Bukhl
Definition
Bukhl is miserliness — the habitual withholding of wealth from those who have a right to it or would benefit from it, driven by an excessive love of wealth and a pathological fear of its loss. Al-Ghazali defines it precisely: bukhl is not merely having little or spending carefully, but the specific refusal to give what one could give, driven by the heart's excessive attachment to what one holds. He describes the miser's psychology with remarkable insight: the miser does not experience themselves as greedy but as prudent, responsible, and wise — their attachment to money has constructed an elaborate justification system that disguises love of wealth as financial wisdom.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
Appears in
2 books in the library
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