The meaning of wealth in Islam

By Abdullahi Jamaa
When prophet Ayub (AS) lost his entire wealth, Satan whispered to him “All your wealth is lost, some people say that it is because you gave too much charity and that you are wasting your time with your continuous prayers to Allah. Others say that Allah has brought this upon you in order to please your enemies. If Allah had the capacity to prevent harm, then He would have protected your wealth.”

Prophet Ayub (AS) was resolute in his faith, he replied without hesitation “What Allah has taken away from me belongs to Him. I was only its trustee for a while. He gives to whom He wills and withholds from whom He wills,” and Ayub prostrated before his Lord.

These wise words of prophet Ayub (AS) signify a potent manifestation that in Islam ultimate richness belongs to Allah. The Almighty gives wealth to however he wills, like he denies whoever he wills. He makes it easy for whoever he wishes and difficult to whoever he wills.

In the belief of Allah being the final owner of wealth comes with a great feeling of contentment. There is absolutely no point of one having sleepless nights, agony and frustrations when dealing with wealth and its creation.

Attachment to wealth

The material and emotional attachment that one gives to accumulated wealth is a delusion, a situation that degenerates our associations with life and its reality. Attachments that emanates from the lust for money and prestige is an unnerving tragedy that can waylay a believer. Going down the eccentric path of money, by money and for money drains down the soul spiritually.

Many wealthy individuals who have lost their footing in faith in pursuit of wealth have only lived to regret their life bitterly ever after. The life of a modern tycoon may be superlatively lofty and beautiful from outside but empty and monotonous internally.

Blissful happiness gave individuals with ensuing affection to wealth a wide berth. Distress and dissatisfaction is a common neighbor to their troubled hearts and minds. They may achieve some form of physical satisfaction through wealth, but they live and find themselves in an unending agony throughout their life- the metaphysical detachments that haunts and deplete their souls.

Just as individuals struggle to amass wealth, the long and lumpy ropes of life tightens around them. Every inch of irreligious devotion to wealth escalates the reality of spiritual divorcement, sinking individual’s persona into a void of profound dejection.

Meaning of wealth

 

So what is the meaning of an individual’s richness? What is the purpose of wealth and life? The blessed religion of Islam has a totally different view regarding creation, accumulation, protection and distribution of wealth when compared to contemporary capitalism that believes in scarcity of resources.

Wealth is boundless in Islam as the bounty of Allah is not scarce, instead the ability of human being to utilize the creator’s sustenance is limited. The Quran explains “………And Allah is self-sufficient. And you all are needy” Quran 47:30

Wealth is a trial and test to ascertain the level of faith of a believer. Allah created mankind on nature of loving wealth and richness but Allah dislikes those who are overpowered by adoration and greed for worldly possessions.

“Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornments – We fully repay them for their deeds therein, and they therein will not be deprived. Those are the ones for whom there is not in the Hereafter but the Fire. And lost is what they did therein, and worthless is what they used to do” Quran 11: 15-16

Islam presented us with options to decide on whether or not we want this world in its entirety and miss out on the recompense of the next world. If we choose the world and its wealth blindly without working tirelessly for the next world, we will certainly miss the reward of paradise except with the mercy of Allah.

A Muslim who cogitates this world as a temporary stage, will definitely not like to occupy himself in gathering riches which will not benefit him after his death unless he uses them for Allah, such as paying Zakat, charity, establishing charitable projects and other good deeds that involve spending money.

Many wealthy Muslims have fallen into the dangerous abyss of inhumanity, getting too proud, boasting about their wealth openly while allowing their obsession with affluence to negatively impact their familial and social fabrics.

The fundamental objectives of life in Islam is to fear Allah for there is a day of judgement when every soul will be put on the scale of justice and fairness. The balance of life between this world and the hereafter requires endless patience and pondering.

Life is always simple for the spiritually upright, it is easy to live with people if one removes the social tag and class discrimination that comes with vast resources. Life is amazingly enjoyable for the believing wealthy who knows which side of his bread is buttered both in this world and the hereafter.

