Kamil Ahmad – Prophetic Parables – Parable #27 – The Danger of Chasing after Wealth and Fame
AI: Summary ©
The danger of hungry wolves and the danger of individuals being exposed to sheep is discussed, along with the importance of the Prophet sallama's teachings about joy and pride in religion. The danger of eating too many hungry wolves and the consequences of it on one's health and wealth are also discussed. The danger of seeking fame and status in the Muslim community is also emphasized, along with the importance of working on deeds to avoid losing out on reward. The danger of chasing wealth and the importance of intentions and working on deeds to achieve a worldly gain are also emphasized.
AI: Summary ©
We move on after that to the next parable.
And
this one is found in sunon activity.
And so
in this Heidi's
cabin Alec rhodiola one, he says,
Allah Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam magic Danny j Eonni will see Rafi one I mean, bf said Allah I mean,
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in this howdy the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said
to hungry wolves that are sent
in the midst of a flock of sheep are no more destructive to them.
Then, a man's greed for wealth
and fame
than a man's greed for wealth and fame is to his religion.
So to hungry wolves that are sent to a flock of sheep, they are not more dangerous to those flock of sheep, then a person's greed for wealth and honor position.
These two things are in terms of their danger to his Deen to his Deen.
And so firstly, this hadith
is graded by the scholars of Hadith as being authentic. And so it is a Sufi Hadith. Secondly, in this Hadith, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
if we notice here,
he did not compare one thing to another. And so,
in these parables that we have been going through, generally, we have been mentioned in parables where the prophet SAW Selim compares one thing to another.
And as we mentioned several times, the purpose of that is
to get the concept across to us.
In a very, very easy way.
This thing is like this,
but rather hear the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he mentioned one thing. And then he mentioned how Another thing is not like that, but rather worse than that, more dangerous than that.
And
we covered this in the parables of the Quran.
How there was one example where Allah subhanho wa Taala mentions
that the disbelievers
in whom Illa kill an army
that they are like cattle.
They're like livestock, herds of sheep, cows, etc.
So this is a resemblance that is made here that they are like this. And then Allah says, Ben, whom have won,
but rather they are even more astray, meaning the disbelievers are even more astray than livestock
and cattle.
Also,
from among the parables that we covered so far, from the sooner
was
a hadith where
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was explaining the joy of Allah with respect to the person who turns to Allah in repentance.
So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned a scene, he painted a picture of an individual who gets lost in the desert.
And
he,
he decides to take a nap and his camel, he does not tie it, or it manages to escape. So when he wakes up, and he finds that his camel has has, has fled, and so he after losing all hope and trying to find it
and he's in the middle of the desert, there is no way for him to survive. He goes back to that tree. And he lies down saying that that I'm just going to wait for death.
So after losing all hope, all of a sudden out of nowhere, this camel of his
comes, it comes back and it's standing right there before.
And so out of extreme joy. You can't imagine how happy this, this person is out of his extreme joy. He says with a slip of the tongue, that Oh Allah,
I am your Lord and you are my servant.
So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam tells us that a lot is more joyful.
When we turn to Him in repentance, then this man is when he finds his camel. So again, this is not, you know, a, a thing being compared to another thing, but rather,
how one thing is even even more than the other. So in this Hadith, here, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned the danger of hungry wolves that are sent to a flock of sheep. The danger is clear. We all know
what, you know, what wolves will do.
And so, if they're hungry, it's clear, you know, the danger that these sheep are exposed to.
Then he mentioned what is even more dangerous than that.
He mentioned what is more dangerous than not, he did not say, just like this is very dangerous.
Also, this is dangerous. No, he said,
What is even more dangerous than that? And so, two hungry wolves
exposed to sheep.
The danger for those sheep is nothing compared to the danger of what the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned. And so he mentioned
he mentioned that our love and our greed
and our
eagerness for wealth,
and for a position in this dunya for fame.
how,
you know, our greed for that
is far more dangerous to our Deen.
Then, these two wolves are without flock of sheep.
How? How is it so dangerous?
Because when our hearts become attached to these things,
of the dunya it leads to our heedlessness, our hearts become heedless,
which in turn, leads to committing sin,
and injustice. And so we become blinded by our greed. And we want these things so much
that we are willing to achieve them, even if it be at the expense of our Deen
even if it is at the expense of our Deen.
And so that leads to a very dangerous path.
And it leads to our ruin in this dunya and the next, and a person who is ruined
concerning his era,
then that is far more dangerous than,
you know, a flock of sheep being killed and be eaten up by two hungry wolves.
And so usually,
when it comes to wealth, when we are so greedy for it, and we want it so much, and we start chasing after it,
it usually starts with pursuing that wealth
from the greed doubtful areas.
It's not like we go to the harem source, and we indulge in it.
You know, for example, every Muslim knows that gambling is harder. You're not going to go
and, you know, seek to become rich in that way. If you are a Muslim who recognizes that this is hot off, but rather you're going to go to the great areas to doubtful areas.
And that's why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he warned us from coming near Hold on,
through
through avoiding the doubtful matters.
