DURING the nineties, I was invited to a dinner by a foreign friend living with her husband in the Kingdom. The financial and social status of this host family was high. The number of invited women was no more than ten. When our hostess invited us into the dining room, the dinner was humble to the extent that I ate all the food on my plate to the last morsel. At that time, the foreign woman was sharply criticized, of course in secret sideline conversations, for the little food she provided. This was despite all the female invitees admitting that they had enough food. However, their argument was: "It is the eyes that are satisfied first before the belly." After the passing of many years, and with the occurrence of one oil boom after another, the changes in the consumption patterns in society, and the increasing levels of extravagance, the old invitation to the dinner came to mind. The dramatic change in the economic situation in the Kingdom recently requires a tightening of the belt, so to speak. Some of the prevailing views on large feasts created a negative shift in consumption patterns in times of boom. Among these views are the expressions "it is the eyes that are satisfied first, before the belly" and "it is better to provide more food than less". These have transformed into a culture of consumption that places great importance on the views of others and winning their satisfaction, to the extent that we spend our money on their behalf. These prevalent views on feasts and parties are repeated in order to justify social behaviors that have negative impacts on the finances of individual families. They impose a lifestyle of extravagance that can be harmful, especially to savings, economic stability and peace of mind. Furthermore, the psychological harm on the poor and deprived sections of society is quite evident. Can the phenomenon of leftovers from buffet meals and feasts of rice with chunks of mutton on top be hidden from anyone? These feasts are the result of the prevalence of these concepts. Most of the leftovers from such feasts are thrown away into garbage dumpsters. It also costs the state huge amounts of money to dispose of these leftovers. Some might justify such large quantities of leftovers that exceed the needs of invited guests by several times saying that they might find their way to charitable societies to be distributed among the poor and starving. Here the intention is important. Was it the host's intention to donate the surplus food to the charitable societies to feed the poor, or was the objective to impress affluent invitees with the beautiful display of delicious dishes? In short, we need to train, refine and discipline our massive egos that enjoy hearing words of praise from others. This ego does not mind meeting limitless demands, even if the ceiling of such demands is raised constantly. This is despite people being conscious of the fact that these practices are unjust to themselves and to others. But what remains is to have a good intention and a strong will in order to contribute to refining and disciplining one's ego. We ask: "Will it cause harm to anyone if a monthly amount is deducted from the income of the affluent to be given to a needy family as running charity (sadaqah jariyah) so that they can purchase their urgently needed commodities?" This emanates from the social responsibility of the individual toward those who are deprived in society. Developing a sense of dealing with others humanely contributes greatly to raising the level of awareness necessary for building a civilized society. Allah Almighty said: "Take sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it, and invoke Allah for them..." [Surah 9, At-Taubah, Verse 103] Can we comprehend the value of purification and sanctification versus extravagance and showing off?
