ST #50: Nihilism, Consumerism and the Islamic Antidote — Part 6 | Imran Hussein (2022-01-27) ​

0:00:12 salaam alaikum brothers and sisters
0:00:14 welcome back to the sapience thoughts
0:00:16 video series where we're discussing
0:00:18 nihilism consumerism and islam in this
0:00:20 video we're going to be looking at the
0:00:21 problems of modern consumerism
0:00:24 now
0:00:25 we have to keep in mind brothers and
0:00:26 sisters that you know
0:00:29 when we consume and we have a
0:00:31 consumerist system it's not
0:00:34 working in a vacuum right it's leeching
0:00:36 off the resources of the world without
0:00:38 replacing them back and we have finite
0:00:41 resources on the planet so we're going
0:00:42 to eventually run out and these problems
0:00:44 have been picked up by academics and
0:00:46 they've started you know there's been a
0:00:48 lot of noise about how
0:00:50 our world and our
0:00:53 exploitation of the planet
0:00:55 is resulting in the destruction of our
0:00:57 planet itself so for example writer
0:00:59 wolfgang sacher states the more the rate
0:01:02 of exploitation increases the faster the
0:01:04 fitness of nature makes itself felt on a
0:01:06 global scale
0:01:08 interestingly uh during a recent u.n
0:01:12 biodiversity conference the secretary
0:01:14 secretary general stated we are losing
0:01:17 our suicidal war against nature our two
0:01:19 century-long experiment with burning
0:01:21 fossil fuels destroying forests
0:01:23 wildernesses and oceans and degrading
0:01:26 the land has caused a biosphere
0:01:28 catastrophe humanity's reckless
0:01:31 interference with nature will leave a
0:01:33 permanent record just as today's
0:01:35 scientists study the traces of previous
0:01:38 extinctions and these are heavy words
0:01:39 and you can read this for yourselves on
0:01:40 un.org
0:01:42 now what are
0:01:44 some of these effects
0:01:46 that
0:01:47 you know our reckless behavior with the
0:01:50 world around us and by the way you know
0:01:52 as you may be watching this right now
0:01:54 thinking you know i'm not involved in
0:01:56 this i'm not a part you know a part of
0:01:58 these industries but we are because you
0:02:00 are the consumer on the end on this
0:02:02 other end
0:02:04 we are consuming we are in many cases
0:02:06 recklessly consuming things that we
0:02:08 don't even need right things that we
0:02:10 just may think we want
0:02:12 and
0:02:13 as a
0:02:14 as long as we're consumers the system
0:02:15 keeps running right and so we are
0:02:17 directly resulting in the damage that's
0:02:20 being done and look guys here are some
0:02:22 really shocking stats for us to really
0:02:24 consider and think about now this could
0:02:25 be fine on climate.nasa.gov forward
0:02:27 slash evidence
0:02:29 and i mean here's some examples for you
0:02:31 the planet's average surface temperature
0:02:33 has risen about 2.1 degrees fahrenheit
0:02:36 1.18 degrees celsius since the late 19th
0:02:39 century the greenland and antarctic ice
0:02:41 sheets have decreased in mass data from
0:02:44 nasa's gravity recovery and climate
0:02:46 experiments show greenland lost an
0:02:48 average of 279 billion tons of ice per
0:02:51 year between 1993 and 2019
0:02:54 while antarctic lost about 148 billion
0:02:57 tons of ice per year global sea levels
0:03:00 rose about 8 inches 20 centimeters in
0:03:02 the last century the rate in the last
0:03:04 two decades however has nearly doubled
0:03:07 that of the last century and
0:03:08 accelerating slightly every year
0:03:11 since the beginning of the industrial
0:03:12 revolution this is interesting
0:03:16 the acidity of surface ocean waters has
0:03:19 increased by about 30 percent
0:03:22 this increase is the result of humans
0:03:24 emitting more carbon dioxide into the
0:03:26 atmosphere and hence more being absorbed
0:03:28 into the ocean the ocean has absorbed
0:03:30 between between 20 and 30 percent of
0:03:33 total anthropogenic carbon dioxide
0:03:36 emissions in recent decades 7.2 to 10.8
0:03:40 billion metric tons per year i mean
0:03:42 these are shocking statistics you know
