![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/quality-life-word-cloud-concept-260nw-506151274.jpg.webp?ssl=1\")
<\/a>Quality of life satisfaction vs materialism<\/p><\/div>\n
For years I had been sitting online, adding things to my cart, and then lamenting that I wouldn\u2019t be able to get those things shipped to the other side of the world. It would frustrate me, looking at all the things that the rest of the world enjoyed, and we were unable to have access to. And in my mind, I built it up \u2013 as soon as I got home, I was going to have it all. Buy all those things that had seemed so appetizing to me, all those things that I had deemed so important. I came home \u2013 but soon realized that it was not all that I had thought it to be. Very quickly the illusion of those perfect pictures faded away.<\/p>\n
After the frenzy of buying and enjoying the comforts readily available \u2013 slowly I began to focus myself to the meaning of life satisfaction. I had previously looked at it as a ladder to success and achieving goals \u2013 both material goals as well as academic goals. Yet it seemed that most people around us had achieved these goals and had not yet attained life satisfaction. It seemed as if we would never reach a point of perfection or satisfaction. The Holy Prophet (s) draws our attention to the concept of qana\u2019ah \u2013 attaining life satisfaction in the following hadith:<\/p>\n
– \u0639\u0646 \u0639\u0628\u062f \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0628\u0646 \u0639\u0645\u0631\u0648 \u0631\u0636\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0646\u0647\u0645\u0627\u060c \u0623\u0646 \u0631\u0633\u0648\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648\u0633\u0644\u0645 \u0642\u0627\u0644:((\u0642\u062f \u0623\u0641\u0644\u062d \u0645\u0646 \u0623\u0633\u0644\u0645\u060c \u0648\u0631\u064f\u0632\u0642 \u0643\u0641\u0627\u0641\u064b\u0627\u060c \u0648\u0642\u0646\u0651\u064e\u0639\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647\u00a0\u0628\u0645\u0627 \u0622\u062a\u0627\u0647<\/p>\n
Abdullah ibn Amr (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (s) said: \u201cMost Successful is he who submits to Islam, and he is granted a sustenance that is sufficient for him, and Allah has granted him satisfaction in that which he has been given\u201d.<\/p>\n
Here success has been tied to a deep sense of satisfaction<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 and this is something that only Allah grants to people. Materialism is the complete opposite to this \u2013 materialism focuses on creating want and desire whereas qana\u2019a \u2013 is the very opposite of this. As the Holy Prophet (s) has directed us that wealth is not having the ownership of a lot of wealth \u2013 but in reality, true wealth is the independence of the soul. Abu Hurayrah (ra) says that the Holy Prophet (S) advised him(\u0648\u064e\u0627\u0631\u0652\u0636\u064e \u0628\u0650\u0645\u064e\u0627 \u0642\u064e\u0633\u064e\u0645\u064e \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647\u064f \u0644\u064e\u0643\u064e \u062a\u064e\u0643\u064f\u0646\u0652 \u0623\u064e\u063a\u0652\u0646\u064e\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0646\u064e\u0651\u0627\u0633\u0650) [\u0627\u0644\u062a\u0631\u0645\u0630\u064a]\u060c\u201cBe pleased with that which Allah has decreed for you (in your sustenance) \u2013 and you will be the richest of people\u201d.<\/p>\n We all often get caught in the cycle of want and the enjoyment of shopping to numb ourselves. We also fall prey to the constant advertising around us on social media and especially on WhatsApp. This constant attack on our hearts creates a desire for more and numbs us to finding satisfaction in that which we have.<\/em><\/strong> It isn\u2019t wrong to enjoy shopping or to get what we need \u2013 however the important thing is that we understand that what we buy does not make us who we are<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Once we are able to separate our buying from ourselves, we create a deeper connection to our values and refocusing on why we are purchasing a certain thing<\/em><\/strong>. When we can answer the why we are able to then control our wants and align them to our values. Living a life of Qa\u2019anah is an active choice to conflict Shaitan \u2013 for many problems at home and in our workplaces stem from this feeling of \u2018want\u2019 and desire. Arguments between spouses often stem from a feeling dissatisfaction, children often have all the toys in the world and still feel unfulfilled and are often heard complaining and asking for more things- for once the cycle of want begins, it become a massive hole that can never be filled<\/em><\/strong>. It then seems to be that no matter the amount of work or wealth, never mind what we have \u2013 we will always need more.<\/p>\n \u0648\u0642\u0627\u0644 \u0639\u0644\u064a \u0628\u0646 \u0623\u0628\u064a \u0637\u0627\u0644\u0628 \u0631\u0636\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0646\u0647\u060c \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0632\u0642 \u0631\u0632\u0642\u0627\u0646: \u0641\u0631\u0632\u0642 \u062a\u0637\u0644\u0628\u0647\u060c \u0648\u0631\u0632\u0642 \u064a\u0637\u0644\u0628\u0643\u060c \u0641\u0625\u0646 \u0644\u0645 \u062a\u0623\u062a\u0647 \u0623\u062a\u0627\u0643\u00a0Ali (ra) so beautifully draws our attention to the reality of rizq: \u201cRizq are of two types. A sustenance that you have to run after and search for it. And then a sustenance that seeks you out -even if you don\u2019t come to it, it will come to you\u201d.<\/p>\n This change in our mind frame means that we look at our wealth as something that depreciates \u2013 but with the presence of qana\u2019ah you move away from running after your rizq and look at what you have with a magnifying glass of gratitude.<\/p>\n Changes that bring about a life of Qana\u2019ah: <\/u><\/p>\n Recite this dua daily<\/u><\/strong>: Allahumma Qanni\u2019ni bimaa razaqtani<\/p>\n \u201cOh Allah grant me satisfaction in that which you have blessed me with\u201d.\u00a0Be active in asking Allah to grant you satisfaction in that which you have.<\/p>\n \u00a0Be conscious of advertising<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 understand that when you log on to your device \u2013 you are facing targeted marketing- therefore, make the choice of entering your social media accounts very actively. Know that once you log on you are being marketed and targeted. Choose accounts carefully so that when yo do see things it is aligning to your values and your life choices.<\/p>\n Build your values<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 consider what is important to you and build a life that builds those values rather than things.<\/p>\n Change your life to one of service<\/u><\/strong>– in finding this gift that everything we have should be to create a life of benefit for the world around us, we move from living a life centered around us and our needs only \u2013 and we use what we have to create a life of benefit and service to others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Shakirah Hunter For years I had been sitting online, adding things to my cart, and then lamenting that I wouldn\u2019t be able to get those things shipped to the other side of the world. It would frustrate me, looking at all the things that the rest of the world enjoyed, and we were unable to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7791,132,5452],"tags":[7829],"class_list":["post-61305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-shakirah-hunter","category-opinion-and-analysis","category-religious","tag-lifesatisfaction-materialism"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/quality-life-word-cloud-concept-260nw-506151274.jpg.webp?fit=511%2C280&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-fWN","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-16 20:17:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}