منة

Imam Ali (AS) said, I bid you to refrain from stinginess, for the miser is hated by strangers and shunned by those who are close to him.

Imam Ali (AS) said, Woe to the miser who hastens towards the poverty which has fled from him and abandons the wealth that has sought him.

Imam al-Kazim (AS) said, ‘The parable of this world is that of sea water, however much the thirsty man drinks from it, his thirst intensifies until it kills him.

Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: “Stinginess is the cause of destitution, and cowardliness is the cause of deficiency. Be generous, but do not be a spendthrift. Give in charity in a reasonable amount, but do not be too stingy. Do not be shy to give a little amount of charity, since by depriving the poor from even a little amount will even end up in less for them. I am amazed at stingy people who rush into poverty from which they have escaped, and love self-sufficiency while they are seeking it, and live like the poor in this world while they are just as accountable as the rich in the Hereafter. Stinginess is the combination of all wickedness, and is what draws man to all that is evil.”

Imam al-Sadiq (AS), when asked what consolidates a servants faith, replied, ‘The thing that consolidates it in him is piety, and that which takes him out of it [i.e. faith] is greed.

126. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, said: I wonder at the miser who is speeding towards the very destitution from which he wants to run away and misses the very ease of life which he covets. Consequently, he passes his life in this world like the destitute, but will have to render an account in the next world like the rich.

Imam Ali (AS) said, Indeed fire is not diminished by what is taken from it but is extinguished when it does not find firewood; similarly, knowledge is not depleted by being acquired but the miserliness of those who possess it is the cause of its absence.

Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘I wonder at the miser; he expedites the same poverty from which he escapes, and misses the same richness for which he yearns! So he leads a life of deprivation in this world like the poor, yet he will be judged with the rich in the Hereafter.

Imam Ali (AS) said, I am amazed at the wretched miser who rushes towards the poverty that is fleeing him and loses the wealth that is seeking him; he lives a life of poverty in this world and is called to account with the reckoning of the wealthy in the Hereafter.

Know, along with this, that most of them are very narrow-minded, and awfully avaricious. They hoard goods for profiteering and fix high prices for goods. This is a source of harm to the people and a blot on the officers in charge. Stop people from hoarding, because the Messenger of Allāh (S) has prohibited it.

“The case of the world is like the water of the ocean. The more a thirsty person drinks from it, the thirstier he becomes, consequently, it kills him.”

Beware lest bearers of greed should carry you and make you descend down to the springs of destruction. If you can manage that there be no wealthy person between yourself and Allāh, do so, because in any case you will find what is for you and get your share. A little received directly from Allāh the Glorified, is more dignified than that which is more but is received through (the obligation of) His creatures, although (really) all is from Allāh.

“Once I asked Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) ‘What (deed) establishes belief firmly in a servant (of Allah)?’ The Imam said, ‘It is restraint from the worldly attractions (sins).’ I then asked, ‘What (kind of thing) removes belief from a person?’ The Imam said, ‘It is greed.’”

A man went to see Imam Sadiq (a.s) and complained that he was never content with what he gets for his daily bread, and he fought with himself wanting more. He asked the Imam (a.s) to teach him something to benefit him. Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “If you are content with the minimum necessities, you will be rich with the minimum worldly goods, but if you are not, even everything in the world will not suffice to enrich you.”

The Children of Adam (people) will get old or die, but two things still remain young in them: greed and aspirations.”

The Children of Adam (people) will get old, but two things still remain young within them: greed for wealth and greed for life.”