0:03:44 and this is the damage that we're doing
0:03:46 and most of us are completely
0:03:48 unaware of this you know and as muslims
0:03:50 and this is something i want you to
0:03:51 think about
0:03:53 as muslims
0:03:55 who now understand the link between us
0:03:57 as consumers and the direct effects this
0:04:00 is having on the environment the world
0:04:02 that we live in
0:04:04 we have to really be considerate and we
0:04:06 should really start thinking down the
0:04:08 lines of being ethical consumers because
0:04:09 look the reality is brothers and sisters
0:04:11 i'm not saying here that we shouldn't
0:04:13 consume anything right humans have been
0:04:15 consumers throughout history we are
0:04:16 consumers but we were ethical consumers
0:04:19 thoughtful conscious consumers
0:04:22 however now we live in a time
0:04:24 where there is this whole
0:04:26 you know facade there's this whole
0:04:28 propaganda you know that
0:04:30 you have to consume everything you know
0:04:32 all of these new things are coming out
0:04:34 you need you need a bit of this and a
0:04:35 bit of this and a bit of that
0:04:38 and we've been driven to become
0:04:39 unethical consumers unconsiderate
0:04:42 consumers you know for what
0:04:44 i mean we're seeing the negative effects
0:04:46 of this now think about this the second
0:04:47 point i wanted to mention was the
0:04:49 hindrance to well-being normally there
0:04:51 is this direct correlation you know some
0:04:53 of these advertisers and analysts would
0:04:56 want you to believe no
0:04:58 consumption leads to well-being the more
0:05:00 you consume the happier you are
0:05:03 false this is not true for example tim
0:05:06 kasser in his book the high price of
0:05:07 materialism which is a brilliant book
0:05:09 and i recommend you guys read it has
0:05:11 clearly outlined and and has shown that
0:05:13 the research is suggesting well look
0:05:17 when you have when you when you
0:05:19 basically consume a certain amount
0:05:21 happiness follows to a certain degree
0:05:24 but when you get
0:05:26 a certain level of goods money
0:05:28 economically you're doing well to a
0:05:30 certain level you have certain basic
0:05:31 needs met
0:05:33 from that point on if you keep
0:05:34 increasing it's not going to keep
0:05:36 increasing your happiness as well your
0:05:37 happiness is going to taper off
0:05:39 so there's only really a certain amount
0:05:41 that you need to be happy you know so
0:05:43 yeah we can have you know have the
0:05:45 things that make your life easier you
0:05:47 know we need a phone it helps us
0:05:48 function in the world that we live in
0:05:50 today you need a car to get around you
0:05:52 know you may need i don't know a free we
0:05:54 need a fridge freezer you know to keep
0:05:56 your food well so you can you know stock
0:05:58 up or whatever the case is but then
0:06:00 there's a point where you become
0:06:01 excessive
0:06:02 and at that point it becomes pointless
0:06:03 and superfluous and if anything it's not
0:06:05 going to increase your well-being
0:06:06 anymore that's it it's going to tap out
0:06:08 but if but you will continue to do
0:06:09 damage to the world around you and to
0:06:11 yourself as well because there's
0:06:13 research that's also showing and
0:06:14 highlighting well you know the more you
0:06:17 become materialistic in your mindset and
0:06:18 the more you focus on acquiring more of
0:06:21 the material world
0:06:23 the less happier you are it affects your
0:06:25 family relations it you know it affects
0:06:28 your psychology because now you start to
0:06:30 define yourself through your material
0:06:31 possessions
0:06:32 you know you start you you start to give
0:06:34 value to yourself through your material
0:06:36 possessions
0:06:38 now what happens when those material
0:06:39 possessions you can't have those anymore
0:06:41 or what happens when you get all of that
0:06:42 thing but those things don't give you
0:06:44 happiness anymore what are you going to
0:06:45 do you know it's it leads to unhappiness
0:06:47 because as human beings we know from
