is hard, cold and dark. The viciousness of the hangover is directly proportional to the peak of the high. But they still don’t learn.

The list of celebrity suicides on Google makes interesting reading. People who had money, name, fame, beauty, friends and stuff – yet they committed suicide – the epitome of unhappiness. So what happened to the happiness they were searching for? What did their money buy them? You know, if you want to find something there are two conditions – it must exist and you must look for it in the right place. You can’t find something that doesn’t exist and neither can you find something which does exist but if you look for it in the wrong place. Happiness does exist. We know that. But you have to look for it in the place where it exists. It does not exist in the shopping malls, the cinema theatres, idiot boxes, soap operas; it does not exist in fast cars, faster people, big houses, branded accessories; it does not exist in Coke or Pepsi or what they accompany, it does not exist in smoke or what creates it; it does not exist in bung ee jumping or roller coaster rides.

Why not?

Because happiness is a state of being of the soul, not of the body. That is why those who search for happiness in these or similar places are condemned to failure and despair. So where does happiness exist? Happiness exists in the connection with AllahY. With standing in the night alone before Him, reciting His Kalaam to Him, knowing that He is listening. Happiness exists in feeling his Grace and Majesty as you recite the words of power. Happiness exists in then falling before Him in prostration, the body on the musalla, the soul before His Arsh – for His Messenger said, ‘ When the slave makes sujood, he makes it before the Arsh of Ar Rahman.’ And he said, ‘The slave is closest to His Rabb in sujood.’ And Allah said:

?????? ??? ???????? ????????? ???????????

Alaq 96: 19. Nay! (O Muhammad)! Do not obey him (Abu Jahl). Fall prostrate and draw near to Allah!

Happiness exists in living our life in obedience to AllahY looking forward to the Day when we will surely meet Him – hoping for His Mercy and Grace and the shade of His Throne when there will be no shade except His. I ask this for myself and for you and ask that AllahY should make it easy for us to earn His pleasure.

Happiness lies in another place.

In fairy tales we are told about invincible heroes whose souls used to be not in their own bodies but in the body of a bird in a cage. So the hero could never be killed until of course someone discovered the fact about the parrot in the cage and then the truth of the fact that every soul must taste death is established.

I am reminded of this because similar is the case of the seat of happiness. The seat of our happiness is not within ourselves. It is not in self-gratification, not in satisfying our senses, not in accumulating possessions, property, land or authority.

Our happiness resides in the hearts of others. In the filling of empty bellies. In the wiping away of tears of bereavement, fear and pain. In kindling of hope in hearts sunk in despair. In putting back the smiles on the faces of orphans and widows and men who are left alone and without support in a world that is groaning under the burden of the possessions of others. It lies in extending your hand and holding the hand of the one who has fallen to lift him up so that he may walk again. Happiness lies in tending to the sick, feeding the poor, paying for the education of those for whom that is the only route to open the door to a future that is bright and glorious. Happiness lies in standing beside the one who was oppressed and facing the oppressor so that he may know that it is neither easy nor cheap to oppress another.

Happiness lies in giving away what AllahY has given us – of knowledge, wealth, energy, power and time. And then it lies in standing before Him who sees all and knows all to ask Him for more so that you can give it all away again and again and again. It is our actions that make our dua worthy of acceptance. It is our actions which are our Waseela before Allah on the basis of which we seek His forgiveness and His support in all our matters. I am reminded of the Hadith of our Master where He said: Abu Huraira Radhi-Allah anhu related that Rasoolullaah said: ‘Our Robb's commandment for every one of His slaves is: “Spend on others, and I will spend on you.’” (Bukhari, Muslim).

I am reminded that Rasoolullaah told us that when we go to visit the sick in the evening, 70,000 angels pray for our forgiveness all night and when we go to visit the sick in the morning, 70,000 angels pray for our forgiveness until night falls.

I am reminded that Rasoolullaah told us that the peak of Imaan is to speak the truth before the tyrant. I am reminded that Rasoolullaah told us that if we are plagued with poverty, then we should give Sadaqa.

Seems like strange advice until you reflect on the principles of agriculture.

To put it simply: What you have in your hand is your harvest. What you plant is your seed. Hang onto what you have and that is all that you will ever have – rapidly reducing as you consume it. Plant what you have and it will be returned to you manifold – for He promised:

??????? ????????? ?????????? ????????????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ????????? ?????? ????????? ??? ????? ????????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ????????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???????

Baqara 2:261. The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah is as the likeness of a grain (of corn); it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to which He pleases. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower.

1 : 700 and that is a promise made by the One who does not renege on His promises. The counting is for us to appreciate the gain – but the Ayah ends with the Majesty of the King – where He says ???????? ????????? ????? ??????

My brothers and sisters, remember that it is only empty hands which can hold. A closed hand, a fist can hold nothing. So the sooner something leaves your hand, the sooner something will leave the heavens to find you so that you can become the conduit for your Rabb to give His sustenance to His slaves. Remember also that if you attempt to block that flow by not passing on the bounty but instead using it up yourself  – the flow will not stop because the Will of Allah will be done. It is merely diverted into the hands of someone else who has the wisdom to understand what he is receiving and fulfills the purpose of His Rabb. And you will be left high and dry.

My brothers and sisters, remember the choice is ours. Because this life is ours.

So tell me which is better? Fear and Greed or Love and Hope?

 Courtesy: Mirza Yawar Baig

Compiled, edited and adapted by Khalid Latif, e-tabligue

 

 

__._,_.___

 

Prev

Next