A miser is someone who hoards his money in an attempt to save it from being used up over basic necessities and comforts. Greed is deeply rooted in his conscience, abstaining him from spending it on the needy and deserving. Thanking his Provider or being grateful to Him for the worldly possessions doesn’t cross his mind, and he becomes obsessed with filling up his bank accounts.
Encouraging an environment of charity, and sharing with our fellow brothers and sisters is the Islamic way of living your life. Islam is a religion of balance, and disapproves means of extremity, praising such attributes of the citizens where they share from their wealth for helping the less privileged and the poor.
Allah doesn’t say that we let go of all the luxuries in order to succeed in the hereafter, rather to strike a balance in the society by sharing our prized possessions with the less privileged members. Sacrificing it all, while staying in isolation and carrying out our ibadah to seek Allah’s blessings is not favored in Islam. Rather, to keep things balanced, fulfilling our worldly duties while offering our religious obligations should be the norm. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing fast, as we are losing compassion, brotherhood, and empathy for our fellow brethren. The basic civil etiquette are disappearing from our moral value sets, taken over by ‘I can barely manage mine’ or ‘I worked too hard for this to give it away’ etc.
Allah, The All-Knowing and Wise, has made it clear to us to treat the less privileged with honour and respect, accepting that it is only Allah’s will that we might have more than others. There are means of charity, zakat or sadaqah are there so the wealth is distributed to those in need. In numerous places in the Holy Book it is mentioned to treat our servants as our brothers, feeding and clothing them well, and being kind to them to earn the pleasure of the Almighty.
Allah Subhanahu Ta’ala lays it down plain and simple; be kind, be gentle, forgive and forget, and these humble actions would supersede your charities. Being understanding of the greatness of kindness in Allah’s eyes we will change our ways of living and bringing a positive change altogether. This world needs heroes, to safeguard the rights of less privileged folks, to heal them in any way we can, to comfort those in distress and playing our part to enhance the colors of this universe. Be the savior, be the hero, do your part and leave no opportunity to spread kindness around.
