When Mankind Reaches Wealth and Power
On the other hand, there are times that some people reach wealth and power. One should be careful because reaching wealth and power may make them arrogant and the arrogance may lead them to rebellion.
Religious scholar Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Tahriri made the remarks in a session about Imam Sadiq’s (AS) ethical teachings.
Excerpts from his speech at the session are as follows:
The enlightening teachings of Imam Sadiq (AS) draw our attention to different moral and spiritual issues in our daily lives so that we avoid getting trapped into moral and mental problems with people. We should pay attention to these teachings to have proper reactions to what we face in life so that we can have a good life in this world and the next.
Life in this world is not without hardships and if we endure these limited hardships and difficulties, we will certainly achieve unlimited comfort and happiness. It has been said that paradise and everlasting happiness can be achieved through enduring hardships. These difficulties help the soul to grow.
If one wants to move on the path to perfection, he should endure the difficulties. He should also act responsibly in dealing with others and observe their rights.
Imam Sajjad (AS) in his Treatise of Rights points out 51 rights of others that should be respected.
One must learn about these rights and be careful not to violate them. Naturally, one’s Nafs (self) is inclined to infringe upon them, especially when one reaches a certain level of wealth and power.
When one reaches Ghana (wealth and power), he may move toward violating others’ rights because of his conceit and arrogance.
Sometimes it is rooted in ignorance and negligence and so man should be careful to remove this ignorance and negligence because they would be no good excuse. If one uses them (on the Day of Judgment) as pretexts for trampling on others’ rights, he would be asked why he was very careful in worldly affairs but negligent when it came to religious duties.
