Man and His Pursuit for Wealth

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious the most merciful. 

La Hawla Wala Quwwata Illa Billah- There is no power nor might except with Allah.

Man is always in the pursuit of a perfect life. He thinks the Acquisition of more wealth and more success in worldly affairs will grant him maximum satisfaction and happiness. But even after these goals have been realized, Man still feels a sensation of both physical and spiritual Discomfort, his heart is not at rest. 

Why? Because this is the reality of man and the world we live in. No amount of wealth or success will satisfy Man. This we have seen in the attitude of our Political Elite. A politician becomes a governor, and after serving for 8yrs, he Aspires to be in the Senate. 


In a hadith the Prophet (PBUH) Said; if the son of Adam has two valleys of Gold he will aspire for a third" Nothing fills his belly except dust (Bukhari)

This is the nature of man. Man is a creation that never feels satisfied with what he has of wealth, except that he wishes to have more and more of it.

In the process of seeking wealth, Man continues to exhaust himself. Those with no wealth exhaust themselves in search of it, while those with wealth get themselves exhausted in the search for more wealth. This process of piling up more wealth and luxury continues in the life of man, the Quran says; Until he visits the Grave, Until he's caught up by the Sudden Visit of death then he will certainly come to know.

This is how impatient the creation of man is.
  
Only those whom Allah has granted contentment find peace and happiness in what Allah has provided for them (hence ask Allah to grant you this). The poor and the rich are all in search of peace and happiness, but the mistake is, We seek it in worldly Affairs. 

In the Quran(13:28) Allah said; "Only in the remembrance of Allah do the hearts find peace". The happiness and the Peace we seek are stored in the obedience of the Creator. 

Man has been seeking for a perfect life in the wrong world. The perfect life man is searching for has been preserved in a place other than this Dunya, and it is the Jannah.

Allah (SWT) Says in Suratul Al-Imran, (Verse 14 to15)

" The love of desires, of women and sons and hoarded treasures of gold and silver and well-bred horses and cattle and tilth, is made to seem fair to men; this is the provision of the life of this world, and Allah is He with Whom is the good goal (of life)"

In the next verse, Allah said;

"Say: Shall I tell you what is better than these? For those who guard (against evil) Are gardens with their Lord, beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them, and pure mates and Allah's pleasure; and Allah sees the servants "

In another verse, in Suratul nahl (16;97) Allah said, '' Whoever work Righteousness whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer, Verily to him we will give a good life and we shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they use to do''

Whoever wants to live a perfect life, should strive his/her utmost to make it to Jannah, then you will realize that this Dunya is nothing compared to what Allah has in store for the true believers. I.e. Paradise.
  
Allah promises that whoever combines faith and righteousness will have a good Reward(Paradise).

Hence the formula for having a good life in this World and Hereafter is to Acquire faith and work righteousness. Our real major life Pursuit should not be to acquire wealth and status in society but to acquire faith by believing in Allah and doing righteous good deeds.

We strive every day to perfect our social life, but yet we find ourselves worshipping Allah imperfectly.

We shouldn't let our love for this World exceed limits, otherwise, it will be a barrier between us and our ultimate Goal (Jannah).

Allah said; Mutual Rivalry for piling up worldly things diverts you. Until You Visit the Graves. Nay! You shall come to know.

One of the Tabi'in said:

''This life is leaving us and the hereafter is coming towards us, but we keep ourselves busy with the one that is leaving and turn away from that which is coming as if we are not going to arrive and settle therein ''

We all are on a journey and every journey requires a provision, let faith and righteous good deeds be our provision for this journey.

The World is so deceptive to the extent that it has set the snares of hope for Sinners. But these hopes are nothing but vain Hopes. So Whoever hopes for the mercy of Allah, should at all times be conscious of his creator.

We all have shortcomings, but the best among us are those who at all times strive to stay away from sins for the sake of Allah. In every day of our lives, let's engage in a great deal of Zikr, let's make our tongue moist with the Zikr of Allah because in this lies the success of every believer.  

It was reported by Abi Hatim from Anas ibn Malik that when Yunus ibn Matta(peace be upon him) was swallowed by a fish, he called upon Allah saying " La ilaha illa Anta, You are glorified! Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers" This call went hovered around the (mighty) throne, and the Angels said " O lord, this is the voice of one who is weak but "Known", in a far away strange land. Allah said how do you know this, they said, O Lord, who is he" Allah, may he be Exalted, said, "My servant Yunus". They said, "Your servant Yunus, from whom there kept coming acceptable deeds and supplication which were answered!" They said, "O lord, will you not have mercy on him for what he did during his time of ease, and save him from this trial and tribulations" He, "Of Course." So, He Commanded the great fish, and it cast him forth on the naked shore.(Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Allah said: Had it not been of them who glorified Allah- He would have indeed remained inside its belly(the fish) till the day of resurrection(As-saffat 143-144)

We should make it a habit to glorify Allah in times of ease, and not only in times of hardship.

May Allah illuminate our path and may we not be deprived of the mercy of our Lord.

May the Peace and Salutation be upon our noble Prophet (saw), his household and his companions.