Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 391
! ! 391 this reason, our country is growing weaker by the day. The strange thing is that our countrymen are making their own conditions worse. They are bent up on weakening their country by way of their [emphasis upon] jewelry and wealth. Farmers may live simply , but they tend to spend more than they can afford on their weddings , and they waste the rest of their lives pay ing off the accumulation of interest. We have a real - life example of someone in Ferozepu r who borrowed fifty rupees, but in paying off interest upon interest, the result was that he ended up paying hundred s of thousands in debt ! Similarly , people who live in the city also tend to do unnecessary overspending. I have brought this to the Jama'at ’ s attention several times before and I am bringing this to your attention again today. I nst ead of taking out loans why do you not sav e first , so that you are not compelled to take out a loan? You may say that there is nothing left over to save , but when you do not have eno ugh money for food, do you simply skip a meal? Of course not. Y ou go and get a loan for the groceries. I say to you, go hungry, so that your children will pray for you in the future. Every person can save some amount of money to the extent of his or her means. If you begin to save a little at a time and continue to keep saving, then your husband will not be compelled to go to moneylenders to borrow money. After all, reflect for yourself, why would you put your children in debt for a mere four or five rupees ? B orrowing this trivial amount of money could result in your children spending the rest of their lives in servitude to pay off the debt. They will always say , ‘ Go d have mercy on our grandfather for he has burdened us with a debt of ten thousand rupees , forced us to live in servitude to the moneylender. ’ If their mothers had consistently saved even a small amount and kept their desires in check , they would not have taken out a loan and would have been saved from a life of servitude. Being frugal is the first and foremost duty of the citizen of any nation and it is this prudence , which can lead a nation towards success. You must stop your husband from unnecessary spending and save your children from servitude. Thus, continue to save one thing or other and attempt to maintain simplicity in what you eat.