Greed

In a dream in which important truths were revealed, in the fifth year of the First World War, I was asked the following question:

What is the reason for the hunger, the loss of property and wealth, and the physical hardship that Muslims have suffered?

In that dream, I gave the following answer:

Allah asked from us one-tenth of a certain type of property and one-fortieth of another type of property that He had granted us, so that we might gain the supplications of the needy and protect ourselves from their jealousy and envy. But because of our greed, we acted with miserliness and gave nothing. As a punishment, Allah collected from us thirty-fortieths and eight-tenths of the zakātOne of the Five Pillars of Islam; the obligatory almsgiving for the benefit of the poor and the needy. that was due.

Moreover, He asked us each year to fast for one month, in which seventy hidden wisdoms are contained. But we pitied ourselves and did not submit to this temporary and joyful hunger. As a punishment for this attitude, Allah compelled us for five years to undergo a kind of fasting burdened with seventy different kinds of hardship.

Moreover, He asked us to devote only one hour out of twenty-four to a pleasant, exalted, illuminating, and beneficial command. But we were lazy and neglected these five daily prayers. We wasted that one hour by adding it to the other hours. As an expiation, Allah made us perform constant military duties and drills for five years as a kind of prayer.

Then I awoke, reflected, and understood that behind this dream lay a very significant truth. As is explained and proven in The Twenty-Fifth Word, where modern civilization is compared with the laws of the Qur’an, the source of all immorality and instability in social life consists of two attitudes.

The first: “What do I care about another’s hunger, so long as my own stomach is full?”

The second: “You will work so that I may earn.”

The continuation of interest and the neglect of zakātOne of the Five Pillars of Islam; the obligatory almsgiving for the benefit of the poor and the needy. allow these two attitudes to run their course. The only way to solve these two serious social problems is to implement the obligation of zakātOne of the Five Pillars of Islam; the obligatory almsgiving for the benefit of the poor and the needy. as a universally applied law and to prohibit interest 

Moreover, zakātOne of the Five Pillars of Islam; the obligatory almsgiving for the benefit of the poor and the needy. is the most essential pillar for a happy life, not only for specific individuals or certain social groups, but for all humanity. It is the most important support for the continuation of human life. For in human life there are two classes: the wealthy and the poor. ZakātOne of the Five Pillars of Islam; the obligatory almsgiving for the benefit of the poor and the needy. is what inspires the wealthy to show compassion toward the poor, and what encourages the poor to show respect toward the wealthy. Without zakātOne of the Five Pillars of Islam; the obligatory almsgiving for the benefit of the poor and the needy., injustice and oppression descend from above upon the poor, while feelings of hatred, resentment, and rebellion grow from below toward the wealthy. These two classes will remain in continual mental conflict and confusion. This eventually leads to a struggle and clash between capital and labour, as happened in Russia.