No favouritism
Al-Risala (English), December 1988, p. 10
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
No favouritism
1988 12 December 10 No favouritism (218)
Abdullah Ibn Arqam came before Umer and said to him: “Commander of the faithful, there are some ornaments and silver dishes in the treasury that have come from Jalula. Have a look at them, and tell us what to do with them. Umer told Abdullah Ibn Arqam to remind him about them when he ‘was not busy. Ibn Arqam came back one day. “You don’t seem to be busy today,” he said to Umer. “No, I’m not,” Umer replied. He then went to the treasury and extracted all the ornaments and dishes. When they were brought before him, he recited this verse of Sura Al-Imran: ‘Men are tempted by the lure of women and offspring, of hoarded treasures of gold and silver, of splendid horses, cattle, and plantations. These are the comforts of this life, but far better is the return of God.’ “These things have been made tempting for us,” he said, “so we cannot help being happy when we look at them. Lord, enable me to dispose of them correctly. I seek Your refuge from their evil.” At this time, a child of Umer’s, Abdullah, came to his father and asked for one ring. Umer told him to go to his mother, who would give him barley-mush to drink instead. He gave the child nothing whatsoever.
Not by Bread Alone
1988 12 December 10 Not by Bread Alone (389) “I am not a car, I’m as spiritual soul just like anyone else. I’m only a Ford by name.”
This seemingly superfluous statement was made by none other than the owner of the Ford Motor Company in the USA and the occasion on which he made it was at an interview with an AP correspondent just after his marriage to a Hindu girl, Sharmila Bhattacharya (39 at one of the Hare Krishna Centres in Australia). His feeling that he had to explain that he was “not a car” was an indication that his life had, indeed, become soulless and mechanical; his joining the Hare Krishna movement had enabled him to fill the inner vacancy, the yawning gap in his life which had become a matter of such desperation to him.
Most people imagine that men who have amassed great wealth must be ecstatically happy individuals with a wonderful sense of fulfillment, and such innocents spend a great deal of precious time in envious contemplation of the progress through life of the very rich. This is a completely mistaken view of what is meant by fulfillment. One may have every luxury in the world at one’s command and yet feel oneself perpetually teetering on the edge of an abyss – an abyss of nothingness. Wealth, at the very best can serve the needs of the body. But there is little that it can do to serve the needs of the soul.
In the midst of plenty, the richest of men can be plagued by the most terrible loneliness, for the soul finds no peace or plenitude in purely material things. That is why Mr. Ford found it necessary to take the unusual step of joining the Hare Krishna Movement, and of marrying one of the devotees. It is interesting that a photograph of his wedding ceremony shows him wearing seamless garments.
Man is eternally in quest of something to fill his inner emptiness and staunch his sense of loss. Very often, mistaking what his true goals should be, he goes sadly astray. Happy is the man who realizes at an early stage in his career that his true objective should be a living bond with his Maker, and that the only way of achieving this is to renounce materialism and to give himself up entirely to the Creator of all things.
