The Holy Quran says:
"So, their wealth and children should not attract you. Allah wants to punish them with these in this lowly life". (9:55)
This does not mean that offspring and wealth are bad in themselves. What it means is that these are real blessings both for this world and the life Hereafter if a person engages in accruing and spending these material possessions within the confines laid down by Allah Ta'alah, and in moderation. But if a person starts engaging in Hara'am (unlawful) ways of accumulating wealth, spends it in impermissible activities, or even if he is accumulating it by lawful means but becomes so engrossed in it that he starts neglecting Fara'id (obligatory acts of worship) and Wajibat (necessary acts of worship) then these blessings start becoming a curse for him.
Maulana Rumi has illustrated this very eloquently in Masnavi by saying,
فَلَا تُعۡجِبۡكَ اَمۡوَالُهُمۡ وَلَاۤ اَوۡلَادُهُمۡؕ اِنَّمَا يُرِيۡدُ اللّٰهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمۡ بِهَا فِى الۡحَيٰوةِ الدُّنۡيَا۔۔۔ (۹: ۵۵)
"So, their wealth and children should not attract you. Allah wants to punish them with these in this lowly life". (9:55)
This does not mean that offspring and wealth are bad in themselves. What it means is that these are real blessings both for this world and the life Hereafter if a person engages in accruing and spending these material possessions within the confines laid down by Allah Ta'alah, and in moderation. But if a person starts engaging in Hara'am (unlawful) ways of accumulating wealth, spends it in impermissible activities, or even if he is accumulating it by lawful means but becomes so engrossed in it that he starts neglecting Fara'id (obligatory acts of worship) and Wajibat (necessary acts of worship) then these blessings start becoming a curse for him.
Maulana Rumi has illustrated this very eloquently in Masnavi by saying,
آب اندر زیرِ کشتی پستی است
آب در کشتی ہلاکِ کشتی است
He has likened material possessions to water, and a person'e heart to a boat. He says that as long as water stays outside and around the boat it is helpful for the boat and helps serve its purpose, but if it enters the boat the same water drowns it and kills everyone in it.
Adapted from Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Rehmatullah Elaih
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