Toys

If you enquire a highly distressed adult who has lost a cheap toy about the cause of his distress and were to learn that the reason is the misplacement of the toy, you would be shocked. You will explain to him that at his age, playing with toys is not as significant as handling responsibilities at work, nurturing a family, and making contributions to society. While any loss can be distressing, his reaction is disproportionate to the value of the lost toy.

Collins English Dictionary defines a toy as: “An object, often a small representation of something familiar, as an animal or person, for children or others to play with; a plaything. A thing or matter of little or no value or importance; a trifle. Something that serves for or as if for diversion, rather than for serious practical use.” Anything that is essential or important for your vision doesn’t fall within the definition of a toy.

People of substance and significance realize very early that many things in life are technically and practically toys. Please review the definitions above. Just as we outgrow our childhood toys, they outgrow these illusions very early on. Fancy cars, palatial homes, expensive designer clothes, and exquisite foods are all toys. Many titles and designations at work and in social settings are toys. The list goes on and on. In a parable, a traveler goes into the wilderness to visit a saint’s abode and curiously inquires, “Where is your furniture?” In a gentle manner, the saint counters, “And where is yours?” Perplexed, the traveler replies, “But how can I carry furniture? I am a traveler.” Serenely, the saint replies, “So am I.” The life that the Prophet ﷺ wanted us to lead has no place for such toys. Look again at the definition of toys above: they are merely trifles and distractions. They sap our time, attention, and energies from grand things in life. They keep us away from life-strokes and master-strokes.

Abdullah bin ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took hold of my shoulders and said, “Be in the world like a stranger or a wayfarer.” (Al-Bukhari: Riyadh as-Salihin, 470)

ʿAbdullah bin Masʿud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) slept on a straw mat and got up with the marks left by it on his body. Ibn Masʿud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “O Messenger of Allah! Would that you make us spread out a soft bedding for you.” He (ﷺ) replied, “What have I to do with the world? I am like a rider who sat under a tree for its shade, then went away and left it.” (Al-Tirmidhi: Riyadh as-Salihin, 485)

Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The family of Muhammad (ﷺ) never ate their fill of barley bread for two successive days until he died. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim: Riyadh as-Salihin, 490)

Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) also reported: The mattress of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was a piece of tanned skin stuffed with palm fibers. (Al-Bukhari: Riyadh as-Salihin, 506)

Imran bin Husain (may Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The best of you are my contemporaries, then those who follow them, then those who will come after them.” (Imran said, “I do not know if he said this twice or three times.”) “Then there will come people who will testify without being asked to testify, who will betray trusts and will not be trusted, who will make vows but not fulfill them, and obesity will prevail among them.”

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim: Riyad as-Salihin 508) Maulana Syed Suleman Nadwi wrote the following verses:

ایسے رہے یا کے ویسے رہے
وہاں دیکھنا ہے کے کیسے رہے

حیاتِ دو روزہ کا کیا عیش و غم
مسافر ہیں بس جیسے تیسے رہے

So dear friends, what are the toys you are holding on to?