[IslamCity] Thought of the week

[Karim A G]

Thought of the week Imam Ali (AS) has said, "How often it becomes apparent that the rich person is actually poorer than the poorest person!" These words of wisdom from the Commander of the Faithful have been interpreted in many ways.  However, the most important meaning which can be drawn from this saying is one which relates to the material world. Often, those of us who are living "from hand to mouth" or are within the 'middle class' wish that we had unlimited wealth and thus, economic freedom. Little do we know that with more money comes extensive responsibility and greater challenges. We think that money can buy friends and that when we are financially well-off, all our difficulties will end; however this is merely an illusion. How often have we seen that those with vast amounts of wealth are restricted in their movements - lest they are kidnapped or charged for a crime they did not commit only to have their wealth squandered in expensive legal battles. In addition, when wealth increases, ones "friends" may also increase - many of whom may be looking for handouts and a free ride. Thus, the rich person is forced to continually censor his interaction with others. It is for this reason that the Imam tells us that often a rich person is actually a poor person (from the perspective of decreased freedom and increased hassle)!     *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/   To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]   Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.