rustic manners, passivity or the state of giving up all mundane
interests. However, this is not true.
When people actually refer to the Qur'an, it immediately becomes clear
that Islam does not suggest such a model. We can see this in the
splendid wealth and possessions that Allah granted to many of the
Prophets. Over the centuries, Prophet Sulayman's (Solomon) (pbuh)
unprecedentedly glorious wealth has become legendary. Sulayman (pbuh),
a Prophet praised by the Qur'an for his exemplary conduct, surely
pursued nothing but earning Allah's good pleasure and had no guide
other than His religion. Indeed, before being endowed with great
wealth, he prayed the following prayer:
He said: "My Lord, forgive me and give me a kingdom the like of which
will never be granted to anyone after me. Truly, You are the
Ever-Giving." (Surah Sâd,35)
If praying for wealth was a practice to be condemned, then a Prophet
praised by Allah in the Qur'an would not have done so. Indeed, the
Qur'an states that Allah answered his prayer. As the verse below
indicates, Allah always mentions Prophet Sulayman (pbuh) with praise:
And to Dawud We gave Sulayman. What an excellent servant! He truly
turned to his Lord. (Surah Sâd, 30)
Prophet Sulayman (pbuh) is not the sole example, for Allah also
granted authority and power to his father, Prophet Dawud (David)
(pbuh), as well as great wealth to Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) and his
family:
Or do they in fact envy other people for the bounty Allah that has
granted them? We gave the family of Ibrahim theBook and Wisdom, and We
gave them an immense kingdom. (Surat an-Nisa', 54)
As we see, Allah condemns any feelings of jealousy over the wealth He
grants to Muslims as a blessing. The Qur'an reveals that the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) was also enriched by Allah, for:
Did He not find you impoverished and enrichyou? (Surat ad-Duha, 8)
At this point, the difference between wealth as perceived by believers
and unbelievers arises: believers are conscious that only Allah, the
real owner of property, giveswealth, while unbelievers perceive wealth
as claiming ownership over property and disregard the fact that all
the property and wealth belongs to Allah. This divergence also
emergeswhen it comes to using property: believers spend their wealth
for good causes, whereas unbelieving property owners commonly seek to
"cause corruption in the land." (Surat al-Qasas, 77)
Wealth, glory, and authority are blessings that Allah bestows upon His
servants. The essential feature here is to use this wealth in the
proper way in order to give due thanks to Allah for them, to
constantly remember His favors, and thus to draw nearer to Him and
seek ways to earn His good pleasure. Indeed, Prophet Sulayman's (pbuh)
words below makes his intention clear:
And he said: "Truly do I love the love of good, with a view to the
glory of my Lord". (Surah Sâd, 32)
However, we need to remember that this life isa test sent to us by
Allah. The level of people's commitment and patience shows when they
are confronted with hardships and difficulties, for their reaction
reveals the profoundness of their faith. Thus, Allah may test people
with such difficulties as death, fear, hunger, poverty, and so on both
to reveal their steadfastness and other superior qualities and to
reward them. However, while showingpatience, Muslims must pray
constantly to Allah for relief, increase, and an expansion of
blessings. Furthermore, they have to ask for these blessings not only
for themselves but for allbelievers, and ask for vast resources so as
to glorify Allah's name. Thisis the attitude that most complies with
the Qur'anic stance.
However, it goes without saying that the criteria used to judge people
in Islam is not wealth, for poverty or wealth does not determine a
person's worth in Allah's sight. What matters is that believers spend
their means, whether abundant or scarce, in compliance with Allah's
good pleasure and ask for wealth only to spend for His cause.
Believers do not hoard possessions, for they avoid the fate awaiting
those who do, which theQur'an describes in the following verse:
As for those who hoard up gold and silver and do not spend it in the
Way of Allah, give them the news of a painful punishment. (Surat
at-Tawba, 34)
Believers enjoy spendingin Allah's cause just as they enjoy benefiting
from His blessings. From this stance, praying for wealth, possessions,
and fortune is an act of worship that brings rewards to sincere
believers. Allah promises to increase the believers'property provided
that they thank Him for them and spend it in His cause.
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