0:06:49 this from the islamic perspective we
0:06:50 want created
0:06:52 to
0:06:53 thrive of worshiping
0:06:55 dunya materialism the physical world we
0:06:57 were created to worship allah
0:06:59 so no matter how much you acquire no
0:07:01 matter how much your mass is not going
0:07:02 to lead to happiness you know this is a
0:07:04 delusion this is a false narrative
0:07:06 you've been sold falsehood you know so
0:07:08 we have to really wake up to this
0:07:10 there's an interesting
0:07:11 um
0:07:12 statement by james e burras in his
0:07:15 publication materialism and well-being a
0:07:18 conflicting values perspective he states
0:07:20 unfortunately the search for well-being
0:07:22 through possessions appears to be a
0:07:24 faulty quest
0:07:26 a substantial body of research suggests
0:07:28 that highly materialistic individuals
0:07:31 and pay attention to this that highly
0:07:32 materialistic individuals are less happy
0:07:35 and more unsatisfied with their lives
0:07:37 and face a greater risk of psychological
0:07:40 disorders compared to less materialistic
0:07:42 individuals
0:07:44 like i said brothers and sisters we
0:07:46 especially as muslims we should realize
0:07:48 this we were not created to thrive of
0:07:50 materialism we were not created to
0:07:52 worship material things to define
0:07:54 ourselves through our material
0:07:56 possessions
0:07:57 allah created us to know him and to
0:07:59 worship him you know allah created us
0:08:01 for for
0:08:02 for greater reasons we're moral beings
0:08:05 ethical beings conscious beings and we
0:08:08 have to employ these things now when it
0:08:09 comes to our engagement with this world
0:08:12 and how we now
0:08:13 you know reshape ourselves as consumers
0:08:16 instead of just being blind consumers
0:08:18 going with the fads and the trends and
0:08:20 just because someone's always doing it
0:08:21 or my friend has this or my other friend
0:08:23 has this i need to get it as well don't
0:08:25 be blind like this be conscious be aware
0:08:27 ask yourself important questions you
0:08:29 know do i really need this do i already
0:08:31 have something which fulfills this need
0:08:33 you know why am i getting this is it is
0:08:35 it just because so i can fit into a
0:08:37 certain group
0:08:38 a certain social group
0:08:40 is it just because i watched this ad and
0:08:42 it created a desire within me and i just
0:08:43 have to have it
0:08:45 ask yourself these questions and remind
0:08:46 yourself of the damage
0:08:48 you're doing if you just continue to be
0:08:50 a blind consumer
0:08:54 now brothers and sisters
0:08:56 let's look at the islamic antidote to
0:08:59 consumerism how does islam address this
0:09:03 wild consumerism or consumerist society
0:09:05 that we're a part of today
0:09:07 now the first thing is it's very similar
0:09:08 to the way islam addresses nihilism
0:09:11 right once you know who you are and what
0:09:13 your true purpose is as a human being
0:09:15 and you find what defines you now
0:09:18 you know that it's your relationship
0:09:20 with your creator you understand what
0:09:21 reality in the world is all about
0:09:24 that void that you have within you is
0:09:25 filled and like we mentioned earlier
0:09:28 consumer one of the reasons consumerism
0:09:30 is so rampant this consumerist mindset
0:09:32 is so rampant today is because people
0:09:33 are empty they need to fill that word
0:09:35 with something but if you fill that void
0:09:37 with with the truth
0:09:39 and you really understand who you are in
0:09:41 relation to your creator and what your
0:09:42 purpose is well
0:09:44 you won't need that hole to be filled
0:09:46 anymore by trivial things like material
0:09:48 possessions right so this is one thing
0:09:50 we need to understand also understand
0:09:51 that we were created to worship god
0:09:53 emphasizing this point again and to do
0:09:56 good we should focus on what the good is
0:09:58 what this good is is it
0:10:00 self-satisfaction and hoarding or is it
0:10:02 being selfless
0:10:03 looking out for others elevating
0:10:05 yourself as a human being from this
