slip-sliding away…..

Continuing our Ramadaan series, this post continues the book entitled “Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart” – Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson‘s translation and commentary of Imam Muḥammad Mawlūd’s didactic poem “Matharat al-Qulub” (purification of the heart). The Imam was a 19th century Mauritanian scholar. For notes on the copyright status of the book, as well as links to purchase your own copy, please see the introductory post of the series.

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Fear of Poverty

POEM VERSES 75–77

Fear of poverty originates in having a bad opinion of [God,] the Exalted, and its cure is in having a good opinion

And knowing that what God possesses is never diminished in the least [by His expenditure from it] and that what has been apportioned to you will reach you inevitably.


One who uses his religion as a means of benefiting his worldly condition is a sycophantic hypocrite in his transaction, and he ultimately shall be the one defrauded.

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Discussion

The next spiritual disease Imam Mawlūd discusses is fear of poverty. Scholars have said that nurturing this fear is tantamount to harboring a negative opinion about God, the Exalted, who has revealed, “Satan threatens you with poverty, and he commands you to immorality. But God promises you His forgiveness and bounty” (QUR’AN , 2:268). One of Satan’s tactics is to keep people so occupied with fear of losing their wealth that this culminates in them desperately clinging to their money and depriving the needy—and themselves —of the goodness of giving for the sake of God. A person under the spell of irrational fear is more vulnerable to transgressing laws, even to the point of indulging in lewdness, for the purpose of gaining profit and wealth.

God is the Provider and source of all wealth and comfort. He has promised that those who believe in Him and expend on behalf of the indigent shall receive a far more valuable return than the measure of what they spend. If one is to have fear, it should be of God, who has revealed, “And whoever fears God, He will make for him a way out. And He will provide for him in a way he never expected. And whoever trusts in God, He is sufficient for him” (QUR’AN , 65:2–3).

The stipulations in receiving this provision are that one have true taqwā (God consciousness) and nurture it so that it permits one to walk the earth with dignity.

Fear of poverty is an instrument of deception and a common cause of misguidance. The American humorist, Mark Twain, once remarked, “I’ve had thousands of problems in my life. Most of which never actually happened.” A person can grieve over a plethora of concerns and problems that he or she may never have to face. These phantom concerns can be crippling. Wealthy people cannot be at peace if constantly worried about their estate and its potential loss. Many wealthy people enjoy no peace of mind, and their lives are rife with conflict, contention, and treachery. A hadith states, “Anxiety is half of aging.” Another hadith states, “Righteousness will lengthen your life.” One interpretation of this hadith is that people who are righteous do not suffer anxiety that tears down the body and mind. They are content to do good deeds, and they trust in God. It is usually the irreligious who are in a state of turmoil, with hearts not at ease.

Imam Mawlūd ties “fear of poverty” with a kindred illness whose carrier is called mudāhin in Arabic; it is a person who uses his religion as a means of buttressing his worldly condition. He is a “sycophantic hypocrite in his transaction,” which culminates in his cheating himself in the most debased way. He compromises his religion in order to achieve worldly gain, often out of fear of poverty or sheer greediness.

In the Qur’an, God exposes the disbelievers among the Quraysh who tried to make deals and compromises with the Prophet  in an attempt to make his religion a means to tend to their worldly affairs. God says about them, “They would love that you [O Muḥammad] compromise so that they may compromise” (QUR’AN , 68:9). They desired that the Prophet  praise their gods and their rituals, even though he did not believe in them, and they, in turn, would not oppress the Prophet  and the Muslims. With this deal, the Meccans could keep their grip on the city and the trade caravans that come to it.

The great historian, Ibn Khaldūn, quoted a poet’s observation of the Muslim societies he came across: “We mend our livelihood with the cloth of our religion. In the end, nothing of the religion remains, and our worldly condition goes unmended.” God will never set aright one’s worldly affairs when he or she destroys religion.Mudāhana is from the root word duhun, which means, “to cover something up with paint or cosmetics.” Shaykh Muḥammad al- Yadālīī says that mudāhana is when a man “gives up his religion in order to secure his wealth or his blood, sitting with the people of disobedience, keeping their company, praising their actions, and displaying pleasure at their condition without condemnation.” In our modern context, mudāhana may be applied to a conspiracy of silence when it comes to other people’s transgressions and blatant deviations. It is turning one’s eyes away from those who commit abominations for some worldly gain.

Treatment

The cure for fear of poverty is to have a good opinion of God, says the Imam. God states, “I do not desire from [people] any provision, nor do I desire that they feed Me” (QUR’AN, 51:57). People who harbor good thoughts about their Provider deflect insidious whisperings about Him and the subtle provocations that create irrational fear. His dominion is never diminished in the least when He gives to His creation all that they need. And if someone else is given more, one should not harbor bad thoughts toward that person. Wholesome thoughts about God express themselves in one’s contentment with what he or she has and not in stretching one’s eyes toward the assets of others. The Prophet  said, “Contentment is a treasure that is never exhausted.”