Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Holy Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said: “Avoid cruelty and injustice, for on the Day of Judgement the same will turn into several darknesses; and guard yourselves against miserliness, for this has ruined nations that lived before you. Miserliness led them to bloodshed and to treat the unlawful as lawful.”
(Sahih Muslim)
This hadīth brings into light that cruelty and injustice towards fellow beings and God’s other creations are despised and analogised as darkness on the Day of Judgement. It also reminds us that miserliness, as against generosity, leads to bloodshed and has ruined the earlier nations. A miser does not hesitate in making a prohibited thing permissible for himself and other members of his family.
Cruelty and injustice assume different forms. The Holy Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) once said that Allah has decreed the fire of Hell for a person who usurps the property of a Muslim through false oath. On another occasion, he warned that “your blood, your belongings and your honour are sacred to each other.” On yet another occasion, he said that a Muslim is a person who does not harm another Muslim either by his tongue (words) or hands (actions).
The Holy Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) has admonished the believers against cruelty not only upon human beings but also animals, birds and even plants! After all they too have life.
Miserliness is the manifestation of greed and petty-mindedness. This inevitably leads one to envy, hatred, illegal means of amassing wealth and not looking after the needy, the poor and the destitute. The have-nots develop a grudge against the haves and wage a class war. This develops enmity in society and gives way to infighting and bloodshed.