Wealth is, probably, the element mostly associated, if not synonymous, with happiness as many people think. This understanding so deeprooted in the hearts of so many, to the extent that almost everywhere people are engrossed in the acquisition of wealth. They look towards wealth as the primal constituent of happiness to the point that for them the two are entwined.
How happy are those men and women who own business empires, wide expanses of land and estates, large bank deposits, etc?
Many indeed are those people who own millions or even billions but are suffering from an almost permanent lack of peace of mind as a result of the fear they have over their wealth the fear of, say, political turmoils, market movements, wars, plunders, theft, etc. And not only does such fear lead to sleepless nights for these people but even tensions, mental anguish, heart attacks and deaths. Very often one comes across reports in the media such as the following:
* Fortunes lost and lives follow in financial market crash* A Tokyo trader shot himself after apparently losing money in the stock market..!
* Australia�s richest man was rushed to hospital in serious condition, Sunday, after suffering a heart attack....!
Understanding and accepting that happiness has nothing to do with amassment of wealth is perhaps the most liberating realization we can ever come to.
Ample material is readily available from the lives of many people to prove our dictum "wealth is not equal to happiness".
OAARUN
Qarun�s (Kora) story serves as a typical example of opulent people whose wealth infused them with pride and arrogance and made them forget the role of wealth in mans life. Wealth should be used for the achievement of the welfare of man and his society in accordance with the will and commandments of Almighty Allah, Who has granted man his existence, faculties, powers, sustenance and resources.
His story is told in the Holy Qur�an:
Such were the treasure We had bestowed on him, that their very keys would have been a burden to a body of strong men. Behold, his people said to him: Exult not, for Allah loveth not those who exult (in riches).� (Qur�an, 28:76) Then,
�So he went forth among his people in the (pride of his wordly) glitter", (Qur�an, 28:79)
When he was in the heyday of his glory, worldly people envied him and thought how happy they would be if only they were in his place.
But wise people were not dazzled by Qaarun�s fabulous wealth, because they realized the transient nature of worldly treasures and they were certain that the true wealth is the reward of Allah (in the Hereafter) for those who believe and work rightesousness. (Vide the Qur�an, 28:80)
Qaarun lived ostentatiously and appeared to many of his people "a lord of mighty good fortune." They admired his glorious appearance but forgot his reality. All this was �illusory happiness� or, at least, transient happiness, just like a dream or a movie.
What was the end? What happened to all that pomp, wealth, pride and arrogance?
"Then, We caused the earth to swallow up him and his house; and he had not (the least little) party to help him against Allah, nor could he defend himself.� (Qur�an 28:81)