And this is a heavy that we covered in the series, the prophetic the parables, where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam explained how
you know the Hillel is clear. The harem is
Clear. And then between the Hillel and the harem, there are, you know, the gray areas that don't feel matters that most people don't have knowledge of.
And then he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam explained how
whoever
sees himself from these doubtful matters, then he has saved his deed as and his dignity. But whoever indulges in these doubtful matters, then he is like a shepherd, who pastures his animals near the private pasture of a king.
And anymore, at any moment, at any moment, he is liable to cross into it. His sheep will eventually cross into
the private pasture of that King.
Originally, he was, you know, he was, he did not cross he did not trespass into that land. But rather, he brought his sheep close to it. And so the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wasallam explained how these are that don't feel matters, we're not sure is this halaal is a home. It could be heroin, it could be heroin, or it's something that the scholars different. Some said, it's Hillel, some said it's Haram.
And so
what the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
you know, advise us is that these are the areas we have to stay away from. Why? Because if we indulge in them, it will lead us to the huddle, it will lead us to the huddle.
And so that's the reality. That is a reality, where most Muslims today, they indulge in those gray areas when it comes to wealth. When it comes to wealth, they say, Oh, it's not a big deal. The scholar is different about this, or, you know,
you know, in one's mind, you're not sure is this halal or haram.
And so you indulge in it.
And so that's the first step. And then after that, the next step is to cross over, and to eventually
make your income from what is what is clearly, clearly
as for wanting theme. And so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned two things that are dangerous for our Deen chasing after wealth, and chasing after the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, A shut off. And in another narration, and ajaw which basically means theme, or status, a position. And so this is usually more dangerous than chasing after wealth.
Why? Because such people, they will sacrifice everything they have, in order to achieve that status, that fame, even their wealth.
And so they'll spend
out of their wealth, they'll give it up, they'll sacrifice it,
if
if they get in exchange for that, some kind of physician, some kind of authority, some kind of faith.
Also, also, it's more dangerous, because such people they will seek that fame
and that status in this dunya
through something that is only supposed to be sought for, for the sake of a lot or for that.
And so, an example of this is knowledge.
And so, there are people who
you know, they want to have a certain status in the Muslim community as being the scholar, the Eman
the Mufti
or whatever it may be.
And so they will seek knowledge for that sake, they will seek knowledge
in order to get that status in order to get that fame.
And so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said regarding this, whoever acquires knowledge, which is supposed to be sought only for the pleasure of Allah, but he acquires it, only to receive some worldly gain some gain in this dunya then he will not smell the fragrance of Jenna on the Day of Judgment. And so it's extremely dangerous to seek knowledge for the sake of the dunya.
And so
this is the reality
that whoever seeks the dunya, putting all of his effort into it, he will only get the dunya. And, and he won't get anything of that.
Whereas whoever seeks the ACA, putting all of his effort into it, then he will get both to dounia. And
so that's the reality. That's the student of Allah subhanho wa Taala. This is the law, the universal law of Allah subhanahu wa tada with regards to us human beings.
Whoever seeks the dunya for the sake of the dunya. And he chases after it, he puts all of his effort into it, whether it be as the Prophet so the longer it was, Allah mentioned in this Hadith, whether it be chasing after wealth, or whether it be chasing after fame, and glory and a status.
If he's only, you know, more motivation for that is the dunya, then he may get it, allow me to give it to him, but he won't get anything.
Whereas the one who makes his intention sincerely for the sake of Allah,
whatever it be, that he is seeking of the dunya
if he makes his intention sincerely for the sake of Allah, then Allah will give him Allah will give him
that in the dunya, and also in Israel.
And so whether it be wealth,
or whether it be a status,
and so the scholars of Islam who became famous scholars,
the they attained that status and that fame, they became so famous, not because they wanted it, not because they chased after it. But because of this law of Allah.
It's because of their sincerity.
It's because of their sincerity, they were sincere to Allah. So Allah gave them both their reward in this dunya and in the next
and a loss of Hannah who would tell tells us of this in the Quran, men cannot read haertel accurately nezzie della houfy healthy, whoever desires the harvest of the euro, then we will increase their harvest.
Woman Can you read out of that dunya no teaming her one Allah who fell asleep and whoever seeks or desires only the harvest of the dunya then we will give them some of it, but they will have no share in that.
And Allah subhanho wa Taala says tilaka da will karate nirjala Lila de la you read una when Phil said that meaning the acciara that is the home of the Hereafter, we reserve it only for those who do not seek tyranny or corruption upon the earth.
And we have in the famous Hadith
where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam explained the importance of intention.
He said deeds are but by intentions in the middle man will be net and each person will have what he intended. And then he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he said, So whoever migrates makes Hendra for the sake of Allah, then his migration was for what he migrated for, meaning Allah will give him his reward. He migrated he made hedra for Allah sake, Allah will give him his reward
fully.
And then he said, however, whoever his migration was, to achieve some worldly gain,
or to take some woman in marriage, he migrated only for for that purpose.
Then his migration was for that for which he migrated. And so he will get
what he migrated to for meaning he'll get his, you know, what he sought, he'll get it in dystonia,
but he won't get anything in that area.
