Old and New Generations
I enjoy eating a ‘paan’ now and again and I recently tried using date seeds as a supplement for the ‘suparie’ (beetle nut). It has a slightly different taste, an acquired one, but it works. I like it because it’s more chewy so the ‘paan’ lasts longer. So there I was, sitting on the balcony slicing my date seeds when the young man tells me: “Chacha, why are you wasting your time slicing ‘suparie’ when you can buy it all sliced and ready to eat from the shop? No fuss, no bother.”
So I say to him: son, come and sit down because its going to take some time to explain.
Firstly, I say to him, appearances and reality can be very different so you must be very careful not to jump to conclusions. You saw me with all my paan goodies so you assumed that I was slicing beetle nut. It’s not beetle nuts but date seeds. Now if you did not ask, and if I did not tell you then maybe you would have told the whole world that I saw a silly old man wasting his time slicing beetle nut in the 21st century when he should have just bought it sliced. While this is just about the slicing of beetle nut, it could have been something far more serious.
Secondly, my son, life is all about striving and there is no easy way out. My slicing of my date seeds may look like I am really making a huge effort but your recommendation is no easy way out either. Yes, buying the ready sliced beetle nut may seem like there is no effort involved. But when you take into account that the money that you used to buy the beetle nut did not come for free. You had to make an effort to earn it, then you will realise that in both instances effort was involved.
So don’t think that the man living in a shack without a car is living a tough, miserable life. Also, don’t think that that man with a fancy house, driving off in a fancy car to a holiday resort is living a perfect life. Life is difficult one way or the other and the only way out is to find peace and contentment within ourselves.
Thirdly, my date seeds would have been something that I would have thrown away anyway. Now I am actually getting something out of waste. Recycling. The Holy Prophet Muhammad Salal lahu Alayhe wa salam has said that half your expenses can be met by being less extravagant. Consider this: a plastic bag costs R1. If you buy 10 bags a week then it amounts to 480 bags a year which is R480.
That’s a lot of money to our old generation but even if you add a zero to this figure, the young people of today simply do not care, they will continue with the plastic bags. Not only are we messing up our environment but Islam also teaches us that we would be held accountable for the way we use our resources too. This is no light matter. To give account on that Day will be really difficult and Allah SWT will know what’s in our hearts. No hiding! So we need to spend and do what is necessary but we must not be wasteful and extravagant because we will be punished for it.
“And (the true servants of God are those) who, when spending, are neither extravagant nor niggardly, (but their spendings follow) a middle course, ever moderate;” Al Quran, 25:26.
Fourthly son, one needs to be able to cut to the chase otherwise we will be going around in circles throughout our life without getting to the point of life.
So I short circuited the whole thing. Instead of working to earn money and then use the money to buy my beetle nut, I just worked straight towards getting my beetle nut. You see, in those days, people worked for themselves straight. No hanky panky. Grow the vegetables and then eat them yourself, self sustaining. Now days it’s a long complicated story, study for years, start you career, earn money and then buy your veggies. And, of course, everyone is waiting along the way to get a slice of your earnings by way of taxes, insurance, investments, rentals, new products, deliveries, fast foods, plastic bags, cleaning services, medical aid, bla bla bla… Please don’t get me wrong son. I am not saying ‘don’t work’ but what I am saying is that we need to be careful not get trapped into chasing this world and losing track of the true purpose of life.
Fifthly and most importantly son, when you see someone doing some work then you must try to help. You should have offered to help me cut my date seeds. Now this menial task of cutting almost worthless date seeds could have produced the most important result of your life. You will make Allah happy because you cared and helped an old man.
NOTE 1: Watch our KZN Juloos Meelad un Nabi (PBUH) introduction: https://youtu.be/tf86eS-BQq4?feature=shared
NOTE 2: listen to a beautiful naath on this theme: The Light Of Muhammad (PBUH)
NOTE 3: Read our novel, also based on this theme – Doolhun The Bride.