Back in the days people lived in small houses with large extended families but things have changed drastically over the past century and now people have been deceptively encouraged towards living in smaller family units and even living alone.
Therefore it is not surprising today to find single people living in huge houses with dogs, its not surprising to hear of wealthy single people leaving their inheritance to their pets and its not surprising to see one or two people attending a wealthy loners funeral. This is just the tip of the iceberg, there are so many more problems emerging in society because of this way of life.
For now, let’s look at how the powers of today are getting people to change towards living alone or in smaller units. Consider this: Build your own house according to your exquisite taste, with your own end suit, walk in cupboards, marble tiles…. Add a picture or two to this description and depict such lifestyles in movies and after a while most people will do anything towards achieving this goal.
When people strive towards such materialistic goals then they become selfish and this is the character trait that alienates people from others leading them towards loneliness.
For the powers that be, what is it that they want to acheive by making us want these things? Simple, they want people to be materialistic so that they will work.
The end suit, the tiles, the fancy cars, the new phones, the holidays, the fairy-tale like weddings, the branded clothing – these are the carrots they are dangling in front of people to get them to work; morden day slavery.
All this so that the wealthy people at the top of the pyramid can earn more.
“Take heed! Do not exult in a kingdom bestowed in turns (passing from one to another). O you who are the bondsman of Vicissitude (death), do not act as though you are free !
(But) those for whom is prepared a kingdom beyond Vicissitude( death & decay), for them the drums (of sovereignty) are beaten beyond the Seven Planets.
Beyond Vicissitude are the kings everlasting: their spirits are circling with the Cupbearer perpetually.
If you will renounce this drinking (of worldly pleasures) for a day or two (for your brief lifetime), you will dip your mouth in the drink of Paradise. Matnawi bk 1 1368
The down side of chasing this lifestyle is that it is putting money before relationships. Such people end up building barriers between themselves and their old age parents, their siblings and their neighbours. If you live in an upmarket area then you would hardly get to see your neighbours or anyone for that matter but if you live in a poor area then you would meet lots of people.
And guess what; the chase for money never ends no matter how much one has. Its an obsession. The actions of such people amounts to worshipping money.
How wisely our Holy Prophet Alayhis Salaam has said: ‘O people, by Allah, I do not entertain fear about you in regards to anything else other than that which Allah brings forth for you in the form of adornment of the world (natural riches)… ” Muslim Hadith 228
There is absolutely nothing wrong in being wealthy or even having these things providing it does not take up too much of our time, we must not be obsessive or greedy about having these things, we must not be extravagant except when it comes to giving and helping others, it must never become a barrier between us and others, it must not be that we cannot do without these things … Put in another way, the system must not use these things to distract us from our Creator or the straight path. These things must not trap us or enslave us or influence us or take us down the wrong road. These things must not reign over us but we must rule over it. Ruling over these things is being in power or being in control of our passions and desires.
“He averted his face from the gold and said; …. ‘its of no avail. I am not a child that I should be dumbfounded (facinated) by gold and silver. “ Matnawi bk4 verse 854
All this is about what do we want to achieve with the sum total of our lives; a whole lot of material possessions at the expense of our relationships with others and our Creator … or … striving to seek and know our Creator by helping, caring and serving the people around us.
Building good, strong relationships of love and caring for others is a very important part of Islam, a part of faith.
“And (recall) when We took a covenant from the Children of Israel, `You shall worship none except Allah, and do good to (your) parents and to the near of kin and the orphans and the poor (as well), and you shall speak kindly to all people and observe Prayer and present purifying alms.’ …” Al Quraan 2:83.
By sharing our lives with more people we have the opportunity of having more good relationships. Let’s improve on our relationships with our parents, brothers, sisters, neighbours and our in laws. Let’s make them our friends. Let’s think big in terms of the people; we can have good relationships with all.
The advantages of living in a bigger group far outweighs the benefits of living in a smaller group in other ways too. It’s far cheaper, environment friendlier, good for security, good for supporting one another in difficulties. For the young ones its excellent for learning social skills.
Wealth gives us a false sense of power and achievement but in reality it is just a soap bubble that will pop the day we die.