format_quote Originally Posted by
فرحان
:sl:
Some of you may have better understanding of this so that's why I'm asking question. Is having lot of money bad, is being rich or poor better?
There were multi millionaire sahabas like Abdur rahman bin auf (RA), Uthman Ibn Affan (RA) etc. How did they manage wealth?
Assalaamu alaikum Farhan,
I think the following hadith may shed some light on this matter:
Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ascended the pulpit and said, "Nothing worries me as to what will happen to you after me, except the temptation of worldly blessings which will be conferred on you." Then he mentioned the worldly pleasures. He started with the one (i.e. the blessings) and took up the other (i.e. the pleasures). A man got up saying, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Can the good bring about evil?" The Prophet (ﷺ) remained silent and we thought that he was being inspired divinely, so all the people kept silent with awe. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) wiped the sweat off his face and asked, "Where is the present questioner?" "Do you think wealth is good?" he repeated thrice, adding, "No doubt, good produces nothing but good. Indeed it is like what grows on the banks of a stream which either kills or nearly kills the grazing animals because of gluttony except the vegetation-eating animal which eats till both its flanks are full (i.e. till it gets satisfied) and then stands in the sun and defecates and urinates and again starts grazing. This worldly property is sweet vegetation. How excellent the wealth of the Muslim is, if it is collected through legal means and is spent in Allah's Cause and on orphans, poor people and travelers. But he who does not take it legally is like an eater who is never satisfied and his wealth will be a witness against him on the Day of Resurrection."
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سِنَانٍ، حَدَّثَنَا فُلَيْحٌ، حَدَّثَنَا هِلاَلٌ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَامَ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ فَقَالَ " إِنَّمَا أَخْشَى عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِي مَا يُفْتَحُ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ بَرَكَاتِ الأَرْضِ ". ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ زَهْرَةَ الدُّنْيَا، فَبَدَأَ بِإِحْدَاهُمَا وَثَنَّى بِالأُخْرَى، فَقَامَ رَجُلٌ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَوَيَأْتِي الْخَيْرُ بِالشَّرِّ فَسَكَتَ عَنْهُ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قُلْنَا يُوحَى إِلَيْهِ. وَسَكَتَ النَّاسُ كَأَنَّ عَلَى رُءُوسِهِمِ الطَّيْرَ، ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ مَسَحَ عَنْ وَجْهِهِ الرُّحَضَاءَ، فَقَالَ " أَيْنَ السَّائِلُ آنِفًا أَوَخَيْرٌ هُوَ ـ ثَلاَثًا ـ إِنَّ الْخَيْرَ لاَ يَأْتِي إِلاَّ بِالْخَيْرِ، وَإِنَّهُ كُلُّ مَا يُنْبِتُ الرَّبِيعُ مَا يَقْتُلُ حَبَطًا أَوْ يُلِمُّ كُلَّمَا أَكَلَتْ، حَتَّى إِذَا امْتَلأَتْ خَاصِرَتَاهَا اسْتَقْبَلَتِ الشَّمْسَ، فَثَلَطَتْ وَبَالَتْ ثُمَّ رَتَعَتْ، وَإِنَّ هَذَا الْمَالَ خَضِرَةٌ حُلْوَةٌ، وَنِعْمَ صَاحِبُ الْمُسْلِمِ لِمَنْ أَخَذَهُ بِحَقِّهِ، فَجَعَلَهُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَأْخُذْهُ بِحَقِّهِ فَهْوَ كَالآكِلِ الَّذِي لاَ يَشْبَعُ، وَيَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ شَهِيدًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ".
| Reference |
: Sahih al-Bukhari 2842 |
| In-book reference |
: Book 56, Hadith 58 |
| USC-MSA web (English) reference |
: Vol. 4, Book 52, Hadith 95 |
| (deprecated numbering scheme) |
The translation here says: "through
legal means" and "he who does not take it
legally"… I'm not sure that this translation of
haqq as
legal(ly), does justice to the full meaning of the Arabic word
haqq.
Haqq also has shades of meaning of
rightness, fairness and reasonableness.
It seems to me that this hadith is saying that acquiring wealth itself is not bad… as long as we only take what we comfortably need, and that we are generous with the rest. But that if we hoard it up to stuff ourselves with the pleasures of this world, that it is
not good for us.
Yes, there were Companions who were wealthy. But they were also very generous. The wealth did not stay piled up and collected in their hands for long, as far as I know (of course, I don't know
all the details of
all the Companions, and as people have varying strengths and weaknesses, they were perhaps some who accumulated more than others. But the ones I have read about seem to have been pretty amazingly generous).
Zakat is a bare minimum obligation, I think. Zakat is what
rightfully belongs to others. It is
not ours. Therefore, the giving of it is
not a goodness that we do, it is a
duty that we fulfil. Like paying taxes. It is what we give
over and above this duty that becomes benefit for us.
I believe that as soon as we start accumulating wealth, our hearts start to become corrupted. We start to wish for more, we start to worry that others will take it, we start to fear we will lose it. And the more we have, the more we crave and worry and fear, it seems to me. And the more we have, the harder it is to let it go.
(smile) This is a bit abstract. Let me give you an example: I have a nice house. It is large enough, it is functional, it is warm in the winter, and we have a small air conditioner for one room in the summer. We don't need more. And we are comfortable. And yet, while I was walking in the neighbourhood, I saw a house with many skylights. And I thought: Hmm, it would be really nice to have one of those in the kitchen... Now, the kitchen is nice enough. It is large enough for us all, it has an oven, a fridge, a sink, and a fair bit of cupboard space. But could it be nicer? Well, yes. As it is north-facing, it is a little darker than I like. So a skylight would be nice. But then, thinking about how nice this would be, I started to think that having new cupboards would be nice, too, as the ones I have are rather old and one or two don't shut properly. And a door between the kitchen and the rest of the house would be nice (the old one broke). And why just a plain door? A fancy decorative one with frosted glass would look really nice for people entering the house. And...
(smile) If I were to acquire more wealth, I'd be tempted to start spending on these projects. And I might justify them to myself saying: well, I'm just spending on the basics: my home… And yet, do I really need all these things? Are there not people in this world who are more in need than I am?
I see many Muslims immigrate to Canada. And I am astonished at how they work like crazy to get luxurious homes and cars and expensive daycares and schools for their children and trips back home and… while I know that many Muslims who come to Canada are drawn from the wealthier classes in their countries (and so would be accustomed to richer lifestyles), nevertheless, a modest home here is nice for most of them. Why do they then put so much of their energies into acquiring even more? Why sacrifice your children and friends and community (and even
deen!) for these luxuries? How can you forget the peoples from your home countries that you
know have so much less?
Of course, some
do remember their ties and the poor. But it seems to me that the more we acquire, the more we tend to forget.
Power, they say, corrupts. Well, it seems to me that wealth is this way, too. Perhaps because it is a form of power in this world? And this, I believe, is what this hadith is trying to tell us: wealth, if we take only what we truly comfortably need (we do not have to be ascetics), and if we act as conduits for His Bounty… this wealth is a lush goodness for us. But if we gorge ourselves on it, we will slowly become corrupted, and we risk our well-being in both this life and the Next.
(smile) But this is only my opinion. Only Allah truly Knows.
May Allah, the Pardoner, Help us in our efforts not to get caught up in the endless race for wealth that distracts us (see Qur'an 102:1).