Miserliness

[Beardo]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Miserliness/Bukhl
By Hafiz Raakin Hossain

“Two greedy people are never satiated: one who is greedy for knowledge can never get enough of it, and one who is greedy for worldly possessions can never get enough of them.” (Bayhaqi)

“Three things follow a dead person then two things return and one remains with him: his family, wealth, and deeds go with him, then his family and wealth return (from his gravesite) and his deeds remain.” (Tirmidhi, Bukhari, Muslim)

Miserliness, in definition, is the “total lack of generosity with money”. Allah Ta’ala explains in the second ayaat of Suratul Ma’un, “Then such is the (man) who repulses the orphan (with harshness).” The unrivaled business is the one invested with Allah. In the era of Musa (Alayhe Salaam), there was a man who request Prophet Musa (Alayhe Salaam) for his life’s sustenance at one time. Despite his warnings, the man insisted on receiving his livelihood straight off. Long after when Musa (Alayhe Salaam) crossed the man once again, he saw him with hundreds of loaves. Musa (Alayhe Salaam) inquired about this, wherein the man replied that Allah Ta’ala promised to return everything in ten folds. Thus, he ate one bread, and donated nine. With the ten fold, he received ninety, which reproduced repeatedly.

Miserliness has two stages in itself. The first stage is withstanding against the Shari’ah, such as in Zakaat. The second is called “Muruwwa”, which is acting against kindness and generosity. This concurs with the Ayaat mentioned above in Suratul-Ma’un, referring to the dejection of orphans. The former is a sinful act, as it is in contrary with the Fara’idh and a pillar of Islam. In many cases, zakaat is given with inaccurate estimations, on the lesser side. The messenger of Allah stated “Save yourself from miserliness, as it has destroyed nations before you.” (Muslim) An example would be Qarun, who refused to give Zakaat on his massive amount of wealth as well as denying the fact that Allah had granted him his knowledge and possessions. Thus, his wealth became his method of earning disgrace and his demise.

The latter stage is not sinful, but is against the behavior of a true and sincere Muslim. This degree would be frown worthy and disgraceful. In many cases, to repel those who are needy and rejecting the orphans may be considered oppression. Allah has given some more than others as a test of patience and generosity. In order to succeed in this exam of life, one must learn self-sacrifice. “None of you is a believer until he loves for his brother (his fellow Muslims) what he loves for himself.” (Muslim) This would be defined as treating others how you would want to be treated. As stated in Hadith, the Ummah is one body. A pain in one organ causes negative effects to other sections of the body. Another Hadith in correlation of this degree, “The upper hand is superior to the lower hand.” (Bukhari, Muslim) This is in reference to the giving and the taking hand. The one who gives receives his reward in surplus, either in this world or the next, possibly even both. This example may also be contrasted with a host and a guest. For example, if the guest stains the carpet or to that effect, the host should bear it with patience and pretend to have taken no heed of it.
Miserliness does not simply refer to money, but also with attitude, time, and other factors. At times, people tend to give more time to their wives than their mothers and business over family. Therefore, Allah’s apostle states “moderation in spending is half of one’s sustenance, friendliness toward people is half of one’s intelligence, and asking good questions is half of one’s knowledge.” (Bayhaqi) One extreme often leads to another, so therefore depriving one’s family of their due rights by sacrificing it all is also frowned upon.

Miserliness is a form of spiritual cancer. It causes discomfort in even spending for one’s own family. There a strong desire for greed which haunts one until death. Such as Alexander the Great, who had masses of wealth and all the lands, yet his miserliness had poisoned him to death. Tales have been told in the subcontinent of those who became wealthy beyond their dreams, but in old age there was neither family nor possession that could save him at his time of need. However, Allah had assured us that there is no disease without a cure. The scholars of the past have said the cure for miserliness is the realization that one’s wealth cannot save him, and is a test from Allah. It can be used as a reward or punishment. The Prophet himself was offered mountains of gold, which he turned down in an instant. Those who are misers work day in and day out, giving no thoughts to the natural life revolving around them.


“Its root is love of this world for its own sake or so that the self can acquire some of its fleeting pleasures.” –Imam Mawlud

[liya]

jazaka allahu khairan akhi ...wen ppl became like that they destroy their live in duniya by not enjoying wat Allah gave them but also the hereafter too ....

[Beardo]

It's been more than a year and I haven't written an article like this. As you grow older, I guess the distractions and temptations of life just get to your head. :(

Please remember me in your duas.

['Abd Al-Maajid]

Jazakallah, Hafidh Raakin Hossain :)

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[tango92]

im eagerly awaiting your next article brother!

[Neelofar]

Loving this article, specially the quotes at the start, nice one brother! :shade: