Understanding Salat — Page 29
Qiyam 29 animals, the love mothers have for their children puts some humans to shame. Hens will stand in front of predators and sacrifice their lives to protect their chicks. The accumulation of wealth for status is not a concept foreign to animals either. Some species of birds attract mates based on the beauty of the nest they build. In most of our basic behaviors, we are no different than animals. The only thing that makes us distinct in principle is our capacity for spirituality. As humans, we look for purpose in one material thing after another until we have no choice but to come to terms with our distinct spiritual nature. Our spiritual nature is what makes us dis- tinct from animals, and as long as we live our lives like ani- mals, we can never find true happiness. For us to devote our lives to worldly pursuits is like a human devoting all of his time to animal pursuits. It is like an adult devoting all of his time to childish diversions. For example, an infant can be pacified by dangling keys in front of his face, and he cries when it is taken away. But when he grows into a teenager, he can only be pacified by having a new car to go with those keys. As a teenager, he becomes obsessed with cars, but then he slowly grows out of it. As a man, his obsession changes to women, and that is what he devotes his time and energy to. The value of a nice car becomes its value in courtship. As he grows old, he loses interest in lust, and his new obsession is his position in society. The only value a car has to him now is as a status symbol. Hadrat Mu s le h Mau‘ ū d ra said,