DEOBAND ONLINE
  • Home
  • Blogs
  • Urdu Blog
  • News
  • Islamic Websites
  • Books & Articles
    • Ulama Biography >
      • Maulana Riyasat Ali Bijnori
      • Shaikh Abdul Haq Azami
      • Maulana Aslam Qasmi 1938-2017
    • Muharram, Rajab, Shaban, Ahkam
    • Hajj, Umrah & Qurbani
    • Ramdhan and Zakah
    • Ghair Muqalldeen
    • Books about Dajjal & Qiyamah
  • Quran Online
  • About
  • Darul Uloom Deoband
    • Admission Exam Results Darul Uloom Deoband
    • Monthly Darul Uloom
    • Inquilab Darul Uloom Special Issue
    • Tablighi Jamat and Darul Uloom
  • Multimedia
  • Pictures
  • Contact
  • Book Sellers in Deoband
  • Translation Centre

3/10/2013

Extravagance: Pleasure for Individual, Pain for Society

Read Now
 
Picture
Hifzur Rahman Qasmi
{hifzurrahman297@gmail.com}

The relationship of an individual with society is as deep as that of wave with a river and of link with a chain. Social life is embedded in human nature; while individual is an integral part of the society. Even the true individual position of a man cannot emerge distinguished, unless he lives in a deeply inter-connected and well-organized society; and without society, he remains unspoken, unheard.

According to general perception, man gets affected by his surroundings and the society he lives in, but the reverse is also equally true; every act of man casts an impact, negative or positive, on the society. Thus, formation of a healthy and pious society and its survival owe to personal acts of individuals. Before undertaking any act, every individual must consider its negative and positive aspects which it may deliver to the society.  None is entitled to brush aside the society and his attachment to it and commit any act which may change the whole structure and bring about difficulties for other individuals associated with it. That is because, detached about it, the individual is not supposed any considerable absolute entity and denial of this fact accounts as denying the nature itself.

The man is, no doubt, always surrounded by the complexities of humanly needs. Every time, he is faced with any problem, and therefore, the anxiety to find out the solution. But it is also a fact that God has created enough recourses of every kind to cater to human needs. All this treasure is, however, but a trust with us. We are supposed to utilize it as per the need; we do not possess right to commit extravagance, nor are we supposed to undertake unnecessary frugality. For a pleasant human life, it is necessary to make full utilization of them when need calls for it. If a man does not utilize them or commit frugality even in the case of dire need, this is an ‘extreme’ which is referred to as stinginess. In sharp contrast to it, we have another ‘extreme’ which is called extravagance. Let’s analyze how the extravagance committed by an individual affects the whole society.

The detriments of extravagance are evident to all and its absurdity is admitted by every man with the least degree of intellect. The extravagance does not only cause the wrath of Allah, but also it results in deprivation of recourses one day or the other. Eventually, he fails to save his social status which he had gained due to excessive wealth. The holy Qur’an guides the man strayed in the maze of the extremes: “Eat and drink and do not be extravagant. Surely, He does not like the extravagant. (Al-A’raaf: 32)  

Everything of the world is meant to serve man. No sooner does a baby open his eyes in the world, than he finds a vast and strong life support system. Before the creation of human, the Creator Almighty has already put the needed treasury of livelihood in this world for everyone who searches for.

As far as the necessities of man are concerned, they can sufficiently be tackled through the available resources. But as for the desires, they can never be fulfilled in this world. But, when some people who live in the society, ignore this fact and begin to wrongly utilize the resources to fulfill their desire, its consequences does not remain confined to themselves only but surpasses to others and put the entire society in the situation of crisis. As a result, there emerges the shortage of resources in the society leading to countless troubles. This way whole society faces the consequence of the sin committed by individuals. In the daily life, we can find many examples which reveal how the extravagant mode of life of an individual creates crisis in the society.

We can analyze the issue of transportation. In today’s world, the stupendous discoveries of modern science and technology have turned this vast world into a village. The newly invented transport systems have shortened the distances into nearness. In the past, it would take months for man to travel from one place to others or send messages. But today, such distances are travelled in hours, rather in minutes. In spite of all this, the other side of the picture is very alarming. In the metro cities, a distance of some walks can be travelled in hours and no time can be determined for reaching the destination. The jumble of the small and big vehicles parked on the road makes the traffic system collapse. As the result, the normal life gets affected on one hand. On the other, the patients in crucial condition do not find first medical aid and depart from this world of crowd to the abode of peace and calmness. In the big cities, if you go anywhere through cycles, whether it is narrow drains or residential area,  and you want to park it for a while, you will have to ponder over finding the right place. You cannot easily find any place to park. When you succeed to find it, it will be even more difficult to take it out after completion of your work, because in this while, there would have surely been parked many cycles, motor and carriages.