0:10:06 perspective not just being selfish and
0:10:08 thinking okay i just need to buy this
0:10:09 and by that and by this fourth thing no
0:10:11 how can i help others how can i
0:10:13 transcend this sort of lower level and
0:10:16 really
0:10:16 discover myself as a creation of allah
0:10:19 the human being you know so these are
0:10:21 things we need to start considering
0:10:23 there's a beautiful narration by the
0:10:25 prophet sallam which really
0:10:28 you know gives us a paradigm shift right
0:10:31 where he said
0:10:32 when a man dies his deeds come to an end
0:10:35 except for three things sadaqa jarya
0:10:38 ceaseless charity a knowledge which is
0:10:41 beneficial that he leaves behind or a
0:10:43 virtuous descendant who prays for him
0:10:46 after he is gone now this is recorded in
0:10:48 muslim and this is a profound statement
0:10:50 brothers and sisters because the prophet
0:10:51 peace be upon him
0:10:52 is literally spelling things out for us
0:10:55 when you're done with your limited
0:10:57 temporary life which is going to come to
0:10:59 an end and again if you look at today's
0:11:01 society
0:11:03 death is not really mentioned
0:11:05 we don't think about death right it's
0:11:07 something that we don't like to think
0:11:08 about because death as the prophet told
0:11:10 us is the destroyer destroyer of all
0:11:12 pleasures
0:11:13 you know and a world that's focused on
0:11:15 consumption and dunya and creating a
0:11:18 worldly paradise and living up here you
0:11:21 know to such a world into such a mindset
0:11:23 the idea of death
0:11:25 is a nasty idea because it ends all of
0:11:27 this you know if you're a consumerist
0:11:29 think about it i mean when you die
0:11:31 you're taking none of your material
0:11:32 possessions with you
0:11:34 then what is it worth
0:11:36 you know at the time of death
0:11:39 your material possessions no matter what
0:11:41 you've amassed millions in your bank
0:11:43 imagine you have millions in your bank
0:11:44 you have multiple businesses multiple
0:11:47 properties
0:11:48 when you die
0:11:49 all of your
0:11:51 belongings
0:11:53 are nowhere near you now they're
0:11:54 actually closer probably to your enemies
0:11:57 than they are to you because your
0:11:58 enemies they also may be alive in this
0:12:00 world but you're gone you've left so
0:12:03 what is it all worth what are we chasing
0:12:05 what are we running after and the
0:12:06 prophet peace be upon him clarifies to
0:12:07 us that when you die the only things
0:12:09 that matter are sadika the you know the
0:12:12 projects that you set up that you get
0:12:14 continuous charities continuous ongoing
0:12:16 charity that you get rewarded for that
0:12:18 it's the knowledge beneficial knowledge
0:12:19 that you leave with people
0:12:21 and if that's passed on you're going to
0:12:22 be rewarded for that and someone that
0:12:24 prays for you
0:12:25 you know prays for you when you're gone
0:12:28 you know and that's what's going to
0:12:29 matter at the end of the day you know
0:12:32 i mean that's that that's as simple as
0:12:34 it is if you really think about it and
0:12:35 the other thing we need to think about
0:12:37 and i want to sort of emphasize here
0:12:40 is
0:12:41 the negative psychological effects of
0:12:44 the materialist mindset as we learn from
0:12:46 the quran
0:12:48 now there's a very interesting story in
0:12:50 sritokf
0:12:51 about the two gardeners
0:12:53 right two friends walking down a path
0:12:56 and you know one of them is
0:12:58 doing much better from a material
0:12:59 perspective material standpoint he has
0:13:01 he has two amazing gardens you know date
0:13:04 palms trees rivers flowing through them
0:13:06 and his other friend is not doing as
0:13:08 well as he is and the one that's doing
0:13:10 well
0:13:11 you see psychologically he's being
0:13:14 affected by his material possessions
0:13:16 to the degree where he becomes deluded
0:13:18 he becomes deluded he starts to think
0:13:20 and he says to his friend i don't think
0:13:22 this is going to go anywhere i don't
