THE ART OF NON-PROVOCATION Character Above Every Insult

T here is a common misconception about sustenance in the modern world. We tend to believe that obtaining the necessities of life is essentially a financial transaction. We go to a shop, pay money and return with food, clothing or some other commodity. Because payment is the final and most visible part of the transaction, we unconsciously assume that money is what has provided us with these things. But is this really so? Suppose a person has unlimited financial resources, but there is no food available in the market. What can his money buy? Suppose he has sufficient money to purchase water, but there has been no rain and the sources of water have dried up. Suppose he possesses enormous wealth, but his body has lost the ability to digest food. Or suppose factories are functioning and goods have been produced, but transportation networks have collapsed and nothing can reach him. In all these situations, money remains in his possession, but its purchasing power becomes practically meaningless. This simple observation leads us to an important realization: money does not create sustenance. It merely enables us to obtain a small share of sustenance that has already been produced through an enormous system operating beyond our control. The Quran draws attention to this reality when it says: “How many creatures cannot fend for themselves! God provides for them and for you. He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing.” (29: 60) Look at the countless creatures inhabiting the earth. Birds leave their nests every morning without carrying provisions. Wild animals possess neither farms nor warehouses. Fish have no markets beneath the oceans. Yet generation after generation, an immense variety of living creatures continues to receive the nourishment necessary for survival. Who established this universal system of sustenance? The Quran invites us to look beyond the immediate supplier and discover the ultimate Provider. Human civilization itself THE DIVINE SYSTEM OF SUSTENANCE Beyond Money and Markets