ability to change the course of our greed towards righteousness, to become greedy for performing good deeds and to completely remove the evil greed of sins, because evil greed destroys a person. As the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم has stated, ‘Avoid greed, because it is such a poverty that is experienced immediately.’ (Al-Zuhd-ul-Kabeer, p. 86, Hadith 101)

The greed of humans

Sayyiduna Anas Bin Malik رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ has narrated: The Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم has stated, ‘Even if the son of Adam (i.e. a person) had two valleys (i.e. the space between two mountains) of gold, he would still desire a third one, and the stomach of the son of Adam can only be filled with the soil of the grave.’ (Muslim, p. 521, Hadith 116)

The greed of humans has no end

‘Allamah Abu Zakariyya Yahya Bin Sharaf Nawawi رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه states in Sharh Muslim: The Hadith means that a human will always remain greedy on earth until he dies and only the soil of the grave will fill his stomach. (Faizan-e-Riyad-us-Saliheen, vol. 1, p. 278, with reference to Sharh Muslim-lil-Nawavi, vol. 4, p. 139)

Extremely greedy and miserly

‘Allamah Ali Qaari رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه states: In this Hadith, there is a warning that there is a miserliness in the nature of a human that makes him greedy, just as Allah Almighty has said:

قُلْ لَّوْ اَنْتُمْ تَمْلِكُوْنَ خَزَآىٕنَ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّیْۤ اِذًا لَّاَمْسَكْتُمْ خَشْیَةَ الْاِنْفَاقِؕ-وَ كَانَ الْاِنْسَانُ قَتُوْرًا۠(۱۰۰)

Say you (O Beloved), ‘If you possessed the treasures of the Mercy of my Lord, you would have hence held it back as well out of fear that it may get spent; and man is a great miser.’

[Kanz-ul-Iman (translation of Quran)] (Part 15, Surah Bani Isra’eel, Verse 100)