On the Necessities of Life

In this life our existence is surrounded by certain necessities which
hold a tight grip on us from the day that we are born. Some of these
necessitiessuch as food, clothes and shelter are basic and the
preservation of life's system depends on them.Needs of this type are
natural and cannot be taken care of permanently. The other type of
needs are non-essential and are constantly changing and can never be
totally fulfilled.
According to natural motives and the sense of need, man seeks money
and struggles with all his might against all problems and difficulties
which may stand in his way to make more money for to most people
wealth is the beauty of life.
It is natural for the condition of men to vary in this field. For
instance, if a man is surrounded bypoverty and weakness, he starts to
seek sustenance by all means possible trying to eradicate the poverty
which surrounded him. Ifa man has acquired wealth, he becomes
inflicted with conceit andarrogance as if there wasa direct
relationship between wealth and the latter traits. Finally, if a man
acquires wealth andsecurity for himself, he becomes intoxicated with
conceit and arrogance and evil inspirations endlessly battle his mind.
Life takes various forms depending on how everyindividual views it and
because the reasoning ability differs from person to person. For
example there are many people who have not realized the truth or
reached the stage where they can distinguish between places of safety
and danger.
Realization of the facts oflife, and reaching the state of happiness
requires precision in the secrets of existence, especially the secret
of"knowing one's self which can only be done in the domain of reason
and logic.
Man must understand why he is in this world inorder to start his
search for happiness. He must choose the method with which he can
advance according to his natural and spiritual needs whilerefraining
from shortcomings that separate the soul from the realistic growth of
one's personality.
Yet, success and happiness do not mean that man must constantlyexcel
over others in exploiting material resources, for material matters are
not the main goal in life and man should not violate the borders of
morality and piety to make material gains.
According to Dr. Carl :"Personal interests overtake our minds in the
ideological atmosphere which liberalmaterialism founded. Wealth has
come to be the greatest talent in our eyes and success is now measured
by currency bills.
"A society which gives priority to economical affairs can never be
inclined to morality which requires complete obedience to the laws of
life. An individual who excludes all affairs but the economical ones
from his day-to-day struggle cannot adhere to the natural laws of
life. Morality. undoubtedly, leads us to the truth and organizes all
our physical and psychological activities inaccordance to the
humansystem. Moral excellence may be compared to strong engines which
function properly. Dissention in a society is not but a consequence
ofimmorality"
The authentic aim of life is to achieve spirituality. Spirituality is
the most important and valuable matter which man can achieve. He who
keeps his soul confined to spiritual treasures seldom needs this
world, for he gains spiritual satisfaction in the shadow of
spirituality which accompanies him for the rest of his life. Such an
individual wouldnot exchange his spiritual wealth for material gains
under any conditions.
A Greedy Person is Never Satisfied
Coveting the belongings of others is a psychological state that forces
the individual to pursue materialism in a matter that makes material
gains an axis on which the mind rotates.
Material inclination arises from uncontrollable greed. Because of the
imaginaryhappiness that it creates, greed is considered a factor which
brings misery into the lives of men. As a result man disregards
everything and sacrifices all moral traits in his quest towards
gathering wealth until finally the feelings of want become rooted deep
in his soul.
Dr. Schopenhauer said :"It is rather difficult to define the
inclinations which are related to acquiring wealth because
individual's satisfaction varies greatlyand there is not a defined
scale by which people's wants can be judged. Some people are satisfied
with small amounts of money that meet their necessities while others
com-plain about their unhappiness despite their abundant wealth (which
vastly surpasses their needs). Therefore, everyone has certain limits
to his wantsby which he fulfills his hopes. Yet, when man experiences
difficulties on this path he complains and may give up.
"The vast wealth of the rich does not deceive thepoor. Wealth is like
salt water the more you drink the thirstier you become."
Indeed, the greedy will never be satisfied with all the sustenance of
the world just as fire burns all the fuel that it is given!!
When greediness rules a nation, it transforms its social life into a
field of disputes and dissention in the place of justice, security and
stability. Naturally, in such a society moral excellence and
spirituality do not stand a chance.
It should be noted, however, that there is a great difference between
money worship and the desire for advancement, including that of
material features. Hence, it is important to draw a line between these
two aspects for there is no righteous justification preventing human
societies from seeking advancement and excellence in the shadows of
nature and talents.
The endeavor of the greedy creates a chain ofmiseries for his society,
for he intends to acquire his lusts with unjust methods including
methods which may bring poverty to others. One who covets seizes the
sources of wealth in order to acquire more for himself and
consequently creating acute economical problems.
Some people claim that wealth is a source that fulfills many desires,
so they give it their greatestattention. In fact, it is thepoor who
have excelled in the most honorable and greatest fields in history.
Writers, inventors and scientists were mainly from the poor class.
Furthermore, vast wealthis destructive to many people. For example,
when youth inherit largesums of money they generally disregard all
avenues of education and knowledge drowning themselves in sin and
lusts because they feel no need for work or development.
Once a wealthy man visited a famous Greek philosopher. The latter did
not trust the wealthy man so he did not make any special
arrangementsfor his visit. The philosopher said to the wealthy man :
"Surely you have not come to learn from me but to put me down for my
financial situation, am I not right?
The wealthy man replied : "Had I followed your path in acquiring
knowledge 1 would not have had wealth, a palace, servants, etc."
At this the philosopher said : "Regardless of Your material
belongings, I amricher than you. I do not need servants to protect me,
for I fear no-one including Caesar. Becauseyou are dependent on others
you will always bepoor. I possess reason, satisfaction and the freedom
to think instead of gold and silver, while you waste your time
thinking about silver plates.