0:13:23 think the day of judgment's ever going
0:13:25 to come
0:13:26 and he's deluded to the extent that he
0:13:27 says well even if it comes and i go to
0:13:29 the other side you know i think god's
0:13:31 going to be very pleased with me he's
0:13:32 going to give you even more than i've
0:13:34 got here you know so you can see the
0:13:36 level of delusion that he's attained or
0:13:38 he he he's gotten to because of
0:13:42 his his relationship with his material
0:13:44 possessions
0:13:45 it's affected him affected the way he
0:13:47 thinks affected the way he understands
0:13:49 the world and his life and again this is
0:13:51 important for us muslims to realize
0:13:53 because
0:13:54 many times you have probably noticed
0:13:56 this when do we when do we feel the most
0:13:59 distant from our religion from our deen
0:14:01 when do we feel our iman is low we can
0:14:03 find it hard to connect pay attention or
0:14:05 think back to such times and you realize
0:14:08 it's when things are really good from a
0:14:09 material perspective there's no
0:14:11 hardships in those times you know we're
0:14:13 not being tested when things are good
0:14:15 you know when we have an abundance of
0:14:17 money
0:14:18 abundance and we therefore spend that
0:14:19 money and buy things maybe
0:14:21 those are the times where we are really
0:14:23 distant from our religion and the funny
0:14:25 thing is unfortunately against human
0:14:26 psychology normally the times we're
0:14:29 closest to our religion is when we're
0:14:31 going through hardships and trials
0:14:32 that's when we turn to allah and call
0:14:34 out for help
0:14:35 so i mean
0:14:37 don't let yourself fall into the
0:14:39 position of this man in this story
0:14:40 because what does it take for him to
0:14:41 wake up
0:14:43 he come one morning goes to his garden
0:14:45 it's finished it's destroyed everything
0:14:46 is gone and then he was rubbing his
0:14:48 hands you know
0:14:49 and he's wishing he hadn't associated
0:14:51 partners with allah
0:14:53 very interesting statement in the quran
0:14:54 what partners was he associating with
0:14:56 allah
0:14:57 you know if you really think about it it
0:14:59 was his dunya
0:15:00 his material possessions materialism had
0:15:02 become a type of idol for him he was
0:15:04 starting to worship
0:15:06 his material gods and therefore he
0:15:07 wasn't worshiping his creator
0:15:10 but that trial that tribulation of
0:15:12 everything being removed from him was
0:15:13 actually a good thing for him because it
0:15:15 helped wake him up
0:15:17 right so but let's not let it get to
0:15:18 that point if you have good things in
0:15:20 your life if you have got allah has
0:15:22 blessed you with money
0:15:23 still be a conscious consumer an ethical
0:15:26 consumer you know someone that thinks
0:15:28 about what they're buying and spend that
0:15:30 wealth in giving back in charity and
0:15:31 other you know more
0:15:33 more virtuous acts as opposed to just
0:15:35 spending on yourself and hoarding all of
0:15:37 that realizing the damage it's going to
0:15:38 be doing on your psychology on yourself
0:15:40 and your relationships on the world
0:15:41 around you
0:15:42 be a balanced consumer essentially what
0:15:44 we're saying and allah says in the quran
0:15:46 chapter 7 verse 31 or children of adam
0:15:48 dress properly whenever you are at
0:15:50 worship eat and drink but do not waste
0:15:54 surely he does not like the wasteful so
0:15:56 our tradition doesn't tell us to be
0:15:58 become a monk have one piece of clothing
0:16:00 and go into a cave somewhere no buy nice
0:16:02 clothes buy nice things enjoy those
0:16:05 things but don't be wasteful you know
0:16:08 don't be excessive
0:16:09 in in this in this sort of luxury
0:16:12 enjoy it be grateful for it when you're
0:16:14 grateful that's worshipping your creator
0:16:16 you're thanking allah because you
0:16:17 realize allah is the one that's given it
0:16:18 to you but at the same time give back
0:16:21 you know spend in charity spend on
0:16:23 others you know spend so that you know
0:16:25 others can prosper as well and and you
