Page 116 - The Debased Culture of Superficiality

114 THE DEBASED CULTURE OF SUPERFICIALITY

the Face of Allah. We do not want any repayment from
you or any thanks. Truly We fear from our Lord a glow-
ering, calamitous Day.” (Surat al-Insan: 8-10)
Those who were already settled in the abode, and in
faith, before they came, love those who have migrated to
them and do not find in their hearts any need for what
they have been given and prefer them to themselves
even if they themselves are needy . . . (Surat al-Hashr: 9)
We are told in the last verse above that, even if they are
in need, believers prefer to give rather than receive.
Muslims take great pleasure in this honorable and gener-
ous behavior, which is just the opposite of greed. Greedy
people grab their blessings, and it never occurs to them to
give thanks for them. For this reason they cannot take plea-
sure from anything they possess. They always want more.
Even if they do not need anything, still their ambition is to
possess more. They are greedy even about little things. Allah
tells us about this in the Qur’an and points out that these peo-
ple are insistent in their refusal to practice religious morality:
Leave the person I created on his own to Me alone, him
to whom I have given great wealth and sons who stay
with him, and whose way I have smoothed. Then he
wants Me to add yet more! No indeed! He is obdurate
about Our signs. (Surat al-Muddaththir: 11-16)
They are close-fisted and resist spending what they have,
though they have very different expectations from other
people. In the Qur’an, Allah reveals the falsity which comes
from their greediness:
Woe to the stinters! Those who, when they take a mea-