"My ideas are my vast empire where I live happily, while you spend
your lifetime in anxiety and unrest. All that whichyou possess is
worthless to me, but what I possess is abundant for you will never
fulfill all your hopes and wants, hut my needs are always fulfilledby
using my reason. Surely everyone should rely on knowledge and not on
gold and silver; for only the ignorant relyon them.
Felicity and dissatisfaction undoubtedly are a part of everyone's
life; each having its place in the events of life. Everyone who enters
this world shall experience a portion of both regardless of his
materialcondition. Here we can safely say that wealth, which exceeds
one's needs is useless in finding happiness. According to Socrates
many individuals do not possess money, gems, fancy garments, or
palaces, yet their lives are a thousand times happier than the lives
of the wealthy.
Surely the greedy is a humiliated, poor slave to the world and its
money. He has surrendered his neck to the chains of wealth and has
submitted to immature thoughts. The greedy imagines that his
wealth,which is enough for generations of his descendants, is not but
a reserve for his gloomy days. Only when the bells of danger and death
ringdoes a greedy man realizes his mistakes.
When the bell rings to announce the final seconds of his life, he
looks at his wealth, for which he has wasted all his life, with sorrow
and disappointment knowingthat it is useless to him inhis grave-the
grave to which he carries sorrows for the many errors he has committed
throughout his life.
Fair Distribution in Islam
Along with its call upon people to struggle and advance Islam included
a strong warning against fanatical adherence to materialism. Islam
declares that such adherence deprives man from seeking the real goal
of life, the eternal happiness. Imam al-Baqir(a.s.) gave the following
description of the greedyman : "An example of the greedy man of this
worldis that of the silkworm. The more silk that it spinsaround
itself, the less of achance it has to survive until it finally
suffocates itself."[149]
The Messenger of Allah (S) said : "Refrain from greed for those who
were before you perished as a result of greed. Greed commanded them to
be stingy and they obeyed: it ordered them into alienation and they
obeyed; and it commanded them to sin and they sinned."[150]
Imam 'Ali (a.s.) pointed out the misery which results from coveting
when he said : "Avoid greed for its champion is the captor of
humiliationand exhaustion,"[151]
Dr. Mardin said : "Wealth is not everything in man's life, nor does
his real happiness lie in collecting money. Nevertheless, many young
people make the mistake of believing that money is the most important
matter in life. They, therefore, waste the primes of their life
seeking wealth while depriving themselves of everything else. This is
a very mistaken way of thinking and it is one of the reasons behind
manypeople's miseries.
"We struggle to acquire grand clothes, etc thinking that they are the
ways to happiness: while in fact they only bring -disappointment and
deprivation to us''.[152]
Imam 'Ali (a.s.) said : "A greedy person is a captorof humiliation,
whose captivity does not cease.[153]
The righteous religion of Islam, which conforms to mans nature,
equally distributes between materialism and spirituality. It has,
therefore, chosen a path for its followers that guarantees healthy
spirits and bodies. Religious individuals possess wise and righteous
spirits for they understand divine facts.
Satisfaction is a unceasing treasure, for its possessors endeavor to
acquire only what they have a need for. Those with reason organize
their lives and avoid polluting their spiritual happiness with
mistaken attempts to collect wealth and lowliness. An individual who
is satisfied is happy with what he ethically acquires.
This sufficient method allows him to reach the real goal of life
(moral excellence); in this matterhe achieves real wealth (that is
satisfaction) which brings him harmony and does not need to ask for
that which is in the hands of others.
Imam 'Ali (a.s.) said : "It is best to submit and adhere to
satisfaction and piety, and to relieve one's self from covetousness
and greed; for greed and covetousness are presentpoverty and
submission and satisfaction are apparent wealth." [154]
He also pointed out the spiritual and psychological disorders which
affect the covetous when he said :"One who covets brings illness."
[155]
Dr. Mardin said : "Certain thoughts which arise from greed,
covetousness, and all other psychological reactions not only adversely
affect the bodybut also the soul. They, therefore, deprive us of agood
living and change the path of harmonious living. Greed and
covetousness destroy all natural human traits in us.[156]
Imam 'Ali (a.s.) is quoted as saying : "Greed pollutes the soul.
corrupts religion and destroys youthfulness." [157]
The Messenger of Allah (S) explained the afflictions and calamities
which arise from greediness. He said : "A greedy person faces seven
acute problems:
1) Worrying, which harms his body and is disadvantageous to him;
2) Depression, which is endless;
3) Exhaustion, from which death is the only relief-and with that
reliefthe greed shall be more exhausted;
4) Fear, which uselessly disturbs his life;
5) Sadness, which uselessly disturbs his life;
6) Judgment, which does not save him from Allah's torture unless Allah
forgives him.
7) Punishment, from which there is no escape or avoidance."[158]
Greediness: is surely an evil desire which leads man to humiliation
and sin. Imam 'Ali (a.s.) said :"greed is a motive for evil." [159]
He (a.s.) also said : "The fruit of covetousness is complaining about
shortcomings." [160]
Dr. S.M. Caughaust said :"Stealing stems from greed. Thieves steal
that which they do not own because they covet it. He who steals a pair
of socksfrom a merchant, or a bicycle entrusted to him, only does so
because of the influence of covetousness to possess things. Thus, the
thieves motive for stealing is covetousness."[161]
Here we conclude that greed - this dangerous spiritual disorder-can be
treated by believing in Allah and the Last Day. Satisfaction can only
be achieved by strengthening one's spirituality and developing moral
excellence.