The second malady of the heart
is ignorance. Various types of ignorance and their harms are already explained
in the first section.
The third malady of the heart is
greed for wealth, property, or a leading position in society. The following hadîth-i-sherîf enlightens us about
this illness, which is called “Hubburriyâsat”, its identification, and its
cure:
1– “The harm done to a person’s spiritual state by
greed
of property or power is much
greater than the harm done by two hungry wolves when they attack a lamb flock.”
2– “A person’s being
singled out on account of his worldly or religious eminence would suffice him
as a harm.” In other words, attaining such
a position of distinction in worldly or religious affairs may be very harmful
for a man with respect to his worldly and other-worldly affairs.
3– “Fondness for being
praised makes a person blind and deaf. He no longer sees his own faults and deficiencies.
He is deaf to friendly criticisms and will not listen to any advice.”
The three reasons why one wants to acquire
property or a leading position or ranks in social life are the following: The
first reason: One wants to satisfy desires of one’s nafs. The nafs wishes its
desires to be satisfied by forbidden (harâm) means. The second
reason: One wants to protect oneself and others from tyranny of the oppressors.
One wants to perform permissible (mustahab) deeds, e.g. charity or doing
goodness. One wants to perform permissible (mubâh)
things, e.g. desiring to purhase good food and attirements. One wants to have a
family and live in a good house in a good neighborhood. In short, one wants to
pursue happiness in life or avoid things that will be an impediment to doing
the worships or to serve Muslims and Islam. Obtaining ranks or position in
order to achieve the above-mentioned second group of desires is permissible
(jâiz), and even “mustahab” with the following two conditions. The first
condition is that one should not commit things that are forbidden by Islam,
e.g. mixing the truth with falsehood or hypocrisy. The second condition is that
one must not give up performing the wâjibs and sunnats
enjoined by the religion. In case a person fulfills the above mentioned two
conditions, it is permissible (jâiz), and even mustahab (very much blessed) for
him to occupy a high position. For, it is not only permissible but also
necessary to adhere to means and vehicles that will enable you to attain
permissible and necessary facilities. Allâhu ta’âlâ
describes the attributes of good human beings, in the Qur’ân
al-kerîm, and states that they will desire to be leaders of Muslims.
Sulaymân (Solomon) ‘alaihis-salâm’ entreated to Allâhu
ta’âlâ as follows: “Yâ Rabbî (O Allah)! Give me such property as Thou
willst never give to any other person!” That is, he wanted to be a leader and
owner at the same time. The
information
which has been passed to us from previous religions and which is not rejected
by Islamic scholars is also valuable information in our religion. It is
reported in a hadîth that our Prophet said, “I would love and
prefer to be a judge who practices within the bounds of righteousness and
justice for one day than performing Holy War for the cause of Islam throughout
the year.” And in another hadîth he said, “One hour of just
management of the affairs of the people is better than sixty years of voluntary
(nâfila) prayers.” It is not permissible to capture a leading
management position in society by way of hypocrisy or by mixing right with
wrong. It is not permissible even if it is done with good or pure intentions
because committing forbidden actions or disliked actions (makrûhs)
with good intentions is not permissible. In fact, doing some forbidden things (harâms)
with good intentions worsens the state of sinfulness. Having good intentions
are valid and useful when performing worships. As a matter of fact, some
permissible acts and even some acts of worship produce sinfulness when the
intention is not proper. Hence, the pretext, “You should look at my heart. It
is pure. Allah will judge by the heart,” which is usually voiced by sinners, is
wrong and harmful.
The third reason why one wants to acquire a
ranking position in society is the desires and pleasures of the nafs. The nafs
derives pleasure from wealth, property as well as from rank or a leading
position. Even though it is not prohibited to satisfy desires of the nafs which
do not involve things contrary to Islam, it would still indicate a lesser degree
of piety and zeal. There is the danger that a person who acquires ranks to
satisfy the desires of his nafs might commit hypocrisy or compromise his
religion (mudâhana) or act ostentatiously in order to
win the hearts of his constituents. There are even further dangers such as
committing hypocrisy and mixing truth with falsehood, lying and fraud. One
should not do actions which involve mixing of forbidden and permissible things.
This third reason for wishing to acquire a leading position or rank in society,
even though it is not forbidden, is not a virtue. Therefore, one should know
its remedy and apply it. First, one should think that the position is temporary
and has many built-in dangers and harms. In order to protect oneself from fame
and from becoming proud and contemptuous because one acquires the respect of
the people, one should do actions which are permissible (mubâh, jâiz)
in
Islam and which people generally do not think much of. In the past, a leader (amîr) visited a person who abstained from worldly affairs (zâhid). When the “zâhid” sensed that the visiting leader and his companions wanted to receive his favor, he gave a dinner for them. During the dinner, he ate the food in a fast and greedy fashion in order to give them a false impression, i.e., he is not a real “zâhid”. The visiting leader did not like the zâhid’s behaviour and left. The “zâhid” seeing that his tactic was successful said, “Alhamdulillah! My Rabb has saved me.” The best medicine which cures the desire of wishing to have a ranking position is seclusion (Uzlat). One should not engage in any unnecessary activity among the people other than routine religious and worldly duties and chores. This medicament is recommended in a hadîth-i-sherîf. This remedy was commanded in a hadîth.