FROM MAULANA’S DESK

The words ‘wealth’ and ‘offspring’ in this verse are symbolic of the materialistic culture of man. Today, the sole concern of man is the acquisition of material wealth and worldly power. He considers money as everything and believes it to be the answer to all his desires. In such a situation, the Prime Minister's announcement came as a bolt from the blue, as much of, the wealth that people had accumulated was now as good as garbage. After hearing this, many people burnt huge piles of money and many others just threw them out with the garbage. If within a moment of the Prime Minister's declaration, valid currency had become dead currency, consider then what will be the situation when the Lord of the universe declares that “Today your wealth and your offspring will be of no use” In another place in the Quran, God declares, “On that Day man shall flee from his own brother, his mother, his father, his wife and his sons.” (80: 34-37) In this world, there are many people whom others, consider their ‘whole and soul’ in life; but suddenly in the world of the Hereafter they will be deserted by these very same people. In the verse, ‘flee from his own brother’ does not mean actually deserting his brother. Rather, all those people whom a person, held to be his support and succour in the world will now appear as a burden to him. Wealth, offspring, relatives, friends, positions, armies, governments and all other things that man once relied on as his strength—will all be shattered in the world of the Hereafter and man will find himself all alone and powerless in front of Almighty God. If all such things come to naught in the world of the Hereafter, what is it which will be of use in the Hereafter? There it is only a ‘purified heart’ that will be of any value. This matter has been related in the Quran as follows, “Paradise is the recompense for those who purify themselves”. (20: 76) A verse of the Quran that marks the signal for the Hereafter says, “The trumpet will be blown and, at once, people will rise up from their graves, and hasten to their Lord.” (36: 51) There is another symbolic meaning of this verse which can be explained as follows. Every person lives in a protective shell that he has created for himself. This shell is made of money, wealth, material interests, family and societal ties, position and power. When suddenly ‘the trumpet is Consider then what will be the situation when the Lord of the universe declares that “Today your wealth and your offspring will be of no use”.