Attachment to World Origin of Greed in People
The Holy Quran in many verses warns mankind against being attached to the world.
When the love for worldly affairs sparks in man’s soul and leads him toward greed and craving for worldly things, he starts walking in that direction and the more he moves on this path, the more he forgets the right path.
The Holy Quran criticizes extreme worldliness and loving worldly things and warns human beings to avoid them because otherwise, he would trample upon all human and spiritual values.
In several verses of the Quran, the world has been described as amusement and pastime:
“The life of this world is but playing and an amusement. Surely, the Everlasting home is better for the cautious. Will you not understand?” (Surah Al-An’am, Verse 32)
In another verse, it says, “Know that the life of this world is but play and an amusement, and adornment, and a cause for boasting among you, a rivalry for greater riches and children. It is like rain whose vegetation pleases the unbelievers, but then it withers and turns yellow, becoming broken stubble. In the Everlasting Life is a terrible punishment, forgiveness, and great pleasure from Allah. The life of this world is nothing except the joy of delusion.” (Surah Al-Hadid, Verse 20)
In fact, the Quran likens those loving this world to children who are ignorant of what is going around them and are playing without noticing even the dangers close to them.
Some Quran interpreters divide the first forty years in the life of mankind into five periods:
He plays in the first eight years, then is involved in amusement and negligence for eight years.
He goes after beauty and adornments for eight years, then spends eight years being arrogant and boasting and in the last eight years pursues accumulating worldly things.
At forty, his personality is fixed and is unlikely to change until the end of his life. So for those loving this world, there may be no opportunity for thinking about the spiritual life and the everlasting life in the Hereafter.
