"Richness is not having a great deal of wealth; rather richness is richness of the soul."
Muhammad, Hadith
There are countless examples of this philosophy in the Quran and the Hadith, but I chose one from the latter. Equality and fairness were huge issues to the Prophet. Beyond being revealed many times in the Quran it was also the subject of many ahadith. It's also shown metaphorically in the fact that every Muslim on the Hajj wears exactly the same garment. Sadly, we've drifted as far away from this basic concept as followers of other religions have. I've spent more time in the UAE than in any other foreign country and the gross disparity of wealth there is only increasing, as is its corrosive influence on society. As I've discussed earlier I always have my students watch a Vice video on the Hajj, and one of the profound moments is when he lifts his camera up from the Kaaba and looks at the five star hotels that now surround the mosque. This emphasis on equality and looking after all members of society is also why Jesus remains so central to Islam. In America we live in a society that is almost contemptuous of the poor, and even of simple human kindness.
Muhammad, Hadith
There are countless examples of this philosophy in the Quran and the Hadith, but I chose one from the latter. Equality and fairness were huge issues to the Prophet. Beyond being revealed many times in the Quran it was also the subject of many ahadith. It's also shown metaphorically in the fact that every Muslim on the Hajj wears exactly the same garment. Sadly, we've drifted as far away from this basic concept as followers of other religions have. I've spent more time in the UAE than in any other foreign country and the gross disparity of wealth there is only increasing, as is its corrosive influence on society. As I've discussed earlier I always have my students watch a Vice video on the Hajj, and one of the profound moments is when he lifts his camera up from the Kaaba and looks at the five star hotels that now surround the mosque. This emphasis on equality and looking after all members of society is also why Jesus remains so central to Islam. In America we live in a society that is almost contemptuous of the poor, and even of simple human kindness.
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