Ibn Daud - A Handbook of Spiritual Medicine

CHAPTER 26
Wantonness [Ba{ar]
or Greed [*ir]]
البَطَر
الحِ‏ رْص
Wantonness or ba{ar, is when one demonstrates reckless
extravagance; there exists an excessive desire to need and
want more, usually because one places significant value on
what the fleeting things of this world have to offer, whether it is
wealth, prestige, fame, or the like. Wantonness is also defined as
exuberance or excessive amusement.
WANTONNESS OR GREED
Something similar to wantonness is greed (#ir]), stemming
from the heart’s obsession with wealth, which leads to peopleplundering
and usurping the rights of others. Something similar
is covetousness ({ama'), which is when one prefers things that
conflict with the sharī’ah.
Allāh says:
o “(Imagine) how many societies We have destroyed that
had been spoiled by their (comfortable) living! Those
are their residences, never inhabited after them except
passingly. And We (alone) were the Successor” [Al-Qa]a] 28:58]
o “(Some of) his people advised him, ‘Do not be prideful!
Surely Allah does not like the prideful’” [Al-Qa]a] 28:76] (relating
to wealth, status etc.)
o “And whoever is saved from the selfishness of their own
souls, it is they who are (truly) successful” [Al-*ashr 59:9]
The Prophet said, “The son of Adām grows old and so also
two (desires) grow old with him, love for wealth and (a wish for)
a long life.” [%a#ī# Al-Bukhārī 6421]
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