The greatness of a human society doesn’t come from its creative genius or the beauty of the merchandise it develops, rather, it is adorned by the beauty of the relationships formed by its inhabitants.
Though humans by nature have a weakness for the material wealth, throughout history traditional human societies have always looked down upon excessive accumulation of wealth. From the Pharaonic Egyptian civilisation to the Greek, Indus, Persian and Arabian civilisations, human history has seen many phases of material development, with many ancient civilisations raising the edifice of their greatness on their creativity, innovation and material possessions.
But, never in the history of humankind the dominance of the market and goods was as absolute as we see today in our post-modern global civilisation.
No matter how much wealth an individual or group accumulated, no matter how refined were the goods produced, no matter how much finesse the artisans acquired in their artistry, never before man was as subservient to the market as he is today.
Before the rise of the Western Civilisation, humans did not allow market to be all-pervasive. Market was kept at a distance, it was confined to the market place. It didn’t invade every sphere of human lives.
Goods were produced based on the principles of goodness, beauty and utility. Necessity and need mostly drove the market, rather than blatant greed.
Since goods were not mass produced, markets were not flooded by needless merchandise. Hence, needless consumption was out of question.
This naturally ensured balance in the market and also helped maintain quality and beauty. Artisans had time to think deeply, design meticulously and craft each product dextrously, keeping in mind the aesthetic sensibilities and personal preferences.
Freedom of choice and agency drove what people purchased, even when it was a product of luxury rather than a necessity. There was no need for advertisements and promotional campaigns as buyers were smart enough to be wary of artificial inducements.
Modern market has completely obliterated this freedom of choice. Markets now exist virtually, moving with every individual and feeding them constantly, conditioning them into thoughtless consumers.
People now live under the permanent spell of the market, constantly catering to their desires and temptations.
Today, people are not only driven by the market, their behaviour, attitudes and approach to life are actually shaped by its trends and forces of the market.
Market has entered our homes. The whole world, every corner of our society has become the market place and we have become both the merchants and the merchandise at the same time.
Our attention, interests and choices are being sold to the highest bidder and we are mostly not even aware of the transactions taking place on our behalf.
Producing, acquiring and selling the ‘things’ have become the essence and purpose of the contemporary life.
As purpose-driven believers, we are not only ordained to live well-curated, meaningful lives establishing balance in the society, but are also mandated to inspire others towards an existence of eternal balance.
As the torch-bearers of balance and frugality, where do we place ourselves in this mad rush towards material bondage?
Where do we find ourselves in this reign of the merchants, in this cult of things?
As the merchants of ‘good’ rather than ‘goods’ what position do we acquire in the ‘Pharaonic Pyramid?’
Do we work to find relevance within this vicious cycle, or do we expose the trap and find ways to save others from it?
When market has become the God and the merchants prophets, does strengthening the market and aiding and abetting its growth help our cause of dislodging all false gods and uprooting all ‘imposters’?
Does it help our cause of establishing Divine Supremacy by furthering the supremacy of the market? Can we fight this devil by training our youngsters in acquiring high positions in the market and subscribing to its ideals of growth and development?
The more we participate in relentless production, which seems to be the highest form of worship in this market-driven world, aren’t we getting embroiled deeper and deeper into the quagmire of unsustainable materialism?
Think about it, does the relentless pursuit for more, bigger and greater align with Islam’s principles of frugality and simplicity?
The Prophetic way of life is founded on abundant giving rather than accumulating.
The Quranic idea of market is based on dynamic distribution of wealth rather than static accumulation.
As the divinely appointed gardeners and caretakers of this world, are we going to perform our duties better, overburdened by goods created to hold us back? Of what use are to the eternal beings the goods that are transient?
