دی ان ان evoq , دات نت نیوک ,dnn
جمعه, 10 فروردین,1403

Excessiveness


Excessiveness

Excessiveness (اسراف)

By the belated Professor Taha'ie

Translated by :I.M.Gonzalez

Excessiveness (اسراف) means exceeding the limits in one's deeds and it means to error, ignorance and negligence. In the Quran this word is defined as excessiveness in economic affairs, in sinning, and in many cases it means utter excessiveness applied to one's tasks. (Farhang-e-Quran, Vol. 3, 251)

Another word used to define "excessiveness" is extravagance (تبذیر). This word in Arabic means to divide and to spread something and in principle to "scatter seeds" and metaphorically it refers to a person that distributes his/her wealth in vain. (مفردات راغب, Vol. 1)

Considering the roots of these two words, excessiveness (اسراف) and extravagance (تبذیر), it seems that excessiveness means "being outside of the limits of moderation" without any apparent loss; for example, wearing clothes that cost a hundred times more than what our needs are. In this regard we have exceeded the limits; however, seemingly no harm has been done, but in fact extravagance and the vain distribution of one's wealth is when such a use results in loss and wastage. For instance, when a meal for ten people is prepared while there are only two dinner guests, as some foolish people proudly do, and then afterwards throw the leftovers out.

Nevertheless, in many cases these two words (excessiveness and extravagance) are used interchangeably and in order to emphasis the meanings (Makarem Shirazi, تفسیر نمونه, Vol. 12, p 97-98)

Quran and Excessiveness

Excessiveness is the abuse of the Creator's laws of limitations and the law of the shari'at. Any type of exceeding the limits causes corruption and disruption.  Basically, from the point of view of the monotheist perspective, Allah is the main possessor (of all things) and any transgression without the Possessor's permission is revolting and unacceptable and He does not permit excessiveness and at the same time He does not permit consumerism.

"O children of Adam! Attend to your embellishments at every time of prayer, and eat and drink and be not excessive; surely He does not love the excessive doers." (Holy Quran, 7:31)

Allah in this verse has first pointed out the divine blessings and the use of food and beverages. However, because of the human beings' natural inclination toward excessiveness may violate these two commands and choosing the path of indulging in luxuries instead of wise and moderate use of clothes and nutrients, Allah immediately states "and be not excessive". This is the Quran's method, wherein at the same time the use of divine blessing is encouraged, immediately misusage is discouraged and moderation is recommended (Makarem Shirazi, تفسیر نمونه, Vol. 6, p 149).

Excessiveness is exceeding the limits, meaning that anything owned by individuals are being misused and so moderation has been exceeded. The Quran has counted excessiveness as a way of the Pharaoh.

"and most surely Pharaoh was lofty in the land; and most surely he was of the excessive." (Holy Quran, 10:83)   

The use of the word Pharaoh should not distract our thoughts to just that particular era, because it is possible that anyone of us during our lifetime can become a Pharaoh.  Hence, when we have Pharaoh-like characteristics we become a Pharaoh in our society. When we do not recognize our limits and exceed them then we have changed into a Pharaoh. Similar to a person that is capable of reciting laments but (without possessing any qualifications) also speaks about akhkam (Islamic jurisprudence) and even gives opinions about the fatwas of Islamic scholars or as another example, someone who has recently participated in introductory religious classed for a short period and offers their opinions on Islamic issues. Hence, we should test ourselves with these types of issues and see if we are infected with this Pharaoh-like characteristic.

From the perspective of the Quran, every sin is excessiveness, as it has been stated, " Say: O my servants! Who have acted excessively against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of Allah; surely Allah forgives the faults altogether; surely He is the Forgiving the Merciful." (Holy Quran, 39:53)   

In the Quran, the word excessiveness has an extensive meaning and aside from monetary excessiveness, it also includes excessiveness in one's nafs and soul. It means that the human being in the usage of his/her talents and capabilities exceeds the limits of moderation and becomes trapped in extremes (Ghara'ati, تفسیر نور, Vol. 10, p.188). In other words, the complex of Allah's rules and laws are within moderation and far from extremes. Therefore, the interpretation of excessiveness regarding sin, which was mentioned previously, is "not acting upon the divine rules and laws" (Rafsanjani, Vol. 16, p. 138).         

Hence, the emphasis of the Glorious Quran on the excessive ones is annihilation and destruction, "Then We made Our promise good to them, so We delivered them and those whom We pleased, and We destroyed the excessive ones." (Holy Quran, 21:9)

In another case, the Quran counts the excessive ones to be amongst the dwellers of hell.

"…and that the excessive ones are the inmates of the fire…" (Holy Quran, 40:43)

Therefore, considering the danger of excessiveness, we must avoid all instances of this characteristic such as wasting time and doing wasteful deeds.   

Excessiveness in friendship, which has adverse consequences, is contentious. Excessiveness in speaking, thinking, sleeping; excessiveness when being an enemy and holding a grudge; excessiveness in sexual instincts and in the use of divine blessings are all related to the overflowing of material desires. For this reason, the Quran always discourages excessiveness even regarding donations, which is a recommended action. The Holy Quran says, " And they who when they spend, are neither excessive nor parsimonious, and (keep) between these the just mean." (Holy Quran, 25:67) 

To make it clearer, one should give a just donation without any excessiveness and without making a difficult situation to the extent that one's wife and children become hungry and others take no benefit from this wealth.    

The Disasters of Excessiveness and Extravagance

Without a doubt, the earth has enough blessings and resources for its residents provided these are not wasted. Hence, these blessings and resources need to be used correctly and logically without any extremes, since these resources are not that much and unlimited that they will not be harmed by incorrect their usage. It is possible that excessiveness and extravagance in one region of the earth causes deprivation in another region or by these two characteristics people today cause deprivation for future generations. During the time of the revelation of the Holy Quran, people did not have any figures and statistics like we have today; however, Islam warned the people about the misusage of the earth's resources through excessiveness and extravagance (Makarem Shirazi, تفسیر نمونه, Vol. 12, p. 95).

Therefore, in order to prevent extravagance, first we have to recognize the resources and then learn the correct way to use them. The correct use of water in all cases, even in making wuzo and the amount of using food, especially nowadays while there are many poor and needy people are examples of efficiency and contentment. So in the case of clothing we have to be careful so that with the least expenditures and without any excessiveness and without any feelings of coveting we purchase clothing.

We should distance ourselves from any competition in gift giving and do not enter this meaningless race so that this feeling of competition is purged from us and instead the (correct) culture of gift-giving is enhanced in the society and more people benefit from it.

We can institute the words of the Infallibles (PBUT) and teach the correct way of using Allah's resources. As an example, the clothes that we are wearing at formal gatherings should not be used at work so we can have them longer.

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) in his advice to Imam Ali (PBUH) said, "When you see the people are involved in excessive actions, try to do an exemplary action." (Meshkeni, المواعظ العددیه, p. 293). Therefore, considering the Islamic school of thought we are able to enhance the correct culture of consumption in the society and protect ourselves from the destructive disasters of excessiveness.

شماره نشریه:  شمیم نرجس شماره 24


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