Allah! There is no god but He: and on Allah, therefore, let the Believers put their trust.

Oh ye who believe! Truly among your wives and your children are (some that are) enemies to yourselves: so beware of them! But if ye forgive and overlook, and cover up (their faults), verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Your riches and your children may be but a trial: Whereas Allah, with Him is the highest Reward. So fear Allah as much as ye can; Listen and obey; and spend in charity for the benefit of your own souls. And those saved from the covetousness of their own souls,- they are the ones that achieve prosperity. If ye loan to Allah a beautiful loan, He will double it to your (credit), and He will grant you Forgiveness: for Allah is All-Thankful, Most Forbearing,- Knower of what is hidden and what is open, Exalted in Might, Full of Wisdom. (Surat Al-Tagabun 13-18)

Hazrat Abu Umamah (Radia Allahu Anhu) relates that th Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘O Son of Adam! If you were to spend your surplus wealth it would be better for you, and if you retain it, it will be the evil for you. You will not be censured for keeping wealth according to your needs. First of all spend it on your family members (dependents).’ (Tirmizi narrated this tradition and called it authentic)

One of the biggest worldwide problems at large today is the lack of zehd, or asceticism. I remember talking to a friend of mine about a year ago when we got on the subject of capitalism. ‘It’s just doomed to fail’, he says. ‘This whole idea of Food galore! Cars galore! Everything galore!...there’s just no way it can work.’ And now I sit back and contemplate these very little things that bring me so much joy since leaving my capitalist driven homeland. Things that make me feel like I have been brought back to reality. Such as the fact that fruit is really suppose to only be available when nature says it’s their season to grow. You could only imaging the look of amazement I had when I would see guavas filling the market one month and like it had been swept away by the wind and an army of oranges had taken over…I was squeezing my own fresh orange juice every morning.

The fact that the majority of people who will be reading these are those from western nations…it is sufficient enough it to say that holding on to one’s zehd is almost as hard as wearing a beard and a kufi…so much so because you are completely surrounded by the opposite. Sadly, whether we as Muslims want to admit it or deny it…we have been completely engulfed by this system of spending and living splendid, of having everything when you want it, of having Tall, Grande, and Venti super gigantic coffees and SUV’s that will bury us with our own greenhouse gases and rising global temperature. We may justify our extravagances by saying we fulfill our obligations of zakat and by our generous giving of Saddaqa, but in the end we still spend more in the way of capitalism then we are in the way of Allah subhannahu wa taala.

The problem with this…and this again is whether you want to deny it to yourself or not…is that it is much easier for us to objectify something that is concrete rather then something that is unseen. Such as, let’s say…that which you will get after you pass away.

Spending fifteen or twenty thousand on a new car is easy…it’s not just easy…it’s practically a reality for most people…because almost everyone who can afford one will buy one. It’s hard…I know…to keep driving an old used car. It’s like the difference between the mule and the horse….and it’s for that reason…and just that reason(just to make sure you know)…that we keep buying new, fancy cars. Any old piece of junk will get you from point A to point B in the same amount of time as a new one…given of course it can reach 65mph, and that the newer car does not come equipped with some sort of stealth technology that can get you past speed traps with no problem. So whether you want to deny it to yourself or not…anything you NEED to fulfill your objective (ie. Have a roof over your head, provide your body with nutrition, get to your destination on time) is spending that is a necessity…everything else is extravagance.

Now come on Rami, what the heck are you talking about here? Are you trying to tell me to live in a shack, eating nothing but bread and oil, and never spend on myself or to live comfortable…you’re crazy.

Well…you’re right, I’m not telling anyone to do that. But what’s wrong with just a little asceticism?!

Some people buy Benzes because they absolutely can’t live without the four independent phone lines that automatically call the police when you get into an accident. Others can’t live without buying a BM because their laziness has gotten so out of hand that they have to buy a clutchless stick-shift. Other have to spend that 30,000 on the Volkswagen because it’s just plain ‘cute’.

What’s the Point?

Transportation is just one of the many little things I am using as an example to show that Dunya receives so much more attention than our Akhira. Rather than buying amenities that will make our life in the grave more comfortable, like good deeds and charity, we work hard and search for the highest paying jobs to make our Dunya as comfortable and easy as possible. But the Akhira is the only comfort one will ever find. And would it not be greater to give all your money, and your family, and everything you own if it would just save you from the punishment of the Hellfire and the torture of the grave.

<“That Day shall a man flee from his own brother, and from his mother and his father, and from his wife and his children. Each one of them that Day, will have enough concern (of his own) to make him indifferent to the others.” (Surat Abasa 34-37)

People! Just a little asceticism is all I am asking. Give up one little option or one little amenity when buying that car or that house or that wonderful cappuccino and say that you’ll earmark that money for charity. It would be better for you…much better. The corporations and the manufacturers of goods are all benefiting off of your Akhira. A thousand dollars for a moonroof or a thousand for leather seats is enough to feed an entire village for a year in some third world countries. You could save a hundred lives, every one of which is worth the weight of six billion or so. These things are better and these things last longer. You will live more comfortably insha Allah and more restful in that grave when you know it is filled with all that you gave up. Everything is impermanent except for what we invest with Allah…and it is to Allah subhanna wa taala that we do return.

May Allah forgive us our misdeeds and our failures.