Your “Stuff” is Not a Part of You

You are not defined by the stuff you own. Your "stuff" is not a part
of you. Your "stuff" will break, disappear, or be left behind one day.
In fact what truly defines our character is how we react to loss. If
we were stripped of all the possessions we love, whowould we be in
that moment? Would we still be grateful to Allah, patient, trusting?
Hopefully it never comes to that. But seriously, those times of
greatest sadness and joy are when our thoughts must turn to Allah, The
Eternal, The Merciful, The Wise.
Allah says, "Never will youattain the good until you spend from that
which you love. And whatever you spend – indeed, Allahis Knowing of
it." [Quran 3: 92]
Think about that. Allah is telling us to give away the things that we
love the most! SubhanAllah! Why does Allah ask this ofus? Is it to
liberate us from slavery to material possessions? To f0cus ourminds on
Allah and the aakhirah (hereafter)? To prevent the evil that results
from the love of money? To benefit the poor?
Yes, for all of those reasons. Excessive attachment to any material
thing is misguidance. The love of possessions is a spiritual trap.
I have at times given away things that were precious to me, thinking
they would mean as much to the other personas they do to me. Sometimes
they do, and sometimes they don't, and yes it hurts my feelings when
the other person doesn't value my gift; but eventually I get over it,
because the pointis the act of giving. And maybe – Insha-Allah – I'll
have something to show Allah on Yawm Al-Qiyamah (the Day of
Resurrection), maybe I'll be able to say, "O Allah, I gave away these
things that I loved," and maybe that will earn me some forgiveness,
Allah knows.
There is a powerful spiritual lesson in taking an object that you
love, and giving it away. I remember a middle-agedbrother named
AbdulKareem (Damis-Salaam, for those of you who know him). He worked
hard, supported a family, and got by on a tight budget. One time hegot
a nice brown leather coat, the long kind that comes down to the knees.
It looked good on him. Then a younger brother, a teenager with poor
manners, said, "Man, that's a cool coat. Can I have it?" Without a
word, AbdulKareem took off the coat and gave it to the teenager.
There's such a strength of character, such freedom from attachment, in
being able to do that. That was 27 years ago and I imagine that
AbdulKareem (who is an old man now) has forgotten all about it.
ButAllah sees and remembers.
This deep generosity wasone of the qualities of the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him). It's said that he never refused anyone who asked
him for anything, if it was his to give.
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: "Allah's Messenger (peacebe upon him) was the
most generous of all the people, and he used to reach the peak in
generosity in the month of Ramadan when Gabriel met him. Gabriel used
to meet him every night of Ramadan to teach him the Qur'an. Allah's
Messenger was themost generous person, even more generous than the
strong uncontrollable wind." [Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1,Book 1, Number
5]
Aside from being generous, the Messenger of Allah (sws) had no
attachment to "stuff". The extreme simplicity of his lifestyle was
astounding. He never ate lavish food (not even softbread), never ate
on a dining cloth, and never filled his belly even with barley bread.
His household often went many days with no cooking fire in the oven,
living on dates and water, and occasionally aglass of milk donated by
the neighbors. His mattress was a piece of tanned skin filled with
rough palm fibers.
Once Umar Ibn al-Khattab(radhi allahu anhu) entered upon the Messenger
of Allah (sws) when he was lying on a mat of palm fibers that had left
marks on his side. Umar (ra) said: "O Messenger of Allah, why do you
not get something more comfortable than this?" He (sallallahu alaihi
wa-sallam) said: "What do I have to do with this world? My
relationship with this world is like that of a traveler on a
hotsummer's day, who seeks shade under a tree for anhour, then moves
on." [Musnad Ahmad and al-Hakim. Saheeh al-Jamee (5545)]
So you see, he lived like this not out of necessity, but out of
choice. Money often came into his household (especially later in his
life when Islam has spread to all of Arabia) but he would give it all
to the poor, retaining nothing.
Excessive possessions are anchors that drag us down. The hunger for
material goods is a kind of sickness. It causes us more stress than
happiness, and in the end we gain nothing genuine.
I once got angry with my daughter when she was no more than four years
old, because she pulled the soft cover off my headphones and tore it.
Ichastised her roughly (verbally only) and she cried. I immediately
felt deeply guilty and I hugged her and told her it was okay. I still
regret that moment and I wish I could take it back. It would have been
enoughfor me to tell her once, kindly, that she should not do that
again. Instead I made my beautiful child cry because of a
meaninglesspossession. I don't ever want to do that again. One moment
of happiness with my child is more precious to me than a thousand
stupid headphones.
I want to divorce myself as much as possible from the desire for
needless possessions.
When I was a bicycle messenger in San Francisco many years ago, I had
a colleague, Jennie, who could pack all her possessions in a pair of
bicycle saddlebags. Anything that wouldn't fit in the bags, she'd give
away. She had a small flat in theMission district, and when later she
was moving to a little place up on 2nd Avenue, she called me and a few
friends over to help. It turned out she called us not to help her
pack, but so she could give away tous whatever possessions she had
accumulated thatwouldn't fit in her saddlebags. I had another
messenger friend, Ben, who lived in a small travel van. He wasa
kayaker and sailor. When not working, Ben spent much of his time on
the sea or the bay. Interestingly, Jennie and Ben were both
non-Muslims, yet they lived more simply than any Muslim I have known.
I can't live that simply, or I'm not willing to, but I do envy those
who can. They have discovered something deep and trueabout the nature
of the world. Life is not about stuff that costs too much, takes up
space, wears out, breaks, and contributes nothing to the world.
Rather, life is about experiences, family, learning, worshiping, and
leaving a legacy of compassion and love. All those things last beyond
our lifetimes,and beyond the veil of this life.
May Allah help us to live simply, and to be generous, and to value
'ibadah, family and love more than "stuff".

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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