The virtuous hard hardworking Muslim will have his wealth and money on hand but not in his heart. His matters will be enjoined and he will experience a great state of zuhud.  He will relish a great deal of pleasure and fulfilment. With a great conviction that one’s worldly wealth is a material enjoyment that requires accountability ahead of the day of judgement, one will lead a pleasant and religious life.

Yet the insatiable appetite for more and more wealth have seemingly waylaid many people. It is ironical to witness how so many people especially from the Muslim community have misunderstood the concept of wealth and work.

Because of our bent attachment to money, we no longer see the beauty of being part of the people, we no longer hear the cries of the poor and we no longer smell the aroma of simple and quality life. With the pursuit of richness we have complicated our own life, our time has become so elusive and our homes have gotten so empty.

Allah has scattered the world of wealth making it a harrowing experience to accumulate it. Today in all economies of the world it is not easy to earn a coin because we believe that money is everything.  We chose money over human values.

The consequences of making the world and wealth a primary thing in life is not only destructive to physical wellbeing but also erodes spiritual connection with Allah. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) explained the impact of chasing after this elusive world in a hadith narrated by Anas bin Malik.

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “……… whoever makes the world his goal, Allah puts poverty right before his eyes, and disorganizes his affairs, and the world does not come to him, except what has been decreed for him.”

Poverty is put between the eyes of the one whose focus is only about the glamour and gifts of the world. Whenever he wakes up in the morning he sees poverty even if he is wealthy. He sees hunger and starvation even if his kitchen is full of food and fruits. He always feels poorer and believes that he didn’t have enough. He is dissatisfied, lacking contentment and gratitude.

When a person becomes so ingrained in this life rather than the next, Allah scatters his matters. Nothing of his comes into a perfect fix. Something is always a miss, simple issues get complicated and hard to resolve while complex issues compound and transform into monumental problems.

No matter how hard one works, the person whose focal point is amassing the world of wealth will appear to chase a mirage. Remember this is a person who has accumulated a halal fortune, his only problem is focussing on the world. What if the wealth is stolen or earned through other unlawful or corrupt dealings, it will be a double tragedy that will haunt the owner for good.

Balance of life

Islam encourages its followers to balance life for success both in this world and the next. If a person puts into action the reality of having a great focus in the next life while living in the current, Allah will ease his life and makes it enjoyable.

The choice of whether or not to turn our wealth into blessings is ours and only ours. The choice of whether to turn our wealth into wrath is ours and only ours. Resources require proper management, utilization and consumption that are in tandem with Islamic sharia.

Wealth can make or a break an individual, it may be used in the right or wrong cause, it may be used to defend or deny justice. It is imperative of a Muslim to guard against the fitnah that comes with wealth and money.

The price of our impervious life is huge when it involves our misunderstanding of wealth.  This misapprehension of the real meaning of wealth created a global environment where the pursuit for intangible success overwhelms the boggling mind-set of wealthy individuals.

Allah says in the Quran: “Wealth and children are the adornments of the life of this world.  But the permanent righteous deeds are better in your Lord’s Sight (to attain) rewards, and better in respect of hope.” (Quran 18:46)

In Islam, spiritual establishment of a Muslim is given more prominence than wealth and money. The non-physical strength that stems from your closeness with Allah matters than all the treasures that you have been amassing in your entire life.

Yes wealth is a trial, but obviously negative effects of wealth should not deviate a responsible Muslim who follows the fundamental doctrines of Islam. The blessed religion of Islam dictates the conduct of wealth creation. There are boundaries that must not be crossed as our insatiable desire for richness grows every passing moment.

Caliph Ali (RA) is quoted to have said: “The richest of the rich is the one who is not a prisoner of greed”.  Unfortunately, many rich people in the world today are amassing wealth, building empires and worldly castles through endless avarices.

Martin Luther king Jr. Once said “the richer we have become materially, the poorer we become morally and spiritually”. This is indeed a reality if the world we live in today is anything to go by. With wealth euphoria, it is easy to lose track of the important things in life such as connecting with the less fortunate in the community.

