So are you blest because you don’t possess wealth, Dr Fiaz Fazili discusses what wealth means to a Muslim?Is having less wealth than others a blessing? Would you be surprised if some Muslim brother said to you: "Thanks be to Allah. He has blessed me by not making me wealthy "? Some people will never be able to understand that attitude, and may attach an old story moral, “grapes are sour,” for such an avowal. They consider wealth to be a blessing from Allah, and to not be wealthy, an indignity. Look for the forecast for the Year, economy to -be either in recession or well below its normal growth rate at least through 2009.
Peering into the future is tricky in the business times. But not in our wildest dreams did we foresee anything like the kind of jaw-dropping, stomach-churning ride that lay ahead. The frightening news never seems to end for anxious investors: Frozen credit, crippled banks, sinking stocks, home foreclosures. Many times the financial media publish reports on companies’ profits which do not reflect the true profits and losses. Every financial report seems to have been colored by politicians and crony capitalists to create PR/illusions they wish to foster into the public at large in order to manipulate them. Never before in history have so many investors made decisions based on phony data and false headlines .But even though predictions always turn out to be flawed - it's impossible for even the smartest economists to nail this stuff perfectly. We got ourselves into a very bad mess, and it's going to take us some time to get out of it. Brushing aside the Shari’ah aspect, for any investor real concern is whether every investment and analysis made through the investment and commercial banks is based on true numbers and have not been massaged? Thus any investment decision coming from this data is deeply flawed.
These functionally illiterate investors don’t know from where wealth comes, how it is generated and accumulated, or how it was by our parents and grandparents. Many Islamic scholars believe that this economical recession is due to investments in the prohibited areas of usury. To position yourself for a successful ride through these troubled waters, you will need to grapple with over the next 12 months —a decline in consumer spending, a freezing of business credit, and a rise in the cost of goods sold, meaning further stress and sleepless nights for investors. What do all these things mean to a Muslim? Wealth is a great responsibility in Islam. Like most things in this life, wealth can be both beneficial (Ar: NE'MAH) and detrimental. The economic life of Islam is also based upon solid foundations and divine instructions. The Holy Quran considers possession of wealth a testing trial, and not a token of virtuous excellence or privileged nobility or a means of exploitation. One of the prevailing criteria of the world we are living now is the predominant desire of man towards material wealth. The world is dominated, mostly by the greed of man, translated in their obsession of material wealth. Money, as the symbol of extravagance and richness, has been the magic word of the modern man.
Every aspect of human life is measured by rupees and paisa, credit and debt, profit and loss. Attraction towards worldly possessions is, no doubt, the secret of the test. Allah the Almighty creates all things that He bestows upon man with great sophistication, yet they are also of short duration. This great fondness for worldly things is one of the reasons why man forgets the Hereafter.
Trade and business are specifically mentioned by Allah(ST)as deluders of man from the remembrances of Allah,and repeatedly warns about this issue in the Quran especially those who are involved in business and trading concerning the danger being drawn towards the love of material profit to the point of giving more priorities to their business than to Allah(ST)(Al- Tauba).”The (material) things which you are given are but the conveniences of this life and the glitter thereof; but that which is with Allah is better and more enduring: will you not then be wise?” (Al-Qasas). Islam as such is not against any material pursuit neither it opposes the accumulation of wealth. The only caution Islam put forward is the danger of obsessive preoccupation in accumulating and conglomerating wealth to the extent sidelining the most essential parts of his self, his spirituality. The tendency of being swayed by the temptation of material wealth is indeed very strong in man. The love of wealth according to Prophet is the everlasting inspiration for man to think that he will not leave the world. In this process he may be tricked by Satan and become victim of a disease of deviants, the deadliest of all sins - Kibr (grandiosity; arrogance).
Prophet (saw) said, “Anyone who possesses a speck of pride (kibr) in his heart will not enter Paradise. Earning one’s life through decent labor is not only a duty but a great virtue as well. Prophet (PBUH) is reported as having said that it is far better for one to take a rope and an axe, cut wood and bundle it, then sell bundles, in order to eat and give charity, then to beg from others who may give or not give. There is nothing in Islam to stop the Muslim from attaining wealth and striving for material improvements through honest channels. Do not let greed drive you? Wealth has to be earned in islamically permissible methods. This means that it is not generated from prohibited business activities. How is wealth grown (Invested)? We as Muslims have belief that regarding wealth questions will be asked from us once we leave this world. So needless to say, the means of investment should also be allowed under Islamic law. How is wealth spent? Spending money is also a responsibility of every Muslim. Money should not be spent on unlawful products and services. Nor should money be spent to show off wealth, or spent in vain. Rights of the poor and needy are to be fulfilled. Every wealth has a share that is dedicated to Allah, by paying the Zakat (Charity) to the needy and other charitable deeds .In Islam, money is not an end in itself, but a means to higher values, if it is earned, invested and spend in the correct avenues, it will reward the individual, his family, his society and the Ummah as a whole. The rewards also span the hereafter as well as this life.
While so, a less wealthy man may escape from such inquiries. Isn’t it essential then, that we raise our children with this attitude towards wealth and possessions, and to pass on this knowledge to everyone so that they can protect themselves from harm? The most common goal is not financial independence but to acknowledge the power and greatness of Allah that all the things granted to man are merely means of obtaining His good pleasure and not to forget the pertinent lesson from history of Qarun that abundance of wealth is so far the best demolisher of human civilization.
