The King's Contemplation

After saying salaam, delivering the opening kalimah, the owl said, "One night, in a land called Nameless Land--and I don't know why it is called like that--the king, was restless. All this time, he went in and out of the balcony into the inner room of the palace. Apparently, the king was thinking about something. And as he stood on the balcony of the palace, the faint strains of a mother's voice put her son to sleep,

It is the evening of the day

I sit and watch the children play

Smiling faces I can see

But not for me

I sit and watch

As tears go by *)

The king closed his eyes, echoed in his ears, the voice of darkness whispered, "Hey! Just do what you want. It's all for your safety!" However, there was a louder voice came from the deepest inside of his chest, "O you, out there! You are a good man. If you think about making mistakes, everyone makes mistakes. Me, you and all of us, have made a mistake. But, should we continue to drift into that mistake? The most important thing is how to "move on" from the mistake.

O you, out there! Do you still remember how dangerous craving after wealth and worldly status is? It will not be less than the damage caused by two hungry and ravenous wolves which spend the night amongst sheep whose shepherd is absent – so that they feast on them and massacre them. A person’s craving after wealth and status does not cause less harm than these two hungry wolves amongst the sheep. Rather, either it will be the same or worse.

O you, out there! Remember, the first type of craving for wealth is that a person has extreme love for wealth and also relentlessly exerts efforts to attain it – via means which are lawful – being excessive in that, striving hard and making painstaking efforts and toiling in order to attain it.

There is nothing more to chasing after wealth than the wastage of a person’s noble life for that which has no value. Instead he could have earned a high rank in Paradise and everlasting bliss, but he lost this due to his craving after provision – which had already been assured to him and allotted to him, and it was not possible for anything to come to him except what was decreed for him – then on top of this he does not benefit from that, but rather abandons it and leaves it for someone else.

He departs from that and leaves it behind so that he will be the one held accountable for it, yet someone else benefits from it. So in reality, he is only gathering it, yet someone else benefits from it. So in reality he is only gathering it for someone who will not praise him for that, whilst he himself goes on to One who will not excuse him for that – this itself would indeed be enough to show the blameworthiness of this craving.

The person who has this craving, wastes his valuable time and engages himself in that which is no benefit to himself – in journeying and exposing himself to dangers in order to amass that which will only benefit someone else.

Craving after this world, torments a person, he is preoccupied and does not attain joy or pleasure whilst amassing – since he is preoccupied. He does not find time – due to his love of this world – for the Hereafter, and is preoccupied with that which will perish and forgets that which will abide and remain.

O you, out there! The second type of craving after wealth, is that in addition to what has been mentioned in the first type, he also seeks wealth through unlawful means and withholds people’s rights – then this is definitely blameworthy greed and covetousness.

O you, out there! A person’s craving after status is even more destructive than his craving after wealth. Seeking after worldly status, position, leadership and domination causes more harm to a person that his seeking after wealth – it is more damaging and harder to avoid since even wealth is expended in seeking after leadership and status. Craving after status is of two types.

The first, is seeking status through authority, leadership, and wealth, and this is very dangerous – since it will usually prevent a person from the good of the Hereafter and nobility and honour in the next life. It is rare that a person seeks after position in this world, by seeking authority and is guided to and granted what is good for him. Rather he is entrusted to his own self.

Know that craving after status and position inevitably causes great harm before its attainment due to the striving necessary to attain it, and also afterwards due to the person’s strong desire to hold onto it which produces injustice, haughtiness and other evils.

O you, out there! The second type of seeking status and position over the people is through matters of the Deen such as knowledge, action and zuhd (shunning this world and its delights). This is more wicked than the first type, more disgraceful, more corrupt and more dangerous. This is because knowledge, action and shunning of this world are for seeking the high ranks and never-ending bliss that are with Allah, and to seek nearness to Allah.

Sufyaan ibn Sa`eed ath-Thawri, famous imam from the successors of the taabi’een, said, 'The excellence of knowledge is due only to the fact that it causes a person to fear and obey Allaah, otherwise it is just like anything else.' So if a person seeks through any of this some worldly end, then this is also of two types, the first type is, he who seeks wealth through it – then this is a part of craving after wealth and seeking it through forbidden means. The second type is he who through his knowledge, action and shunning of this world seeks: leadership of the people and a position of honour above them and that the creation should comply and submit to him and turn their faces to him. He seeks that it should become manifest to the people that he has the greater knowledge than the scholars so that he can attain a status greater then theirs and so on. The appointed place for a person like this is the Hell-Fire. This is because intending to arrogantly raise oneself above the creation is itself something forbidden, then if one seeks it through the means of attaining the Hereafter then this is worse and more despicable than attempting it through use of worldly means such as wealth and leadership.

The king bowed his head, closed his eyes again, faintly heard the mother hum,

My riches can't buy everything

I want to hear the children sing

All I hear is the sound

Of rain falling on the ground

I sit and watch

As tears go by *)

The voice of darkness, echoed again, "Hey! Don't listen, it's just bullshit. Just do what you want!" But a voice from the deepest inside of his chest, shouted, loudly, "O you, out there! Love of wealth and leadership and craving after them, destroys a person’s Deen to the point that nothing except what Allah wills remains of it.

The root of love of wealth and status is, love of this world, and the root of love of this world is following desires. Wahb ibn Munabbih said, “From following desires comes desire for this world, and from desire of this world comes love of wealth and status, and from love of wealth and status comes making lawful that which is forbidden.” This is a fine saying, since love of wealth and status is caused by desire for this world, and desire for this world is brought about by following one’s desires. This is because one’s desires call to desire for this world and love of wealth and status in it. But taqwaa, prevents one from following desires and prevents love of this world.

Know that the soul loves to attain rank and position above its like and this is what produces pride and envy. However the intelligent one strives, for everlasting and perpetual rank which is in Allah’s pleasure, and in nearness to Him, and he turns away from fleeting and short-lived rank which is followed by Allah’s Wrath and Anger, and means the person’s downfall, lowness and his distance from Allah and being banished away from Him.

While placing both his hands on the balcony railing, the king stared ahead,  nervous, desire and doubt still gripped him. Apparently, the king can no longer see and consider, and also not capable to hear anything but the mother's voice, singing the last stanza,

It is the evening of the day

I sit and watch the children play

Doing things I used to do

They think are new

I sit and watch

As tears go by *)

Reference :
- Imam al-Hafizh ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, The Evil Of Craving For Wealth And Status, Translated By: Aboo Talhah Daawood ibn Ronald Burbank, Al-Hidaayah Publishing
*) "As Tears Go By" written by Andrew Loog Oldham, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger

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