Medicine For Greed

The medicine of greed has been prepared by three ingredients - patience, knowledge and action. During the use of this medicine, the ingredients come through the following five prescriptions.

The first prescription for removing greed is to adopt middle path to earn provision and to cut short the expenditure. He who wishes to get the honour of contentment should shut up all the doors of expenses as far as possible and spend what is absolutely necessary for him. If the expense is too much, it is impossible for him to earn the quality of contentment. If he remains single, he should remain content with a coarse cloth, with whatever food he gets and with little curry. If he has got family, each should take the like proportion of things. The middle course is the root of getting contentment livelihood.

The Prophet said: God loves the middle course in all affairs. He also said: He who incurs just expense does not fall in want. The Prophet said: There is salvation in three things: (1) to fear God openly and secretly, (2) to adopt middle course in expense in poverty and solvency, (3) and to be just in happiness and wrath, The Prophet said : Adoption of middle course, good - treatment and true guidance are a little over one-twentieth part of prophethood. He also said: Expense with good arrangement is half of livelihood. He said: God saves one from depending on others who spends moderately and He throws one in want who is extravagant. God loves one who remembers the Almighty. He said: Make delay if you wish to do a thing till God makes out for you a way and means. To make delay in expense is very necessary.

The second prescription of removing greed is that one should not be anxious for fortune if he gets his present necessary things at ease. He should curtail his hope. He should have this much of faith that the provision which has been pre-decreed must come to him. Greed cannot take provision. He should put faith in the following verses of the Qur’an – “There is not a single animal in the earth whose provision is not upon God” (Surah Hud, 11: 6). God says: “The devil threatens you with poverty and enjoins on you to do indecent things” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:268) A sage said: Once two sons of Khaled came to the Prophet who said to them: Don't be despaired of livelihood till your heads move (till you live). Man is born sound from his mother's womb without any defect, and before his birth God prescribed his provision. The Prophet once passed by Ibn Mas'ud and finding him troubled in mind said: Don’t increase your thoughts. What has been decreed must come to pass. The Prophet said: O people, search for your livelihood in a just manner, as nobody will get except what has been decreed for him. Nobody will leave the world till he enjoys fully the provision that has been decreed for him, while the world is an object of hatred. Nobody will be free from greed till he believes firmly in the good arrangement of God regarding the measure of provisions. That can be earned in good search after it. He should know that God provides one with provision from where he does not even conceive. God says: “Whoever fears God; He finds out a way for him and provides him from where he does not even conceive” (Surah At-Talaaq, 65: 4). When one door of his livelihood is closed, another door is opened up for him. The Prophet said: God provides the provision of a believer from a place which he cannot even conceive. Sufiyan Saori said: Fear God. I have never found a God-fearing man to fall in want. In other words, God gives the necessary things to the God-fearing man and does not leave him. God instils in the minds of the Muslims such feeling that they are led to take their provisions to him.

The saint Abu Hazem said: I see two things about the world. One of the these two is that the combined strength of the heavens and earth will not be able to bring before time and has been decreed for me. The other thing is for others. I did not get it in the past, nor can I hope to get it in future. I will never get what has not been decreed for me. What has been decreed for me must come to me. I don't know in which of these two things my life will end.

The third prescription of removing greed is to know what merits there are in contentment, what honour there is in not depending on other and what disgrace there is in greed. When knowledge of these things will grow, eagerness for contentment will grow, as there is difficulty in greed but there is no difficulty in contentment except patience. The Prophet said: The honour of a believer lies is not depending on others but there is freedom and honour in contentment. A certain sage said: You will become an ideal for one from whom you hope unless you depend on him and you will be confined to one from whom you hope if you depend on him. If you do benefit to one from whom you hope, you will become his master.

The fourth prescription of removing greed is to think about the wealth of the irreligious people of the Jews, Christians, Bedouins and then to look to the prophets and friends of God and their sayings and wise counsels and then adopt a way for yourself. You will then say to your intellect: Will you be like the prophets and the friends of God or like the irreligious and low class people? If you feel happiness in getting your belly full of dishes, an ass is happier than you in that respect as it eats more than you. If you feel happiness in copulation, a swine is more happy than; you in that respect. If you feel happiness in dresses, buildings and conveyances, the Jews are happier than you in those respects. If you feel happy in having little, you will get on less status than others expect the prophets and friends of God.

The fifth Prescription of removing greed is not to hoard wealth and riches. If wealth is hoarded, there is fear of theft and looting. If the hands remain empty, there is security and leisure. A rich religious man will enter Paradise 500 years after a poor religious man. One should look to those who are superior in religion than him and to those who are inferior to him in worldly riches Hazrat Abu Zarr said that the Prophet had given him this instruction : Look to your inferiors in worldly matters and don't look to your superiors. The root of all affairs is to have patience, to curtail hopes and to have this knowledge that he will enjoy for long if he keeps patience for a few days in this world.