It's time to reflect and ponder

As the world's largest economies and countries are brought to a halt amidst a global pandemic, I urge my brothers and sisters to reflect and ponder as these events unfold before us.

As someone residing in the "developed world", I cannot help but notice the rise of a mindless and senseless phenomena over the last several years: mass consumerism.

Rampant consumerism is indicative of society's decadence, of its moral decline. The amount of indulgence is reaching obscene levels. Our obsession with pursuit of what we deem as happiness via accumulating material goods, engaging in lavishness, is not only having an adverse effect on the environment, but also on our souls.

Take this point for example. those of us who are blessed enough to lead a good life, were given the opportunity to pursue a good education or a good career, and have been blessed with a stable income to make a difference: most of us live week to week in the pursuit and indulgence of a good time.

Extracting the most enjoyment of our daily routines has become our myopic goal. Highways around me are at full capacity all week, even on the weekends. Why? People just can't stay home. There's always something booked, or planned for every weekend: a party, a celebration, a trip, a fun get together... All in the name of and pursuit of a good time.

And when we're not restlessly driving & traveling, we mindlessly engage in sloth and gluttony: 12 hour Netflix marathons, frequently dinning out, to the point of developing an obsession with food and identifying as a "foodie"; or indulging in other vices like movies, alcohol, music, and sex/women.

I see popular restaurants around me all booked out, for weeks ahead of time. Such obscene levels of consumerism to the point where almost everyone who has the means to, just can't help themselves but pursue this vicious cycle of self-gratification.

But mind, none of the above is inherently bad. However, what makes it standout over recent times is the turmoil that our brothers and sisters have been facing around the world:

• Muslim villages and men, women, and children burned to the ground, in the thousands. A genocide, before our very own eyes and yet how much did we help those that were in need?

• Our brothers and sisters continue to suffer throughout the Muslim world: oppression in India, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Chechnya; millions dead. And millions of others who have suffered greatly and lost everything

And yet, just because Allah has blessed you, all you think and care about is planning out a way to have a good time? Wallahi, that's such a disgusting and a great injustice.

And you wonder why this plague has stopped the world on its tracks. It's because we've been disgustingly complacent; our immediate concern being to extract the most amount of a good time while we can. We've done a great injustice to those who needed us most. To all of those who have suffered, since we just sat by and watched from the sidelines.

What if it's our turn next? Have you pondered that?

May Allah guide and help us all. Let's use this time to reflect and ponder and attempt to make a greater difference to those who are in need Insha'Allah.

submitted by /u/pisapfa
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from Islam https://ift.tt/39aXhv8