What is the real cause of this problem in the advanced age? The rich people, who generally travel by luxurious cars, declare its main cause the poor who support their family by pulling rickshaws. Some people consider the government and administration it’s responsible. Apart from all these causes, there is of course one more thing which creates such problems; and it is the big and luxurious cars of the rich people whose faster pace and swift movement provide a means of satisfaction for desires of their owners. The rich people take it necessary for their lives to have a four wheeler, even though their need can be fulfilled only by a two wheeler, because it showcases their desires and wealth. Some wealthy people own the vehicles in numbers which surpasses even the numbers of the family members. Such people justify their act of extravagance by the false excuse of needs, and sometimes by saying that “The life is too short, let’s have fun, after all, we do not have to take this wealth to the grave.” But they never bother to ponder that on which road these vehicles will run and where will they park them? To fulfill their desires, they just spend off their wealth, but no one knows the sigh and groaning of how many people their laughter suppresses. In this regard, if people pay attention only to their needs and use their private cars only on the time of necessity, the issue of traffic will somehow, get solved.

The second issue is that of electronic energy. In the journey of life, the man is in dire need of light and many things else of course. To tackle the darkness of night, he has been inventing many ways of lightening. In the ancient ages, people began with creating fire with flint and then kept on taking initiatives gradually in this regard. At last, they found the secret of lightening with electronic energy. In today’s world, the electronic power has become parts and parcels f human life.

It is however unfortunate that people are too careless and extravagant in using the electronic energy. In consequence, there are some places where there is lavish lightening with attractive bulbs, while the lamps of the poor are empty from fuel. The extravagant and unnecessary usage of electricity in the governmental and non-government offices is well known to those how occasionally visit these places. The officials do not even think about the electricity bills, because they do not have to pay that. The condition of the well off people is also not different from it. They, however, do not forget to switch off all the bulbs and fans while outing. But even they cannot escape the least degree of extravagance by using many bulbs where only one can suffice. This way, they can satisfy their desires for a while, but it results into shortage of the energy and leaves many parts of the country dark. The people of these areas spend their nights in darkness. No one is there to take care of them. If the extravagant rich people bother to ponder over this point for a while, they would not only save their hard-earned money, but also they can save many people from facing the difficulties of darkness.

One of the biggest problems posed by extravagance can be observed on marriage occasions by hurting the neighbors. In today’s world, people spend lavishly on music, dance and other entertainments. If this money is spent on the poor children of the nation, they can find their field where they can realize their dreams by utilizing the innate capability they have. There are many innocent children who, despite of having natural abilities, fail to achieve the high goal which they actually deserve, only due to lack of resources.

This extravagance also discharges its negative impact by snatching the sleep from the eyes of the laborers who want sleep after working hard the whole day long. There are many students who need loneliness and peaceful environment for their study in night, but they do not find it due to loud voices. There are many patients who need peace, but cannot find due to noise. These well off people do not have anything to do with it. They only think about fulfilling their desires, no matter what the society has to pay for it.

These were some negative impacts which the extravagance of individuals casts on the society. If we think deeply, we find that wherever extravagance is committed, it surely casts some bad impact or the other on the society. In short, the extravagance of individual directly affects the society. This is the reason why the Holy Qur’an says: “Give the relative his rights and the needy and the wayfarer. And do not squander recklessly. Surely, squanderers are brothers of satans and the satan is very ungrateful to his Lord. (Bani Isreal: 27, 28” 


Share


Comments are closed.
Details
    Picture
    Picture

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Bookmark and Share

    Categories

    All
    Beliefs
    Comparative Religions
    Education
    Eidul Adhha
    Fiqh
    General
    Hadith
    Hajj
    Islamic
    Morals
    Muharram
    News
    Prayers
    Quran
    Qurbani
    Ramadan
    Society
    Ulama
    Women

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    June 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    May 2010
    February 2010
    December 2009
    May 2009
    April 2008
    February 2008
    May 2007
    December 2006
    November 2006
    February 2006

    custom counter
    View My Stats
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photo used under Creative Commons from RabunWarna
  • Home
  • Blogs
  • Urdu Blog
  • News
  • Islamic Websites
  • Books & Articles
    • Ulama Biography >
      • Maulana Riyasat Ali Bijnori
      • Shaikh Abdul Haq Azami
      • Maulana Aslam Qasmi 1938-2017
    • Muharram, Rajab, Shaban, Ahkam
    • Hajj, Umrah & Qurbani
    • Ramdhan and Zakah
    • Ghair Muqalldeen
    • Books about Dajjal & Qiyamah
  • Quran Online
  • About
  • Darul Uloom Deoband
    • Admission Exam Results Darul Uloom Deoband
    • Monthly Darul Uloom
    • Inquilab Darul Uloom Special Issue
    • Tablighi Jamat and Darul Uloom
  • Multimedia
  • Pictures
  • Contact
  • Book Sellers in Deoband
  • Translation Centre