0:16:27 can help
0:16:28 better other people's lives because
0:16:30 that's what's going to matter those are
0:16:31 the deeds that are going to count
0:16:34 be grateful abu herrera has reported
0:16:36 radhila and that the messenger of allah
0:16:38 peace and blessings be upon him said
0:16:40 look at those below you and do not look
0:16:42 at those above you for it is the best
0:16:44 way not to belittle the favors of allah
0:16:46 gratitude is is a key aspect of worship
0:16:49 brothers and sisters you know and we
0:16:50 have to be grateful for the things that
0:16:52 we have and trust me all of us as i said
0:16:54 in the very first episode all of us have
0:16:56 a lot lot more than people of the past
0:16:58 and the only way we can truly be
0:17:00 grateful for these things is if we start
0:17:02 to
0:17:03 look at the people that have less than
0:17:04 us
0:17:05 then you realize what you have but a lot
0:17:07 of times we spend time looking at the
0:17:08 people that have more than us in today's
0:17:09 society and we're encouraged to do this
0:17:12 we're encouraged to do this because so
0:17:14 that a desire
0:17:15 is created within us to want to attain
0:17:18 more but that also comes with
0:17:19 ingratitude that's another problem of
0:17:21 consumerism now it comes with gratitude
0:17:24 to allah we're not happy we're not
0:17:25 satisfied we always want more we're
0:17:27 complaining you know and when allah
0:17:28 doesn't give us more then we're like
0:17:29 we're not happy with that either
0:17:31 you know so we need to be grateful don't
0:17:32 look at people that have more than you
0:17:34 look at people that have less than you
0:17:35 that will lead to great and gratitude
0:17:37 and gratitude is essentially what we
0:17:38 were created for
0:17:40 saying thanks to allah worshiping allah
0:17:43 so following and adhering to the islamic
0:17:45 dictates outlined above and some of the
0:17:47 things that i've mentioned
0:17:49 this is what will truly lead to peace
0:17:50 and tranquility brothers and sisters
0:17:52 fulfillment happiness
0:17:55 true meaning you know a significant life
0:17:57 that's worthwhile that you can be proud
0:18:00 of at the end of it you know this is
0:18:01 what's going to lead to happiness and
0:18:03 fulfillment it's not going to be
0:18:04 consumerism it's not going to be
0:18:06 materialism you're not going to be able
0:18:08 to escape nihilism
0:18:10 by turning away from allah and you know
0:18:11 what's sad many muslims today especially
0:18:14 young muslims are experiencing nihilism
0:18:16 their lives are meaningless they're
0:18:18 muslim but their lives are meaningless
0:18:19 how does this work now how do we make
0:18:20 sense of this what we have to understand
0:18:22 is the difference between
0:18:24 saying
0:18:25 you're muslim and trying to be and live
0:18:28 like a muslim
0:18:29 you know it's one thing to say yes i'm
0:18:31 muslim
0:18:32 you know i believe in allah but it's
0:18:33 another thing to internalize that
0:18:35 reality and understand therefore the
0:18:37 implications of that which are i was
0:18:39 created to worship allah that is my
0:18:40 purpose and internalize that reality now
0:18:43 only when you internalize it will you
0:18:44 free yourself from realism otherwise you
0:18:46 can't prove yourself from the islamism
0:18:47 and you may end up in the position may
0:18:49 allah protect us where on one end you're
0:18:51 a muslim but on the other end you're
0:18:52 experiencing
0:18:54 nihilism so brother and sisters
0:18:57 that's it and i want to wrap up on this
0:18:59 hopefully you found this series
0:19:00 beneficial let me know your thoughts in
0:19:02 the comments section below
0:19:04 let me know in ways you're going to try
0:19:05 to sort of be more of a responsible
0:19:07 ethical consumer now as a muslim how
0:19:09 you're going to look out for these
0:19:10 things
0:19:11 and i leave you guys with this may allah
0:19:13 bless you guys and i will speak to you
0:19:14 guys in another inshallah future video
0:19:16 series until next time take care
0:19:18 assalamualaikum