“Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others.” ― Brian Tracy
One fine day, I find myself running out of closet space....again! I stood staring at my opened closet wondering how can that even be possible. I distinctively remember raiding my closet last year and gave away all the clothes that I no longer wear. Wait! Was that 2 years ago? Oh....man! I started hoarding again!
But what is it that I'm hoarding? It can't be clothes as I have not been clothes shopping for ages. Ok, abaya don't count as clothes shopping because abayas are a necessity for me hence, what can it be?
So, I dived into my closet and started digging.
The Wise Owl always says that we should not be wasteful. He said that people often equates being wasteful to only food but in actual fact, it should apply to every aspect of our lives. For example, we may have one too many clothes that we don't need in our closet or one too many shoes that we don't wear. It's not a matter of whether we can afford to have so many shoes but whether we need all of it.
The Wise Owl also said that we will be questioned by God later on Judgement day, on how we spent every penny that was given to us. O.M.G! I think I might be in trouble! I imagined standing before God, shaking like a leaf, sweating profusely, with very fierce looking Angels standing near me, holding a fiery whip. Then God asked me, "How did you spend the wealth that I bestowed upon you during your lifetime?" Still trembling, I would answer, "Oh, I bought shoes that I never wore and handbags that filled my closet". Suddenly, lightning strike and I hear a booming voice saying, "wasteful!" And I find my pathetic self being thrown into the fiery hell along with my shoes and handbags. Brrrrrrrr.....scary vision....
Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, "The two feet of the son of Adam will not move from near his Lord on the Day of Judgement until he is asked about five (matters) concerning his life - how he spent it; about his youth - how he took care of it; about his wealth - how he earned it; and where he spent it; and about that which he acted upon from the knowledge he acquired." [Tirmidhi]
The above hadith reminds me of the story of the Pharaohs. Pharaohs were arrogant kings that accumulated an immense amount of wealth during their lifetime. Their obsession with their wealth was so severe that when they died, their wealth was buried with them in their tombs. They were buried with their jewellery, furniture, clothes, food, pets, wine and even their servants. They believed that all their wealth and treasures can brought with them to their afterlife and bring them comfort.
Honestly, I do not want to be like Pharaoh. I do not want to horde things and keep till my dying breath as I know it would not be of any use to me once I am dead and neither do I wish to be buried with my stuff. However, if I keep collecting stuff and stashing them away in my cupboard, I will be exactly like Pharaoh!
As I rummaged through my closet, I took out all the stuff that I have not touch or set my eyes upon, for the last 6 months. Chances are, I will never use it. It is better to part with it and give it away to someone who needs it rather than being answerable for it later.
If my scary vision ever come true, I'm hoping that I can mitigate my punishment by saying that I gave most of the stuff away.......
