Life Supreme — Page 12
LIFE SUPREME. SIMPLICITY 15. Simplicity is a characteristic of virtuous living and the Holy. Prophet (may peace be on him) has warned us against leading a life of luxury: "Beware of leading a life of luxury for verily the servants of God never live luxurious lives". Simple living in the way of Allah polishes and brightens the soul because one becomes detached to a certain extent from the material embellishments of this world. One does not hanker for this thing or hanker for that thing, while those loving luxury are not content in mind unless they have the best of everything. The truth has been said that the richest are those who have fewest wants and the Holy Quran tells us that the best provision is righteousness and not the luxuries of this world. A virtuous person is content with little and is not interested in a life of luxury. Wealth, no doubt, is a blessing and does not necessarily prevent a person from living a simple life although it very often does. . Simple living has always been the way of the prophets of God. The. Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) could have had every kind of luxury he demanded but he preferred to live a life of extreme austerity. His habits were simple. His food was simple. His clothes were simple. His home and its furnishings were also simple. He used to sleep on a rough mattress and recline on a coarse mat which would leave its impression upon his skin. Someone once asked why he rested on such a coarse mat while the rulers of other countries use soft mattresses and cushions. He replied that this was no matter for concern as they had chosen this world while he had chosen the next. . In 1934 Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II launched a scheme known as. Tahrik-i-Jadid. He called upon members of the Ahmadiyya Movement to contribute an annual sum of money for the purpose of opening and maintaining missions in overseas countries. These contributions are in addition to the normal Aam chanda contributions which requires a mimimum of one sixteenth of our income. He also called upon Ahmadis to live simple lives. Some of his instructions were: (1) Meals should consist only of one dish. (2) Stop going to cinemas and theatres.