ISLAM is a complete way of life that protects the social, political and economic well-being not just for Muslims but for entire humanity. Fairness and moderation in every facet of life is deeply rooted within the fundamental tenets of Islam where respect for life and livelihood is well cemented within the circles of Islamic Jurisprudence.

Both the Holy Quran and the prophetic traditions support mutual co-existence and benefit for all.  In religious and scholarly texts Justice is repeatedly mentioned as an important aspect in the society while injustice is despised as a grave atrocity against humanity.

Capitalism

The rise of capitalism and materialism created havoc among many nations of the world where few individuals and business entities control the global wealth. A recent study has depicted a gloomy picture regarding the concentration of global wealth.  It says, the richest ‘one percent’ own half of the world’s wealth as the gap between the haves and have-nots increases every passing year. This manipulative economic injustice is unacceptable in Islam, a religion that protects both the rich and poor from injustice and vulnerability.

In recent years, economic onslaught against poor communities has been routinely execrated by ever increasing economic injustices such as land confiscation, manipulation of prices, exploitation, unfair competition and extortion. These economic malpractices occasioned a gloomy situation where poverty has been used as a tool to suppress communities and individuals and to gain more money and properties that belongs to the public.

In the world of today, the poor has been abandoned in the pall of poverty while the rich enjoys life extravagantly. Communities are increasingly consumed into life of abject poverty, courtesy of home-grown capitalists who castigate their own poor families. The rich have mastered the art of neglect and the bane of life has never been worse for the poor.

Islam permits legitimate acquisition of money and properties earned through dedication and hard work. It appreciates and accords wealth and work as acts of Ibadah. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) encouraged Muslims to trade and do business with each other. Some of the prophet‘s companions were also engaged in trading activities further cementing the place of business in our religion.

In the same way, Islam prohibits unlawful accumulation of wealth. Engagement of corrupt deals in both private and public sector is regarded as an intolerable economic crime.   There is no shortcut to richness, there is no economic arm-twisting and patronage and no amount of donations cleans stolen wealth.

Excessive accumulation of wealth is also discouraged as it may render man spiritually insignificant. The inordinate desire to accumulate, acquire and possess more than one needs resulted in a world full of cruelty and confusion. And as man searches for more wealth, he gets obsessed with his own self forgetting the true meaning of life and the benevolence of humanity.

In the world of toady, doing legal business is no longer easy while making honest money is a daunting task. Rampant corruption amidst cut throat competitions hamper all meaningful efforts to run an investment free of illegalities. The urge to grow rich faster, unceasing appetite for flashy lifestyle and a demand for a fulfilling life occasioned a speedy rush for money.

We are typically a modern society that is reeling under the weight of protracted confusion. Contemporary life is too demanding and expensive making many people to look for short cuts to richness or totally transforming into spongers.

The culture of hard work and dedication has long frayed at the edges, individuals spend more than they earn, and they live beyond their means while seething in endless anger and frustration with unsustainable spending habits.

The struggle for fame and name overshadows the true meaning of life. The urge to increase income and the desire for more worldly possessions swamped many homes, devastating families and confining communities into a state of perpetual social degeneration. We have more temperamental dreamers than congenital realists justifying lack of lasting solutions to decade-long community problems.

With rampant deception, economic arm-twisting and underhand dealings orchestrated through elusive corruption both in public and private sectors, modern economic environment is noxious. The toxicity of global and local geo-economic has dealt a deadly blow to honest entrepreneurs as every legal business is up against a brick wall.

The dalliance of unscrupulous businessmen decimated both informal and formal sectors of economy. The rush for cash is overwhelming the markets, diluting both investor and consumer confidence.

The acceptance that wealth belongs to Allah should make one contented and thankful. Only if you believe that wealth belongs to Allah will you truly enjoy the benefits of your richness. Go slow as you accumulate it and consistently reflect on the role of your creator.

Abdullahi Jamaa is the founder of The Plu Media, the publisher of www.theplu.co.ke, a news and information portal for Kenya Muslims. You can contact him by mail: editor@theplu.co.ke or follow him on facebook at Abdul jamaa.