Bismillah

From day to day. We keep seeing the same scenes. We keep feeling the same dread. Especially if we are building a family.. So many questions, regrets and uncertainties that we keep piling and holding. The responsibilities are weighing heavily. The previous generation, it seems, never realised just how fast and perilous the changes shaping today’s world would be.

Some of the previous generation, who lived almost their whole life using the fiat system, can’t seem to comprehend how the Gold Standard currency works and how the fiat money, usury and loaning endlessly destroy not only their view on money, but also how little by little debasing the value of money for the next generation.

The Gold Standard was abandoned in every corner of the world in the 1970s. Even in Malaysia, my proud country, doesn’t exclude itself and proudly abandons the previous system to embrace the way of usury of fiat money. The establishment of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), i.e., the Central Bank of Malaysia, in 1959 only cemented the horrifying doom of a slow, cancerous economic disaster. The pegging of the Ringgit to the US dollar during the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis further exposed Malaysians to the relentless grip of inflation, recoverable only if bold, decisive, and immediate action is taken.

But what I am writing today is not about how to fix the system. The system today works perfectly as intended. I lack the right knowledge and the channels to effectively inform, guide, and persuade people about the hows and whats. Instead, my writing today is about how the mentality of the previous generation shaped mine of today.

It was narrated from Ibn Mas’ud that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “There is no one who deals in usury a great deal (to increase his wealth) but he will end up with little (i.e., his wealth will be decreased).” Reference : Sunan Ibn Majah 2279

I still recall my father’s classic saying. “Work hard, apply to become a government servant and from there, you can easily get a loan and have a great and smooth life.” Oh, how convenient these sayings were and are. Perhaps my father knew their meaning, maybe he didn’t, but those sayings weren’t his own; they were the same words repeated by parents everywhere at the time.

They saw how the loan provided ease and accessibility to a better life. Yet, against their ignorance, they provided us with a shovel to dig our own grave, ornamented with debts and anxiety. For years, I have held that “advice”. Truly believe that getting a good job, borrowing money from the bank and having several credit cards are the best ways to enjoy life. How naive I was.

The rise of borrowing, loans, bonds, and credit cards has not only distorted our understanding of money as a simple medium of exchange but has turned it into a symbol of oppression, anxiety, inflation, and widening wealth gaps. The system teaches, encourages and worse yet, forces us to gobble down interest like there’s no tomorrow. We are becoming more restless, more voiceless and paranoid because of the never-ending payments that need to be met, a lifestyle that can’t be achieved and the insurmountable number of unnecessary responsibilities towards the system that is oppressive and cold.

Today is truly the day that we must take action, no matter how small, not just to fix and reverse the results of these fiat, usury, predatory banking and centralised system, but to sow the truth of sound money and self-sovereignty to our children and their children. Even when we ourselves may not taste the toils and sacrifices of fixing the mistakes, we may at the very least become a solid foundation for future generations.

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”

Start with ourselves. Start with Bitcoin, how it works and why it works. Then, join the community of Bitcoiners. The simplest way is to align with the Nostr environment client. Be resistant to fiat and censorship. Withdraw your hard-earned money from the grip of the oppressive fiat system.

A practical start:

1. Self-custody wallet I use and recommend Aqua Wallet https://aquawallet.io/

2. Nostr community client I use and recommend Yakihonne https://yakihonne.com/

These are only suggestions and not mandatory.

And finally, Be self-disciplined, Be self-regulated, Be self-sovereign, Be mindful, Be patient, And most importantly, especially to fellow Muslims, Be the servant that we are supposed to be, Ask for Allah’s guidance in these turbulent times.

Any errors or shortcomings in this article are my own; the ultimate truth and what is best for humanity come only from Allah.

Allah knows best.