DO YOU FEEL the pressure to buy things you don’t need, with money you don’t have, to please people you don’t like?
Things we don’t need
Whether it’s the latest gadget, clothes or accessories, have you noticed how we’re always told it’s so last year? It is not good enough, even though it perfectly meets your needs.
And if you don’t give in to the marketing hype, there are other ways to ensure you buy.
Planned obsolescence is a tactic used by manufacturers to make an item stop working or deteriorate after a set time, pushing you to buy a new one. They may also limit updates or inflate repair costs, making it cheaper to purchase a new product instead.
With money, we don’t have
New things need money to buy them. So, if you do not have the money then… that is not a problem. You can buy now and pay later using cheap credit.
In fact, the system has been designed such that loan-taking is incentivized and everyone is in debt.
There are obvious dangers of being in debt.
It is easy to take on too much debt and end up unable to pay it back, especially during tough economic times. This situation can cause stress, depression, and even thoughts of suicide. In the past, people were physically enslaved in chains and shackles. But today, those chains and shackles have become debt.
Debt also keeps the costs of products artificially high.
If an item costs £1000, usually only those with that amount can buy it, leading to low demand and lower prices. However, with cheap credit, more people can afford it, increasing demand and keeping prices high. The manufacturers and lenders profit, not the consumers.
To impress people, we don’t like
Humans have always been prone to competing and showing off. Social media has made that easier. It has created more pressure to ‘keep up with the Jones’. Our status is determined by what we have and can flaunt. It reflects the underlying philosophy of a materialistic system- happiness is attained through material things. Yet many are realizing that things do not actually make us very happy and that any happiness attained is very short-lived.
The alternative- Islam
Who better to understand the nature of man than his creator?
زُيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ حُبُّ ٱلشَّهَوَٰتِ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ وَٱلْبَنِينَ وَٱلْقَنَـٰطِيرِ ٱلْمُقَنطَرَةِ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَبِ وَٱلْفِضَّةِ وَٱلْخَيْلِ ٱلْمُسَوَّمَةِ وَٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ وَٱلْحَرْثِ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ مَتَـٰعُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَٱللَّهُ عِندَهُۥ حُسْنُ ٱلْمَـَٔابِ
It has been made attractive for people to love the desired things; that is, women, children, hoarded heaps of gold and silver, branded horses, cattle, and tillage. That is an enjoyment of the worldly life; but with Allah lies the beauty of the final resort. (ale Imran 14)
Islam understands man’s desires, his greed, his weaknesses. But unlike this materialistic system which lets loose the desires, Islam builds ideas to counter it.
Life is just an illusion. The dunya, which means a lowly place, is not where we should focus. Instead, we should look toward the akhirah, where true and lasting happiness is found.
We take from this world what we need but we do not fall in love with it at the expense of the next life. Material things can be in our pockets, but they should not be in our hearts.
As Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) said: ‘Aim to live in this world without allowing the world to live inside you because when a boat sits on the water it sails perfectly, but when water enters inside the boat, it sinks.’
Our worth comes not from others’ opinions or material possessions, but from how Allah views us.
The Messenger ﷺ said: ‘Indeed, Allah does not look at your appearance or wealth, but rather He looks at your hearts and actions.’ (Muslim)
We are responsible for how we earn and how we spend, and debt is not the norm but a dangerous thing that leaves a soul suspended.
The Messenger ﷺ said: ‘The son of Adam will not be dismissed from his Lord on the Day of Resurrection until he is questioned about five issues: his life and how he lived it, his youth and how he used it, his wealth and how he earned it and he spent it, and how he acted on his knowledge.‘ (Tirmidhi)
These are just some of the ideas that Islam builds in the individual.
But it is not just ideas in the hearts of men that Islam gives. It demands that we collectively as a nation live for Islam by striving with our wealth and our lives to further the cause of Islam and establish it as a practical way of life.
The Prophet ﷺ warned: “By Allah, I am not afraid of your poverty but I am afraid that you will lead a life of luxury as past nations did, whereupon you will compete with each other for it, as they competed for it, and it will destroy you as it destroyed them.” (Bukhari)
This Islamic way of life brings balance by creating a system free from Capitalism’s constant drive for production and profit, which leads to excessive consumerism, waste, and environmental harm.
Islam truly has an alternative vision. One that counters the corruption that arises when man is left to his own desires.
وَإِذَا تَوَلَّىٰ سَعَىٰ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ لِيُفْسِدَ فِيهَا وَيُهْلِكَ ٱلْحَرْثَ وَٱلنَّسْلَ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْفَسَادَ
‘And when he goes away, he strives throughout the land to cause corruption therein and destroy crops and animals. And Allah does not like corruption.’ (al Baqarah 205)
Living For Islam 