Materialism refers to the interest in and desire for money, possessions, etc., rather than spiritual or ethical values. As Muslims, our objective is not the desire for money or worldly possessions, nor is it merely interest in spiritual or ethical values, but it is a combination of both. Allah says in the Qur’ān, “And if We had willed, We could have elevated him thereby, but he adhered (instead) to the earth and followed his own desire. So his example is like that of the dog, if you chase him, he pants, or if you leave him, he (still) pants. That is the example of the people who denied Our signs. So relate the stories that perhaps they will give thought.” (Qur’ān 7:176)
The reason for comparing the human character to a dog is because of his excessive worldliness. It is known that in several languages of the world it is common to call people overly devoted to worldliness as ‘dogs of the world’. The dog sees the entire world from one perspective alone, that of his belly. Even if a rock is hurled at him he runs at it in the hope that it might be a piece of bone or bread. Before he discovers it to be a rock, he hastens to seize it in his mouth. In any situation the waiting expectantly for food does not change, he continues to pant by dropping his tongue outside. He would also be so greedy that he would not be content with his portion of food and would try to make it exclusively his and would not let any other dog even come close. After he satisfies his appetite, he looks forward to satisfy his sexual urge. Thus, food and sex become the two main objectives of a dog’s life.
The weakness of human beings is also pointed out by Allah in the Qur’ān. Allah (swt) says in the Qur’ān, “And you love wealth with immense love” (Qur’ān 89:20). Allah also says in the Qur’ān, “And indeed he is, in love of wealth, intense.” (Qur’ān 100:8)
Man is greedy by nature. Sahl bin Sad narrated that he heard Ibn Az-Zubair who was on the pulpit at Makkah, delivering a sermon, saying, “O men! The Prophet used to say, “If the son of Adam were given a valley full of gold, he would love to have a second one; and if he were given the second one, he would love to have a third, for nothing fills the belly of Adam’s son except dust. And Allah forgives he who repents to Him.” Ubai said, “We considered this as a saying from the Qur’ān till the Surah (beginning with) ‘The mutual rivalry for piling up of worldly things diverts you …’ (Qur’ān 102:1) was revealed.” (Bukhari) This shows that man is very greedy, has lust for material wealth and would always want more and more, even if he has something more than what he requires. The following are the situations which help us understand the aspects of becoming material in this world.
SITUATIONS
- When the Dog is Chased, it Pants (Situation of Fear)
‘Dog is Chased’ in the verse refers to a situation when man is in fear. ‘Pants’ in the verse refers to the greed of man. It is a situation where man becomes materialistic due to fear, such as, he fears about his future (old age), he fears about loss in business or profession (loss of pay), he fears about his expenditure such as his daughter’s marriage, he fears that his wife would become angry, he fears that he might not be able to live a luxurious life, he fears losing his job, he fears about his boss, etc. Due to all these fears, man wants to earn more and more money. Due to man’s greed, whatever he earns, looks less to him, and he continues to accumulate more and more wealth. For these categories of people, fear becomes a catalyst to become materialistic in life.
- When the Dog is Left, it Pants (Normal Situation)
‘Dog is Left’ in the verse refers to a situation when man is in normal condition. ‘Pants’ in the verse refers to the greed of man. It is a situation where in every situation man is looking for materialistic gain. While making friendship, while speaking to people, while visiting people, while maintaining relationships, he would always search for materialistic benefit. In every transaction and in every activity of his life, he is on a look out for material gain. He never does anything which does not give him financial benefit. He who runs away from the restrictions of Allah’s revelations for the sake of worldly benefits is the dog of the world. His greed for the world never ends. He is always found asking for more and more. People may caution them or scold them for their greed for the world, but would not get influenced by it.
Allah says in the Qur’ān, “Your wealth and your children are but a trial, and Allah has with Him a great reward.” (Qur’ān 64:15) Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said, “Every Ummah (nation) has a test to undergo, my Ummah (nation) will be tried through wealth.” (At-Tirmidhi) This also shows that the people are going to be tested through wealth and the people who will become busy in amassing the worldly wealth would lose the test and the people who restrain from the materialistic world would be successful.
In order to decrease the love of the world, Islam has the concept of Zakat and charity, as it inculcates a sense of justice, generosity, brotherhood, affection and sacrifice among the Muslims. As Allah says in the Qur’ān, “Never will you attain the good (reward) until you spend (in the way of Allah) from that which you love. And whatever you spend indeed, Allah is Knowing of it.” (Qur’ān 3:92)
The most important part which has to be taken into consideration is that man is compared to a dog. Dog is a very greedy animal. It is always sniffing the road so that it may find a piece of bone. It always lolls its tongue whether you chase it away or leave it alone and is always on the lookout for more and more food. He desires for more food by panting his tongue outside, desiring for more food.
From this we can learn that becoming materialistic is like behaving like a dog. Many people ruin their faith and fidelity merely due to the greed of wealth. This love of wealth creates in man evil instincts, miserliness, selfishness and arrogance, which in turn involve him in sins, falsehood, deceit, cruelty and robbery. This causes disorder and destruction in the world and in the Hereafter. Thus, man should always aim for a better hereafter, which would ultimately take him away from the materialistic world and would take him closer to Allah, by which he would behave like a man.
[SYED KAZIM is working as Assistant Professor at Acharya Bangalore B School, Bengaluru. He can be contacted at [email protected]]