In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Allah Almighty gives us intelligence and He gives us choices. But what do we see people do with their intelligence and their choices?
They go to the supermarket or convenient store, and there stood all kinds (color, shape, sizes) of beverages, chips, candy, gum, cookies, cereals, ice cream ... inviting them and their kids to pick them up. Many people can't resist the temptation and most people will succumb to their kids' wants.
Some people can't make quick, good decision. With items that have many brands, shapes, sizes, colors and so on, they had to go through each thing before they would make a decision. Even simple things like water, people had to spend a lot of time deciding which to buy. "What brand of bottled water should I buy?" -- Aquafina? Agua? Dasani? Evian? Arrowhead? Generic? 1 liter or 1.2 liter? 24 in a box or 12 in a box? with blue cap or white cap? If you have your children or your spouse with you, everyone have to go through the same process to make a choice! You see them spend 30 minutes trying to decide on one item. SubhanAllah. And they wind up loading different boxes of brand/sizes/shapes/color of bottled water onto the cart, because they can't decide and they haven't gotten to the main sections yet--meats, dairy, vegetables, fruits, breads, cleaning agents, soaps and detergents, beauty care, toiletries, ...
Because they are so many choices out there, people wind up spending hours to shop, even for simple things, not just in one store but they go from store to store just to shop. You see similar situation everywhere -- markets, mall, convenient store, clothing store -- both actual and online stores.
Having so many choices is blurring people's eyes. Some already blind. They waste their time in the stores and they make the wrong choices, while being heedless of the fact that the marketplace is the most hated place to Allah.
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
The most beloved places on Earth to Allah are its mosques, and the most despised places on Earth to Allah are its markets.[Sahih Muslim]
From all the places on Earth, Allah loves the mosques above all else. They fulfill the most important function. They are the places where those on Earth make contact with their Creator and Sustainer.
The marketplace is not "the most hated places on Earth to Allah" because of the buying and selling that goes on there but because of all the deception and fraud that goes on in the marketplace. The markets are places where false measure is given, and where every day false oaths are sworn. They are places of wastefulness, stinginess, avarice, wrangling, and disputation.
The mosque and the marketplace are both integral parts of society and it is permissible to engage in buying and selling. But, people must not allow their commerce distract them from the remembrance of Allah. There is harmony between the rights of this world and the rights of the Hereafter.
Allah Almighty says,
وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّـهُ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ ۖ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَأَحْسِن كَمَا أَحْسَنَ اللَّـهُ إِلَيْكَ ۖ وَلَا تَبْغِ الْفَسَادَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ ﴿٧٧[Qur'an al-Qasas 28:77]
But seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your share of the world. And do good as Allah has done good to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, Allah does not like corrupters." (77)
Don't get stuck with Aquafina or Agua or Dasani or Evian or Arrowhead. There are better things in life we can do with our time. Use the intelligence that Allah bless us with to make the right choices--those are choices that can take us to eternal bliss.
If you like mineral or bottled water, remember, in the Hereafter, Allah has reserved 2 Gardens with 2 springs in both of them for those who feared the position of his Lord. Nothing of the best waters in this world matches the waters and drinks in Paradise. So choose.
وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتَانِ ﴿٤٦﴾ فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ﴿٤٧﴾ ذَوَاتَا أَفْنَانٍ ﴿٤٨﴾ فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ﴿٤٩﴾ فِيهِمَا عَيْنَانِ تَجْرِيَانِ ﴿٥٠﴾ فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ﴿٥١﴾ فِيهِمَا مِن كُلِّ فَاكِهَةٍ زَوْجَانِ ﴿٥٢[Qur'an Ar-Rahman 55:46-52]
But for he who has feared the position of his Lord are two gardens - (46) So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? - (47) Having [spreading] branches. (48) So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? (49) In both of them are two springs, flowing. (50) So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? (51) In both of them are of every fruit, two kinds. (52) So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? (53)
To avoid doing wasting time in the store and buying something you don't need, have a shopping list before you shop and don't buy thing on impulse.
Related Archives:
Most Loved and Hated Places by Allah
May Allah guide us and save us from heedlessness. Ameen.
Please include us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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