What's too Extravagant?

Not long after I wrote my previous post, Bayyinah Institute came up with a new video under their 'That's Messed Up" series entitled 'What's too Extravagant?'.  Subhanallah, guidance and lessons from Allah swt comes in mysterious ways..I might have erred in my previous post, so here comes a video with messages to enlighten me and set things straight. 

Some of the key messages from this 13 minute video are as follows:

1. Can Muslims enjoy our wealth?

•  Yes we can! Examples were given of how our Prophet (saw) did enjoy wearing foreign clothes and an Arabic kind turban (likened to a crown!)...his Companions were also very wealthy men, in fact if you were to visit Makkah and Madinah, you would be able to see buildings/properties belonging to his Companions still available. Their richness was out of this world, but what they did with their wealth is what mattered. 

• Extravagance is a personal judgment call, it is not a fixed standard in society. Spending habits of people earning $30,000 a year cannot be likened to that of those earning $1,000,000 a year. So spending within your means is key. You will not be cursed for eating good food or wearing nice clothes provided it is within your means and that the money spent was earned through proper/halal means. However, do not take the example of Qarun (the very wealthy person in Egypt) who used to display his wealth in front of the Israelite slaves. That is extravagant. 

I dont' know....in this time of age where everything is shared on social media, can we really be honest with ourselves that we upload photos for the sake of purely sharing (and not showing off) and that there wouldn't be anyone who might feel bad after seeing our photos? Have you ever caught yourself saying things like "How nice, I wish I could buy that too... or She is so lucky, she gets to travel to so many nice places" after coming cross photos on your timelines?

• Equal distribution of wealth in society is ideal. There is nothing wrong with becoming wealthy, but ultimately we will all be questioned about what we did with the wealth granted to us. There is also the question of should charity be only a thing for the wealthy? Some of the 'enticements' used by MLMs or insurance/unit trust/whatever sales related industry to lure in new recruits is 'Dont' you want to be rich? Don't you want to earn more money? You can help your family and do more charity with more money....' (I am part of the takaful industry so I can attest to this) I have never quite agreed to this statement. I don't think that wealth should be a measure for one's ability to donate. As per the example given in Ustadh Nouman's video, billionaires or poor people or working class individuals, we all have the same thing..the same heart. We will be judged on that and not on our material wealth. A person who donated $1 from the only $10 he has left has given up 10% of his wealth for charity... vs a person who donated $100 when he has $100,000 lying around in the bank, only gave up 0.1% of his wealth. Quality over quantity.

• Though equal distribution is ideal, it doesn't mean that everyone should be the same..or that everyone should be of the same standing. The beautiful example from the video was that, we are all made from dirt..all human beings are made from dirt. And rain/water (guidance from the sky) comes down to resuscitate us. Just like the diverse plants/flowers that grow from the dirt, we all 'grow and live' different lives. All beautiful in our own way. The earth would not be as beautiful as it is today if only one kind of flower grew. 

If you have the time, please watch this video. Short but had so many simple reminders for us, inshaAllah.

Sincerely,

ASH