But now, after we understand this idea,
and the danger of
wanting and desiring and craving, wealth,
and status
Does this mean that seeking wealth or seeking something of the dunya such as a status
doesn't mean that it is completely haram? To answer
Is No.
But rather it all goes back to our intentions.
And so this is why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned how
alhazred envy is how wrong
it is how long Blair has said Illa
Illa fill it to me,
there is no envy, meaning envy is prohibited completely, except in two things.
So he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, a man whom Allah gives wealth, and he uses that wealth, rightfully.
So, this is the first
and the second, a man whom Allah gives knowledge, which he applies, and he teaches it.
So, these two individuals,
you can envy them, for what they for what they have been given.
And both of these are related to our Hadeeth here, wealth, and status, wealth, and knowledge, a person is a person of knowledge, and so he has, he's famous and he, you know, he has a status.
Until if it was not permissible,
if it was not permissible to seek that, then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam
would have said that even envy in such people as Hara,
but he made that exception. Why? Because once again, it goes back to our intention, it goes back to our intention, if you intend, if you envy such a person, because you also want it and you want to do what they are doing.
And that's completely fine.
And so you see a person who's wealthy, and he uses his wealth in giving sadaqa and spending rightfully.
So you want to be like him in order to do what he's doing.
Not that you want to be rich like him,
so that you can live a luxurious life.
Also a person of knowledge, you see a person of knowledge, and he's benefiting people with his knowledge.
you envy him because you also want to do what he's doing. You want the reward of a lot and you want to benefit people. Not that you see him. And you say, look at how famous he is. I also want to become famous like that. So it all goes back to our intention.
And so among the lessons that we learned from this hadith
is, first of all, the danger of chasing after wealth and fame.
Because of two things, because of where it originates from.
It originates from a diseased
a heedless heart, a heart that is attached to the dunya
not a heart that is attached to a lot and
so because of where it originates from, and because of what that leads to,
and so it leads to sin, and it leads to injustice.
And so that's why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned that it's so dangerous, our greed for wealth and fame is so dangerous to our Deen. Why? Because
you will do everything you can to achieve that. And so you will fall into sin, and you will fall into
doing oppression and injustice to others.
Secondly,
what we learned from this hadith is the importance of working on purifying our hearts
so that we are only attached to what Allah loves, and what Allah is pleased with.
And so our hearts are corrupt. Our hearts are diseased. And that is why we have a greed for wealth, and for fame and for status. We want these things of the dunya because our hearts are attached to the dunya we see these things and we desire them. forgetting that these things are temporary pleasures are temporary enjoyments
you'll get what you'll get out of it, but soon it'll come to an end. We don't realize that we become heedless of that. Why? Because our hearts are heedless. Our hearts have become heedless. We Our hearts are not
You know, filled with the remembrance of Allah,
our hearts are not attached to the answer. That's why the companions
and
the righteous,
the righteous of this owner who had something of the dunya, whether it be wealth, whether it be status, whatever it be the righteous, who feared Allah
who had the dunya. But they also got that
we find that the dunya was in their hands, but it was not in their hearts. The dunya was in their hands, but not in their hearts.
And so this shows us the importance of working on purifying our hearts. Finally,
what we learned from this hadith is the importance of working on our intentions,
so that we attain the best of this jr and the next,
hitting two birds with one stone
and not losing out on the reward of the Ashura because we only intended to do
and so intend the pleasure of Allah intend the reward of Allah.
And if you do that, then Allah will give you both Allah subhanahu wa Tada. We will give you both the dunya and
and so Allah subhanho wa Taala says
regarding the believers
who believe and do righteous good deeds
that he will give them a good life. Follow Yun, philosophy and
well energy Xeon eduroam bs any match and
they will not only get a good life in dystonia, but then we will give them the rewarding action.
Contrary to what many people think that if you devote yourself to Allah
into his Deen
and you intend only to accurate, then you'll miss out on the dunya
and you won't get any enjoyment in this dunya
that's what Allah subhanho wa Taala tells us contrary to that,
there as long as as long as we do what we do for the sake of a lot and and then Allah subhanho wa Taala will gift us he'll gift us happiness in this dunya
before the happiness of the
How is that done by correcting our intentions by correcting our intentions. And so the scholars of Islam
they used to really really emphasize on the importance of intention, especially when it came to
students of knowledge who are seeking knowledge of this Deen that they need to purify their intentions and make sure that they are seeking this knowledge solely and purely for the sake of Allah subhana wa tada and not for any other reason.
So if they were to do that, then they would
a loss of handling without it will give them the best of both worlds, the best of both worlds.
And so we asked Allah subhanahu wa tada to grant us the best, the best of both worlds.
As he subhanho wa Taala taught us in the Dr. Rob banner, Tina dimia has an affair. She wrote the high center
the Oh Allah grant is the best of the dunya and the best of
so we asked Allah subhanho wa Taala to grant us that and we asked Allah subhanho wa Taala
to grant us beneficial knowledge without we come to the end of
tonight's session subhanak Allahumma will be Hambrick a shadow
and Mr. Furukawa to blue lake wa salatu wa salam ala nabina Muhammad wa while early he was so happy he
was Salam Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh