We often hear people complaining of inflation. Fuel prices are increasing, groceries have become expensive, and, in general, prices of various items are skyrocketing. However, people are not prepared to adjust their lifestyles. People still squander their wealth on unnecessary pricey items and luxurious holiday destinations whilst also falling into interest-based loans and mortgages. As Muslims we believe that wealth is a blessing and a trust from Allāh. We will be questioned by Allāh as to how we spent our wealth. It is imperative that we spend our wealth correctly and only in Ḥalāl avenues.
Allāh says in the Qurʾān:
“Then you shall, most surely, be asked (to give account) that Day, for (all) the blessings (you have enjoyed in life).” (al-Takāthur: 8)
Allāh also says:
“Indeed, the squanderers are (the evil) brethren of the Shayāṭīn.” (al-Isrāʾ: 27)
A golden rule to remember
The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said:
الاقتصاد في النفقة نصف المعيشة
Moderation in spending is half of sustenance. (Shuʿab al-Īmān)
If a person adopts the following practices in his life, then it is hoped that Allāh will resolve his financial stresses and he will lead a pleasant life (Inshāʾ Allāh):
1. Adopt Taqwā
Taqwā entails abstaining from all sins. While the perception of financial difficulties may vary among individuals, it is imperative that we adhere to the divine commands. Both the obligatory and prohibitive actions commanded by Allāh must be diligently followed. Ṣalāh, Ṣawm, Zakāh, Ḥajj, and all Farāʾiḍ must be performed. Furthermore, we must refrain from engaging in any sinful activities. In exchange for this commitment to taqwā, Allah has assured us that He will provide for our needs:
“Whoever adopts taqwā, Allāh brings forth a way out for him and provides him (with what he needs) from where he does not even imagine. And whoever places his trust in Allāh, He is sufficient for him. Surely Allāh is to accomplish His purpose.” (65:2)
“If the people of the towns believed and adopted taqwā, We would have opened for them blessings from the heavens and the earth, but they disbelieved. So, We seized them because of what they used to earn for themselves.” (7:96)
2. Make Istighfār (seek forgiveness) abundantly
A person should look towards his own misdeeds and take them to be the reason for finding himself in the predicament he is in. He should turn to Allāh and repent. Sometimes, such circumstances are caused by Allāh to make His servant turn towards Him. Such is the Mercy of Allāh.
Allāh Taʿālā mentions the words of Nūḥ ʿalayhis-salām when he invited his people to the straight path, “I said to them, ‘Seek forgiveness from your Lord. Indeed, He is Most Forgiving. He will cause the heavens to rain upon you in abundance. He will increase your wealth, your children, and will cause gardens to grow for you, and cause rivers to flow for you.” (71:10-12)
In another verse, Allāh states:
“O my people, seek forgiveness from your Lord, then turn to Him in repentance, and He will release the heavens pouring upon you, and will add strength to your strength, and do not turn away like sinners.” (11:52)
The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said:
“He who holds firm to seeking forgiveness, Allāh will make an exit for him from every tight situation, will grant him relief from every trouble and will provide for him from where he does not even imagine.” (Abū Dāwūd)
3. Keep transactions clean and free from sin
In this regard, we must seek guidance from the ʿUlamāʾ, acquire knowledge of permissible and impermissible actions, and adhere to their teachings. Any transaction that contradicts the teachings of Allāh and His Messenger (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) will be devoid of blessings; consequently, regardless of the perceived profit or benefit, it will eventually vanish.
The Prophet (ṣallallahu ʿalayhi wasallam) said:
“The seller and the buyer have the right to keep or return the goods until they part. And if both parties spoke the truth and described the goods accurately, then they would be blessed in their transaction, and if they told lies or hid something, then the blessings of their transaction would be lost.” (Al-Bukhārī)
Similarly, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) also said:
“Taking (false) oaths improve the sales, but it eradicates the blessings.” (al-Bukhārī)
4. Recite the following litanies
Nowadays, many people look for waẓāʾif (the recitation of certain verse(s), name(s) of Allāh etc. a certain number of times to fulfil a particular need) to solve their problems. Whereas (within the boundaries of sharīʿah, this is permissible), there can be no better solutions than those shown by the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) regarding whom Allāh says:
“He does not speak out of (his own) desire. It is but revelation revealed (to him).” (53:3-4)
In a Ḥadīth, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) mentions that whoever recites the following 100 times between ṣubḥ ṣādiq and Fajr ṣalāh, wealth shall come to him unwillingly and humbled. (Iḥyāʾ al-ʿUlum al-Dīn). [1]
سُبحانَ اللهِ العظيمِ وبحَمدِه، أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ
“Pure is Allāh and for Him is praise. Pure is Allāh, the Great. I seek forgiveness from Allāh.”
In another Ḥadīth, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) passed by a person who was dishevelled and worried, at which the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) told him to recite the following words through which his worry and poverty would go away. The words were:
تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلٰى الْحَيِّ الَّذِى لَا يَمُوْتُ وَقُلِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِي لَمْ يَتَّخِذْ وَلَداً وَلَم يَكُنْ لَّهُ شَرِيكٌ فِي ٱلْمُلْكِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَّهُ وَلِيٌّ مِّنَ ٱلذُّلِّ وَكَبِّرْهُ تَكْبِيراً
“I place my trust in the Ever Living who is not to die, Praise belongs to Allāh who has neither had a son, nor is there any partner to Him in His kingdom, nor is anyone (needed) to protect Him from (any) weakness. And proclaim His greatness, an open proclamation.” (Abū Yaʿlā)
اللَّهمَّ اكْفِني بحلالِكَ عَن حَرَامِكَ، وأَغْنِنِي بِفَضلِكَ عَمَّن سِوَاكَ
Translation: O Allāh! Let the Ḥalāl things you provide suffice me from Ḥarām, and by Your Grace, keep me independent from all besides You.
