10-10-2004, 03:38 AM
Asalaamu Alikum Brothers and Sisters,
I received this as an E-mail and I thought I would share with all of you. It is kind of long but it is a good remeinder for us all. Please read, take care and may Allah(SWT) keep us on the straight path and make our hearts Thabit(firm) in our Deen, Ameen.
Ahmed
Praise be to Allah.
Ibn Abbas ® narrated that the Messenger (s) said,
"Take the benefit of five before five:
1. Your youth before your old age,
2. Your health before your sickness,
3. Your wealth before your poverty,
4. Your free-time before you are preoccupied, and
5. Your life before your death."
(al-Haakim 4/306, al-Baihaqee 2/2/240)
This is an excellent advice, (like all advice from the Prophet (s) are), as sooner or later these provisions from Allah (swt) will run out for each of us.
May you use your time, wealth and provisions wisely before they finish, Ameen.
Wasting Wealth
Wealth is a provision from Allah (SWT). It has been written for each person when he was in his mother's womb. Therefore, whether a person will be poor or rich is predetermined. However, it is not the state of being rich or poor that is important but it is what the person does with it. Wealth, or lack of it, is a trial. As Allah (SWT) says in the Qur'an:
Your wealth and your offspring are only a trial, whereas with Allah is a great reward.
(At-Taghabun 64:15)
What should a person do when he finds himself poor? The best course to take is to be patient: Narrated Abu Sa'id ® that some people from Ansar asked Allah's Messenger (s) to give them something and he (s) gave everyone of them who asked him until all that he had was finished. When everything was finished and he (s) had spent all that was in his hand, he (s) said to them, "Know that if I have any wealth, I will not withhold it from you. And know that he who refrains from begging others (or doing prohibited deeds), Allah will make him contented and not in need of others; and he who remains patient, Allah will bestow patience upon him, and he who is satisfied with what he has, Allah will make him self-sufficient. There is no gift be! tter and vast that you may be given than patience." (Bukhari) Indeed, it has also been narrated that the majority of dwellers in Jannah (Paradise) are the poor people. (Bukhari)
However, what should a person do when he finds himself wealthy? He should spend it for the Cause of Allah (swt), such as giving to charities:
Verily those who give sadaqah (zakaat and charity), men and women, and lend Allah a goodly loan, it shall be increased manifold (to their credit), and theirs shall be an honourable good reward (Paradise) (Qur'an, al-Hadid 57:18),
and paying his debts: The Prophet (s) said, "If I had gold equal to the mountain of Uhud, it would not please me that anything of it should remain with me after three nights (that is, I would spend all of it in Allah's Cause) except what I would keep for repaying debts." (Bukhari)
The wealthy person should be generous and not miserly. For a miser hates to part with his wealth and finds it difficult to do so. Abu Hurairah ® narrated that the Prophet (s) described "...a miser and a charitable person by comparing them to two men wearing two iron cloaks and their hands are raised to their chests and necks. Whenever the charitable man tries to give a charitable gift, his iron cloak expands till it becomes so wide that it will cover his fingertips and obliterate his tracks. And, whenever the miser wants to give a charitable gift, his cloak becomes very tight over him and every ring gets stuck to its place..." (Bukhari)
The person with wealth should not be greedy as that thing which he greeds for does not benefit him. The Prophet (s) said, "This wealth is like a green and sweet fruit. Whoever takes it without greed, Allah will bless it for him, but whoever takes it with greed, Allah will not bless it for him, and he will be like the one who eats but is never satisified. The upper (giving) hand is better than the lower (taking) hand." (Bukhari)
The wealthy person also does not waste it on useless worldly things. Wasting wealth is one of the things that Allah (swt) hates: The Prophet (s) said, "Truly Allah hates three things in you: quarreling, wasting one's wealth and frequent, useless questions." (Bukhari, Muslim)
To be miserly and greedy is to also be wasting the provision that Allah (swt) bestowed on the person. Wealth is one of the worldly blessings from Allah (swt), but it can be a curse for those who do not manage it wisely.
The Prophet (s) said in a narration by 'Amr bin 'Auf, "By Allah, I am not afraid that you will become poor, but I am afraid that worldly wealth will be given to you in abundance as it was given to those nations before you, and you will start competing for it, and then it will divert you from good as it diverted them." (Bukhari) We have been warned about the dangers of competing for worldly wealth in surah at-Takathur (102) and we have been warned about man's thirst for wealth: The Prophet (s) said, "If the son of Adam had two valleys of money, he would wish for a third, for nothing can fill the belly of Adam's son except dust (that is, man continues to love wealth till he dies, for then he will ! no longer think about collecting wealth) and Allah forgives him who repents to Him." (Bukhari) Also, "the heart of an old man remains young in two respects - his love for the world (its wealth, amusements and luxuries) and his incessant hope (for a long life)." (Bukhari)
It is time that we realised the truth to these words of Prophet Muhammad (s), "Riches does not mean having a great amount of property, but riches is self-contentment." (Bukhari) Self-contentment is achieved through worshipping Allah (swt). Spending the wealth according to how Allah (swt) wants the person to spend it is an act of worship. This spending should be done moderately - it should not be extravagant, wasteful nor miserly. Allah (swt) says in the Qur'an:
(The faithful slaves of Allah are) those who, when they spend, are not extravagant nor stingy, but hold a medium (balance) between those (extremes). (Al-Farqan 25:67)
Wasting Food
Now and then we hear of stories coming out of the oil rich countries which would make us shake our heads. One example of this is the story of a wedding feast where lots of food were served but not many of these dishes find itself entering the guests' stomach. Instead, it gets dumped into the rubbish bin. At the same time across the Red Sea, thousands of Muslims are dying from hunger.
