Studying the chapter of zakah this semester has changed my idea about money. Living the student life I became very stingy and miserly; calculating to the last penny and always feeling worried about the lack of money we had. As a student, that is acceptable as we were rightfully poor as ibn sabeel.
After learning about zakah (and other money matters) I learnt a few things on how Islam views money and wealth. Working life is a different matter. I can't apply the same attitude to money as I did before. Let me share a few.
1. Wealth is rizq from Allah and Allah loves to see the signs of His favours upon us. So if we have money, then we should buy things we can afford. This means if someone can afford a BMW, then it is inappropriate for him to buy a Kancil. He should buy a BMW and this is not extravagance.
2. Extravagance does not mean buying expensive things or good quality things. It is when you spend more than you can afford for things that are unnecessary. Like when building a masjid, it is unbecoming to spend lots of money to decorate the masjid with calligraphy but it is acceptable, in fact, recommended to spend money for a good quality, thick, comfortable carpet for the masjid.
3. If we have money we should trade with it (i.e. find a way to make it grow) and not just let it stay dormant. Otherwise it will just be eaten up by zakah.
4. We should not hoard money or wealth with the fear of poverty. We should save for a rainy day but not excessively or to the expense of living a stingy life. Hoarding or saving excessively can easily make us think that we can keep our wealth if we save hard enough. But Allah can make the richest man poor in a blink of an eye. Wealth is temporary, so use it when you have it.
5. Giving in sadaqah increases your wealth. Muslims must believe in this.
6. We must make du'a that our wealth is given barakah. This means even a little money can go a long way.
7. We cannot fear poverty but we must make du'a not to be poor as poverty can lead to kufr. Allah is the Provider of rizq, even for the small ant. A bird leaves its nest in the morning not knowing where and when he will fill his belly with food. But Allah provides it and it goes back to its nest with its stomach full. Nobody knows what he will earn tomorrow. This is probably the most difficult concept of all.
Wallahu a'lam.
Ask me for the dalils if you want them.
4 comments:
number 1 is just weird on so many levels. care to elaborate?
nice entry :)
zaid- sure, man. I probably didn't write that paragraph well enough.
it means when you intend to buy something you need, you should buy something that you can afford especially if it means that it is of higher quality if it is more expensive. so if you want to buy clothes for instance. if you can afford a $100 shirt, then buy it. don't buy a $10 shirt.
(exception la if you wanted to buy an old tshirt to do dirty work in or sumthing like that)
the basic theme is Allah loves to see the effects of His favours on us. If he gives us wealth then we should spend it to make our lives easier, more comfortable, look better.
Once, Imraan ibn Husayn came out wearing a fine garment, and when he saw how his friends were looking at him (in disapproval), he said: “The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “Allah loves to see the effect of His Bounties on His slaves.”
Another instance of this is: Ibn Abi al-Ahwas said: I came in shabby clothes to see the Prophet and he said: "Do you have money?" I said yes. He said: "From where does your money come?" I said: "Allah has given me camels and sheep and horses and slaves." He said: "Then if Allah gave you money and possessions, he likes for you to show it."
However what is the limit to this? The following hadith tells us:
The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “Eat, drink and give out in charity without arrogance or exaggeration, because Allah loves to see the effect of His Bounties on His slave.” Therefore, the limit when expressing and showing the effect of the favours from Allah on oneself is to neither be boastful and proud, nor to exaggerate.
Going back to the BMW example. It is not extravagance when someone who can afford it buys it. In fact, as with the shabby clothes; he should not be buying a kancil if he has that kind of money.
Wallahu a'lam
i was nodding through the article, especially point no 3. ramai orang komplen bab nak bayar.
yang no 1 tu, entahlah..my ex banyak hutang. hehe. tapi tak reti manage hutang dia walaupun gaji banyak
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