Motivations of Money and Religion

Throughout our modern society no two things motivate people more than money and religion. Its power can divide relationships, change beliefs and even cause death. People have been known to go to extreme measures for both which suggest that the power of money and religion is what people really crave.

Salman Rushdie’s The Prophet’s Hair, contains examples of the powerful of effects of both religion and money. Rushdie tells the story of a family living in the Kashmir valley in India who are torn apart by the powerful effects of a religious Icon; A strand of the Prophet Muhammad’s hair that is encased in a glass vial. Throughout the story there are many religious implications, as well as subtle suggestions about the corrupting nature of money.

From the very beginning of the story we see how the greed of money will play a significant role in the story. Within the first paragraph we are told that, “The unmistakable sheen of wealth was to be seen entering the most wretched and disreputable part of the city” (35). When money is introduced to a community without money, the powerful effects of greed begin to take over. Within the first few pages the theme of money is introduced and we learn how characters are affect by it: Atta is “robbed of the substantial bank-roll” (35), and the flower-vendor “hoping for a large tip” and then “was indeed paid off handsomely” (36). When we are introduced to Hashim we are first told that he is a “wealthy moneylender” and then told his name, Hashim; “the wealthy moneylender Hashim” (41). This shows how Hashim and money are always connected. Most of the details that we are told about Hashim are details about money and how it is related to his life; “for small fragments of Hashim’s large fortune”, “interest rate of over seventy per cent”, “to teach these people the value of money” (41). Rushdie is showing how money plays significant role and is suggesting how people are motivated by money.

Hashim is clearly surrounded and obsessed with money when he is first introduced, though he apparently does not stay that way. It is his switch from money to religion that provides the climax of the story. Upon finding the Prophet’s Hair the narrator tells us that “Hashim’s duty as a citizen was clear: the hair must be restored to its shrine”, however “the moneylender had a different notion” (43). Here we are able to see how greed separates Hashim into two separate people; the moneylender and the citizen. Hashim even attempts to make himself believe that he is doing the right thing by keeping this icon; “ ‘And after all,’ Hashim told himself, ‘the Prophet would have disapproved mightily of this relic-worship… So, by keeping this hair from its distracted devotees, I perform… a finer service” (44). Hashim then goes on to recant and accept Islam as his faith in an attempt to right the wrongs he has committed in his life; “From then on, he began to pray five times daily for the first time in his life, and his wife and children were obliged to do likewise” (46).

Religious Icons are supposed to unify people, however in this story it tears them apart. The icon is a representation of greed. Upon finding the icon greed takes over and Hashim keeps it instead of returning it. Hashim is continually referred to as “The moneylender” throughout the story which suggests that despite his renounced life he is still the greedy moneylender that we saw at the beginning. As the story concludes Hashim’s shift in belief ultimately cause his own death along with the death of his children which results in his wife being committed to an asylum. Rushdie’s story is ultimately an attempt to communicate the negative effects of humanity's two most significant motivations, money and religion. The hair is used as a tool to dictate how money and religion affect each character and motivate them into extreme measures.