Is it wrong to be rich?

Friday, June 04, 2004

Do you want to be rich? I definitely want to. Why? Because in my opinion, by being rich, I can do and possess almost everything that I want (except those that Islam does not allow, of course). That, my friends, is one of the reasons why I want to be rich.

There are plenty of reasons why I feel like that. But mostly, it's because I can't have what I want, whenever, wherever, and whatever it is. And this is always due to lack of money. I'm not saying that my family is poor. My family can be considered a middle-range family, in terms of income. But still, we do not have the financial capability to buy, possess or do anything that strikes our fancy. We always have to keep tabs on our expenditure.

I envy people who are filthy rich. Those who can easily go for vacation overseas whenever they have free time. Those who can buy expensive cars for each of their children. Those who can buy plenty of jerseys, Nike shoes that they think are beautiful at first glance, powerful computers, ANYTHING without having to feel guilty of how much they've spent. I want to be like that. I'd love to be like that.

But my reasons for wanting to be rich is not just that. I also want to be rich so that I can help others. I want to give to the poor, build mosques, support housing for the homeless, and many other selfless deeds. But I want to do those anonymously if possible.

But often we hear our people (and by our I mean Malay Muslims) say that "Tak payah la jadi kaya. Nanti tak ingat akhirat..." or "Tak perlu jadi kaya, nanti hidup tak senang. Baik jadi sederhana.". By saying those, I imply that these people think it's worthless and wrong to be rich.

I beg to differ. To me, it's not wrong to be rich. Because, as I said before, we can help others with the money that we have. Just think of it this way. If Muslims are all poor, how are we ever gonna help ourselves? We'll always be dependent on non-Muslims, if that's the case. Also, it's not worthless. Because by helping others, we have done a great deed and there is much worth to that. At the same time, kita pun boleh puaskan our own nafsu, which is all good I must add. And finally, about being tak tenteram, yes, I understand that feeling. Sape tenteram kalo you constantly feel scared that somebody's gonna take your harta away? But think of it this way: take comfort in the fact that if anything does happen to you or your possessions, at least you've used that money to help others. And also, harta is not ours secara mutlak. We are only temporary holders. The true owner is Allah. So, if something does happen to your harta, just smile and think that it's Allah's way of taking it back. I for sure won't be crying for my harta if it's lost. There are far too many things more important than harta.

I know some of you would disagree with me, but well, that's just my opinion: to want to be rich because I want to do whatever I want (within limits), and to help others. I want to beat the stigma that people put to rich people: sombong, bongkak, tamak, all that. I want to put an end to that. That is my motivation.

Posted by Nikman Shah at 11:14 pm
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