5. Recite Sūrah Al-Wāqiʿah every night
Imām al-Qurṭubī (raḥimahullāh) narrates the following incident in his Tafsīr:
ʿUthmān raḍiyallahu ʿanh visited ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd raḍiyallāhu ʿanh during the last stages of the latter’s life. ʿUthmān raḍiyallāhu ʿanh asked him, “What is your illness?” ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd raḍiyallāhu ʿanh replied, “My sins.” He then asked him, “Is there anything you desire?” ibn Masʿūd raḍiyallāhu ʿanh replied, “The Mercy of my Rabb.” ʿUthmān raḍiyallāhu ʿanh then asked if he would like him to re-issue the allowance that was allocated for him during his life that he had refused. When he declined, ʿUthmān raḍiyallāhu ʿanh said, “Let it be for your daughters for after your death.” Upon this, ibn Masʿūd raḍiyallāhu ʿanh asked, “Do you fear poverty upon my daughters after my death? I have instructed them to recite Sūrah al-Wāqiʿah every night; for I have heard the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) say, ‘Whoever recites Sūrah al-Wāqiʿah every night shall never be afflicted with poverty.’” (al-Qurṭubī, Musnad Abū Yaʿlā)
6. Wash your hands before and after meal
Imām al-Ṭabarānī (raḥimahullāh) has quoted a Hadīth in which the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said:
“Washing hands, before and after food, safeguards against poverty.”
7. Make duʿāʾ (supplicate to Allāh)
The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said:
“Indeed, duʿāʾ is of benefit for those things that have descended and (also) for those things that have not yet descended. O servants of Allāh, hold fast on to duʿāʾ.” (al-Tirmidhī)
8. Begin early in the morning
The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) made this duʿāʾ: “O Allāh, grant barakah (blessings) to my ummah in the early (first) part of the day.” Ṣakhr al-Ghāmidī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanh), the narrator of this Ḥadīth, was a trader. He used to dispatch his goods in the first part of the morning. Due to this, he earned so much wealth that he did not know where to keep it. (Musnad Aḥmad)
9. Maintain family ties
Anas (raḍiyallāhu ʿanh) narrates, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said: “Whoever wants to have an increase in his provision and to live long, should maintain ties with his blood relatives.” (al-Bukhārī)
10. Give an interest-free loan
Allāh Taʿālā says in the Qurʾān: “Who is it that would loan Allāh a good loan so He may multiply it for him many times over? And it is Allāh who withholds and grants abundance, and to Him you will be returned.” (al-Baqarah)
11. Place your trust in Allāh (Tawakkul)
The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said: “If you trust in Allāh as you ought to, He will provide you with sustenance just like the birds are provided with sustenance. They emerge in the morning with an empty stomach and return in the evening with a full stomach.” (al-Tirmidhī)
12. Make Salām upon entering the home
When entering the house, make salām (say As-salāmu ʿalaykum), recite ṣalawāt (durūd) upon the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) and recite Sūrah Ikhlāṣ. A person came to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) and complained about poverty and difficulty in earning. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said to him, “When you enter your house, make salām whether there is someone present or not, send salām upon me and recite Surah Ikhlāṣ once.” The person did as he was told. As a result, Allāh sent so much of sustenance to him that he began spending on his relatives and neighbours.” (Al-Qawl al-Badīʿ, Jalāʾ al-Afhām)[2]
13. Discharge Zakāh on time
The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said: “One who discharges his Zakāh of his wealth correctly, its harm (i.e. theft, destruction, etc.) and loss is removed.” (al-Bayhaqī)
The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) also said, “Protect your wealth by giving Zakāh.” (Al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr)
14. Give Ṣadaqah (optional charity)
Allāh says in the Qurʾān: “Allāh destroys ribā (usury/interest) and increases charities.” (al-Baqarah)
The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said: “While a man was in the wilderness, he heard a voice in a cloud (saying), Irrigate the garden of so-and-so. The cloud moved and rained upon some stony ground, where there was a channel that gathered all the water. He followed the water, and found a man standing in his garden, and diverting the water with his spade. He said to him, ‘O slave of Allāh, what is your name?’ He said, ‘So-and-so’ – the same name that he had heard from the cloud. He said to him, ‘O slave of Allāh, why did you ask me about my name?’ He said, I heard a voice in the cloud from which this water came, saying, ‘Irrigate the garden of so-and-so, and it was your name. What do you do with it (the garden)?’ He said, (I preferred this to remain a secret between me and Allāh but) as you have said all of this, (I will tell you). I look at what it (the garden) produces, and I give one-third in ṣadaqah, my family and I eat one-third, and I reinvest one third back into it (the garden).” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
15. Be grateful to Allāh
Allāh Taʿālā says in the Holy Qurʾān: “If you are grateful, I will definitely give you more.” (Sūrah Ibrāhīm)
So be grateful to Allāh with your tongue, your heart, by using His blessings in the correct manner and by obeying His commands.
Abū Hurayrah (raḍiyallāhu ʿanh) narrates that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said: “Look at those who are below you (i.e. those who have less than you financially) and do not look at those who are above you. That will be more likely to prevent you from being ungrateful for Allāh’s bounties upon you.” (al-Bukhārī)
In worldly matters, one should look at those who are less fortunate and one will be grateful for what Allāh has given.
(Mufti) Bilal al-Mahmudi
28 Rabīʿ al-Thānī 1446 / 31 October 2024
[1] https://hadithanswers.com/reciting-tasbih-for-ease-in-sustenance/
[2] https://hadithanswers.com/reciting-durud-and-surah-ikhlas-when-entering-ones-home/