In Surah Saba, Allah azza wa jall warns us again about arrogance, and reminds us once again of what is important:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا فِي قَرْيَةٍ مِّن نَّذِيرٍ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتْرَفُوهَا إِنَّا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُم بِهِ كَافِرُونَ
وَقَالُوا نَحْنُ أَكْثَرُ أَمْوَالًا وَأَوْلَادًا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُعَذَّبِينَ
قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ وَيَقْدِرُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
وَمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُم بِالَّتِي تُقَرِّبُكُمْ عِندَنَا زُلْفَىٰ إِلَّا مَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَأُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ جَزَاءُ الضِّعْفِ بِمَا عَمِلُوا وَهُمْ فِي الْغُرُفَاتِ آمِنُونَAnd We did not send into a city any warner except that its affluent said, “Indeed we, in that with which you were sent, are disbelievers.”
And they said, “We are more [than the believers] in wealth and children, and we are not to be punished.”
Say, “Indeed, my Lord extends provision for whom He wills and restricts [it], but most of the people do not know.”
And it is not your wealth or your children that bring you nearer to Us in position, but it is [by being] one who has believed and done righteousness. For them there will be the double reward for what they did, and they will be in the upper chambers [of Paradise], safe [and secure].
Hart’s is the only grocery store in Eureka Springs. It’s old, dingy, disorganized, has low quality fruits, vegetables, and meats, and is wildly expensive, but it’s modest, there’s no pretension there, and the owners are likely doing the best they can with what’s available to them. Really, given the power and prevalence of Walmart in the Northwest corner of AR, it’s surprising that Hart’s has held on all this time.
It was there in the 1980s when my family first started visiting Eureka, and it was old and dingy then, if a bit brighter and more organized, and Walmart was a mere shadow of what it would become, and it’s still there 30+ years later.
May Allah guide me to be more humble, despite my affluence and success in this temporary life, and may He help me to remember Him and give thanks to him, and may He count me among the righteous on the day of Judgement.
