*What is poverty?*
Someone asked an old man, "Why is there so much poverty these days?"
He replied, and gave a very beautiful answer,
"In my opinion, there isn't as much poverty today as people are making noise about."
"What we call poverty today is actually the non-fulfillment of desires."
Then the elder began to speak and explained about poverty, what is poverty...
He narrates, "We have seen days of poverty when we didn't have money to coat the slate at school, so we used to apply mud. We didn't have a pen to write with, nor did we have money to buy one, so we used pebbles. The school clothes we bought were the same ones we wore on Eid."
"If we bought clothes for a wedding, we would buy them in school colors, so that they could also serve as a uniform. And if the clothes tore, we would sew them and wear them again and again."
"Even if the shoe tore, we would get it stitched again and again. And the shoe was either Bata or plastic, which was hard to wear and would injure the foot, but we would still wear them and thank Allah..."
And son, there were times when if a guest came to the house, we would borrow ghee from one neighbor, chili from another, and salt from another, and arrange for the guest's meal. And the guest would consider even a simple vegetable a great hospitality and give blessings. Sometimes, son, just bread and onions were given to the guest, and he would eat it and happily spend the whole night in prayers..."
Today, by the grace of Allah, every house has a month's worth of supplies. There is enough for the whole wedding party, let alone a guest.
Today, school children have two or three uniforms for sure. Today, if someone has to attend a wedding, separate clothes and shoes are bought for Mehndi, Barat, and Walima."
In our time, a walking, talking person with a whole family (wife, children, parents) would have no money in their pocket, the pocket would be empty, but they would consider it a blessing to get food on time and thank Allah and live happily, and live with joy.
But today's walking, talking youth who are crying about poverty have a mobile phone worth thirty thousand in their pocket, clothes worth at least two thousand, and usually slippers worth three or four hundred..."
The days of poverty were when there was no oil to light the lamp in the house, and we would spend the whole night without a bed. And the limit was reached when, in the harsh cold season, mother would give a small piece of sheet and say, "Son, cover yourself with this and go to sleep." Then we would ask mother, "How will you sleep?" She would say, "Son, I will sleep near the fire, I won't feel cold. If I can't bear it, I will come to you." She would comfort us like this and put us to sleep, then tell us stories of our ancestors and cry, thank God, and spend the whole night."
After talking for a long time, he said, "Son, the truth is that in today's era, there is poverty of desires."
And now the situation is that if someone cannot afford three pairs of clothes to attend a wedding or three pairs of clothes for Eid, they think they are poor."
Today, the name of not fulfilling desires is poverty..."
We have become ungrateful, that is why blessings have been lifted.
He said a very strange sentence, "Son, poverty was when bread was cooked and there was no arrangement for vegetables, but there was an onion or garlic, or chili, and mother would say, 'Son, wait, I will divide it among all the brothers' 😢and she herself would sit by the stove and eat only saltless bread and recite Alhamdulillah, Subhan Allah, Masha Allah, with every bite..."
*Then some advice*
Son, remember when a person
becomes a slave to desires, life becomes unbearable, and his example is like a person who injures himself by hitting his own foot with an ax and writhes in pain. Similarly, abandoning simplicity and desiring comfort is actually putting a collar of troubles around your neck. And he said, "I have even heard from my elders that kings who fulfill their desires become beggars." But son, let me tell you one thing, there was a lot of prosperity at that time, people didn't even know envy, malice, and hatred, and they lived happily..."
May Allah Almighty grant us the ability to learn from the lives of our elders.....
Amen, O Lord of the Worlds, by the grace of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him.......
✍️Mutallem Al-Jameatul Ashrafia✍️