The Characteristic of Real Shiite; Contentment

This paper is an account of the words of Amir al-Mu'minnān Ali regarding the traits of the real Shi'ites. Contentment is one of the signs of real Shiites. To understand contentment, we must understand the two concepts of wastefulness and satisfaction with optimal consumption. In Islam, abundance of wealth is not condemned, rather, wastefulness and extravagance is disapproved of. One must consume as much as needed, and avoid excessive consumption for pleasure. A content person should be frugal, avoid wastefulness, and be happy with others’ frugality. Hence, greed or avarice is always contradictory and incompatible with contentment. The best way to achieve contentment is to know about the lifestyle of the infallibles, follow their example and strengthen the spirit of obedience and Wilayat-orientedness in oneself. The reason for recommending contentment in Islam is that if man always looks for wealth and fortune, the insatiable desire for worldly pleasures makes him spend all his life on accumulating wealth and always feel lacking in material possessions, whereas the purpose of creation is nearness to God and achievement of happiness; the material needs are preliminaries and are not directly related to eternal life in the hereafter. Attention to contentment, proper use of material facilities and avoidance of wastefulness and greed is to make sure that our potentials are not all used up for material needs and the more important and authentic needs are not ignored.