Dangerous Wolves

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2. شُحّ

Dear Islamic brothers! The second type of love for wealth is called شُحّ. The Quran states:

وَ مَنۡ یُّوۡقَ شُحَّ نَفۡسِہٖ فَاُولٰٓئِکَ ہُمُ الۡمُفۡلِحُوۡنَ ۚ(۹)

“And whosoever is saved from the greed of his own self, so it is only they who are the successful.^{^[1]}”

شُحّ is the extreme love of wealth that renders one unable to differentiate between halal and haram. Impermissible sources of income, transactions that involve interest, and deceit; these become an attractive means of making money to a person, even though they are forbidden.^{^[2]}

The perils of شُحّ

As narrated by the Companion ꜤAbdullāh b. ꜤUmar رَضِیَ اللہُ عَنْہُمَا, the final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “Save yourselves from شُحّ, for indeed it destroyed those who preceded you. It incited them to cut familial ties, become miserly, and commit sin, which they proceeded to do.”^{^[3]}

In another hadith found in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, it is stated “شُحّ incited the people before you to kill others, which they did. They also began to deem haram as halal.”^{^[4]}

The Companion Abū Hurayrah رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ narrates this hadith, in which Allah’s Messenger صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم announced, “شُحّ and faith cannot both exist at once in a person’s heart.”^{^[5]}

[1] Al-Quran, 59:9, Translation from Kanz al-Īmān

[2] MajmuꜤ Rasāʾil Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī, vol. 1, p. 69

[3] Musnad Imām Aḥmad: 6643

[4] Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2578

[5] Sunan al-Nasāī: 3108

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