However, we do not have to look far for these shameful stories. If we look at the community here, we will see the same extravagance of wastage that can rival any of these oil rich countries.
For instance, a few weeks ago, a mother and her children were attending a gathering. The food was sufficient to feed everyone. There was a particular dish that her children only wanted to eat. Since there was only a bit of it to go around, she took a small portion that would at least give her children a taste of it.
When the meal finished and it was time to clean up, she noticed that someone had taken a hefty portion of that dish, took a few bites and discarded the rest. One can imagine how she felt at that moment.
That was only a small gathering, can you imagine what happens at a big Islamic function or gathering? When it is time to eat, the Muslims push and shove each other like some hungry stricken people to get at the food. Once there, they heap onto their plates as much food as it would feed them till the next day. For their children, they take as much food as they would eat themselves and not according to how much their children could eat. They forget that children do not eat as much as the adults. As they and their children are half way through their meal, they could not finish it and throw the rest into the bin without any reservations. Meanwhile, those who were at the end of the queue miss out on some of the dishes that are being offered.
Why is there a compulsion on the Muslims to waste food? Is there a psychological need to feel that 'I'm not poor since I can afford to waste food?' Is it a status symbol to waste food? Or is it out of sheer mindless habit to waste food (and water for that matter). Do the Muslims not realised that food is a blessing from Allah (swt) and that we will be questioned about what we waste?
Allah ta'ala said,
"...eat and drink, but waste not by excess. For Allah loves not the wasters." (Qur'an, al-Araf 7:31)
The Prophet (s) said, "If one eats from the dish and lickes it, the dish will express to him to wish that Allah may free him from Hell as he frees it from the devil." (Razin)
Abdullah ibn Zubayr ® said that his father said when the verse Takathur was revealed the companions said to the Prophet (s), "Which provision will we be asked about? We don't have anything except dates and water." The Prophet (s) said, "That's what you will be asked about." (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Hasan)
As we can see, it is not only food but water that we are not allowed to waste. Unfortunately, most Muslims do not realise this. They think that since water is in abandance, how can one waste it? Thus, when they brush their teeth, they let the water run. When they wash the dishes, they turn the tap on full blast and let it run continuously while they gather the dishes to the sink or adjust the plates on the wires. When they take wudu, they turn the tap on full blast and let it run.
Ibn 'Umar ® narrated that the Messenger of Allah (s) passed by Sa'd while he was performing ablution and said, "What is this extravagance, Sa'd?" He said, "Is there extravagance in the use of water?" The Messenger of Allah (s) said, "Yes, even if you are at a flowing river." (Ahmed)
Here is a self test to try: You give a luncheon or dinner party for a group of friends. When it is time to wash the dishes, you see food scraps on the plates such as half eaten drumsticks, half eaten bread, half eaten salads, half eaten slices of cake and half drunk glasses of orange juice. While you scrape the food off the plates, do you
1) Feel upset and grumble about all these wastage? Or,
2) Automatically scrape it off without a second thought while at the same time you ponder how successful it all went?
If your answer is the first response then, alhamdulillah, you still are sensitive towards throwing food away. This is the feeling that we should try to remember when we eat at a friend's house or at a gathering.
If your answer is the second response then you have no conscience or qualm about wasting food (or drink). You seriously need to regain your conscience. If wasting was a trivial matter then why did Allah (swt) and the Prophet (s) bothered to mention about it?
The next time we start to put food onto our plates, we should ask ourselves, "How much of this food can I eat without throwing it away?", and "Will I like this dish? I should only take a bit to taste it first and if I like it I will take more later." Furthermore, mothers with children should ask themselves before they start to pile food onto their children's plates, "Will my children like this food?", "How much can they eat?", "Will they be able to finish the amount that I have given them?", and "Can I finish it off for them?"
If we examine and reflect on the three examples given, we will realise the sorry state of the ummah where there is no love for fellow Muslims. Everyone is out to get the best for themselves and their children. It does not matter if other Muslims are left with crumbs or even nothing. Let us reflect on this saying of the Prophet (s): "None of you will have faith till he wishes for his (Muslim) brother what he wishes for himself." (Bukhari)
![[Image: smile.gif]](http://www.islamsms.com/bb/html/emoticons/smile.gif)
. The Umma really needs to be enlightened about such things, they forgot what true islam is, I heard that hotel management would rather dump the food than give it to poor people, imagine. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala guide us to what he loves and pleases, wa jazak Allah kul khayr brother for this wonderful reminder.![[Image: wub.gif]](http://www.islamsms.com/bb/html/emoticons/wub.gif)
beautiful