Often, those upon the faith-based and spiritual paths have sought to live lives of austerity and abstinence in the attempt to avoid the temptations of wealth and power, and to avoid falling to the increased egoism and megalomania worldly success often seems to be associated with.
We need but recall the stories of the some of the great tyrants and villains within the Holy Qur’an, such as Pharaoh and Nimrod, who were men of great worldly means, yet who attained and maintained their positions of power through the subjugation, enslavement and oppression of others.
Yet if the people of faith are often weak and disempowered, who then can take an effective stand for truth, goodness and justice?
In this video inspired by the movie Elysium (released in 2013 and starring Matt Damon, William Ficthner, Jodie Foster, Diego Luna and others), I dive into the topic of wealth, power and megalomania, and present the case that the perfect path of spiritual excellence requires that we do not shy away from the acquisition of means, capacity and competency, but rather that we strive for effectiveness in this world as well as success in the next.
I point out that we must strive for balance between the spiritual and material worlds, and fully embrace and engage in both spiritual development and personal development so as to live lives that are whole, full and complete, in addition to being capable of functioning as deputies of the Divine that have the means of carrying out His divine will towards the establishing of peace and prosperity upon the earth.
May Allah Almighty guide to goodness, and lead to learning that is beneficial and pleasing to He, Almighty and Exalted.
To your divine and eternal success.
8 Responses
Salaam Brother Ihsan,
My name is Putri, from Jakarta – Indonesia.
Thank you very much for this post blog, I really enjoyed every content of yours whether it’s an arricle, youtube video, emails, and also the most gift you gave that I love is the monthly global virtual dhikr.
Thank you thank you thank you.
Every gift you gave really soothes my heart, relieving, remebering to back to Allah SWT to healing.
May Allah Almighty always give you health and happ(y)ness. Aamiin Yaa Rabb 🤲🏻🙏🏻😇
Alhamdulillah, Allahu Kareem. Thank you Putri, best and most blessed regards always.
Walaikum Assallam ,
One question where is the video?
Peace and light, brother Rehan. You should be able to see the video at the top of this post.
Salaam Aleikum brother, thank you for sharing this video.
Blessed salaams, Roland. Most welcome. Allah Almighty be with you and your loved ones.
Thank you for this valuable insight and inspiring words: means, capacity, competency, fully embrace, engage, development, whole, complete, effectiveness, success. May Allah enable us to live our potential for His sake, ameen.
Most welcome, Teresa. May Allah Almighty’s divine strength and support always be with you. To your divine and eternal success.