Friday Nasiha

Surah Ta-Ha
The Letters T H (20) - Ayahs 131, 132

"Do not turn your eyes covetously towards the embellishments of worldly life that We have bestowed upon various kinds of people to test them. But the (clean) provision [rizq] bestowed upon you by your Lord is better and more enduring. Enjoin Prayer on your household, and do keep observing it. We do not ask you for any worldy provision. The ultimate end is for piety [taqwa]"

Commentary:

The purpose of the directive in the first verse is to impress upon the Prophet (sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and his Companions (radhi Allahu 'anhum) that they should not feel envious of those who hoarded their unlawful wealth. The word Rizq here refers to 'clean provision' only as any unlawful earning cannot be considered a clean provision from God.

It is interesting to note Allah tells the believers in the beginning of this verse that He gives some people excess wealth and luxuries in order to test them. Allah wants to see how His servants spend this wealth provided by Him. Therefore, Allah does not only test people through difficulties, poverty, pain, illness, and other afflictions, but He also tests them using other more subtle means, such as comfort, wealth, excessive food, entertainment, and more.

In the next verse the believers are told to encourage their children to observe the five daily Prayers [Salah]. The Prayer cannot be established on a regular basis, unless they understand the role and need of Prayer in their lives. They need to love it more than anything else. When this happens, then they will not be heart-broken or despressed by their miserable financial state, which is in sharp contrast to the pomp, luxury, and all sorts of destructive entertainment that the non-believers enjoy. The Prayer will change their perspective on life! It will change their values and the focus of their attentions. It will be a change that will make them satisfied with their lawfully earned livelihood, even if it be little. All this training will lead them to prefer a virtuous life, based on faith and God-consciousness, to a life full of luxury and self-indulgence arising out of disobedience to Allah and excessive worldliness.

But how can we expect such a change in our families, when the parents themselves are constantly involved in unlawful means of earning, while probably leaving their children unattended for most part of the day? How can we expect our children to be satisfied with lawful, and perhaps little comfort, when the parents themselves are only thinking about 'worldly future' and are stressed out due to unpaid house mortgages and dozens of other long-term finacial worries?

The purpose of these verses is not to condemn the act of budgeting, financial and academic planning for our families itsef. It simply illustrates the point that Believers and non-Believers alike, can never be satisfied and happy in its true sense in the long-term, if they are busy with earning money through Haram (unlawful) means and if the intellectual, spiritual, psychological, and moral training of their families is neglected as a result.

In the end Allah clarifies to the Believers that when a person observes Prayers, it does not benefit God. It is only he or she who prays who derives any benefit from it, which is peace and Taqwa (righteousness) in this world and the next.

[compiled from "Towards Understanding the Quran" by Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi, Vol. 5, contributed by brother Taha Ghayyur, University of Toronto, Canada. Jazak Allahu Khairan! ]