Seventeenth Ramadan Lecture Presented by Al-Sayyid Abdul Malik Badruddin Al-Houthi, 1444 A.H.
The test of wealth and poverty
&
the consequences of prioritizing the worldly life over the Hereafter
I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the outcast.
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. I believe that there is no god but Allah, the Sovereign and the Manifest Truth, and that Muhammad, our master, is His servant, Messenger, and Last Prophet.
O Allah, confer Your salat and blessings upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad as You conferred Your salat and blessings upon Ibrahim and the Family of Ibrahim. You are Owner of Praise, Owner of Glory! And be pleased with Muhammad's good companions and all Your righteous servants and mujahidin.
O Allah, guide us and grant us acceptance, for You are All-Hearing, All-Knowing; accept our repentance, for You are the Relenting and the Merciful.
Brothers and sisters, peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Humans in this life are in a field of responsibility and testing, and they receive care from Allah within the framework of their role in this life as vicegerents of Allah on the earth. The process of testing for humans is extensive, for they are tested in various aspects of life and face numerous trials.
One of the most sensitive and significant tests for humans is the test of wealth and poverty, abundance of provisions and restriction of provisions. Since this test is directly related to one's livelihood and his basic life requirements, it has a profound impact on many people and holds great sensitivity for them.
Through His wisdom, Allah (the Almighty) tests some people with abundance in provision, while testing others with restricting their provision. Restricting provision is the opposite of abundance—that is, provision is in a limited measure. And a person's circumstances may change sometimes throughout his life journey. Thus, he may experience being tested with both abundance and restriction of provision, and these states may be repeated for a person at different stages of his life multiple times: Sometimes he goes through eased circumstances with abundant provision, while at other times he is tested with restriction in provision. Some are tried, or tested, with restriction of provision as the dominant state, while others have abundance as the dominant form, even to the degree of wealth and owning great fortunes.
Allah's wisdom behind restricting and expanding provision and his practice of bestowing blessings
All of these situations are tests:
- When a person is in a state of poverty and provision restriction, he is being tested. He is going through a test. Will he have patience? Will he abstain from prohibitions? Will he remain reliant on Allah and hopeful in Him? Will he seek refuge in Him? Will he prioritize greater concerns, with his perspective and hopes extending beyond this worldly life to the realm of the Hereafter and the immense rewards promised by Allah? Or will the restriction of sustenance affect him, leading him to engage in forbidden acts, transgress boundaries, and strive to acquire wealth to alleviate his difficult circumstances?
- In a state of abundance of provisions, a person is also being tested. Will he express gratitude for this blessing?
Allah has wisdom in the matter of managing people's provisions—some experiencing abundance while others have limited sustenance. This wisdom is part of His comprehensive management of His creation to ensure integration between them. The same is true when it comes to His blessings and what He bestows upon His servants. What He bestows is not limited to wealth, abundance of provisions, or matters of sustenance. It includes the psychological and moral levels as well:
- For example, some individuals are gifted with intelligence, wisdom, good planning, and astuteness.
- Some are endowed with courage and some abilities—there are also those who are given health and well-being, which are among the greatest and most important blessings, and some possess physical capabilities, endurance, energy, and strength in their bodies, and senses.
Thus, what Allah bestows upon His creation is vast and diverse. The examples mentioned here are just a few.
Allah's design for them is that they complement each other, complete one another, and depend on one another. Each individual has been granted a specific talent and has been blessed in a specific field, and all of this is within the framework of responsibility, which entails obligations in this life that Allah has pointed out in His guidance and instructions.
Human beings are put to this test according to Allah's wisdom that ensures the integration of people with each other based on the talents Allah has bestowed upon them. If Allah had made everyone wealthy, life would come to a halt in terms of work: If everyone were rich, what incentive would there be for work, especially in many tasks that involve hardship? Many would abstain from such work because what makes them interested in work is to secure sustenance. Therefore, through work, life is sustained, and work encompasses various fields, including demanding tasks. However, these tasks are important in life, in building and sustaining life, and in providing the necessities and essential services for humans. This is one aspect.
The other aspect is that Allah, in the Quran, also says, {'Had Allah given abundant provisions to His servants, they would have certainly transgressed throughout the land. But He sends down whatever He wills in perfect measure. He is truly All-Aware, All-Seeing of His servants'}. Allah is capable of extending sustenance abundantly to all His servants, making it readily available to everyone. However, Allah, Who is All-Knowledgeable about His servants, knows that if this were the case, it would lead to tremendous corruption, transgression, injustice, and severe consequences. Therefore, there are certain limitations and a certain threshold for everyone, even the wealthy, the rich, the powerful, and the wealthy nations. Ultimately, there is a certain level of capabilities in their reality, policies, and positions which they cannot exceed. They do not have the ability to surpass it. Some may also be struck afterwards due to their transgressions, losing the blessings they had and experiencing a different reality. Discussing this point can be lengthy, and we would delve into many details.
The Islamic system and its guidance to address the state of misery
In the context of people's living conditions and livelihoods, and in the matter of restricting sustenance, Islam offers a system that mitigates the state of destitution and provides care and support to the poor. This is accomplished through Zakat , voluntary donations, acts of righteousness, and charitable works of goodness in which spending is commanded by Allah for their relief and support. The wealthy bear financial responsibilities and obligations towards this cause. This is one aspect.
On the other hand, Allah (Glory be to Him) instills hope in people that if they rectify themselves, return to Him, abide by His guidance and instructions, and exercise patience, He will bring about significant changes in their circumstances and improve their life conditions. Moreover, a faithful and patient individual is granted contentment by Allah and is liberated from the state of greed, which adversely affects people and exacerbates their poverty and misery. The more one is consumed by greed, the more difficult it becomes for him to bear, and he becomes driven by unnatural impulses and desires after the requirements of life. Greed is an extremely alarming state, which is why Allah says, {'And whoever is protected from the Shuh of his soul, it is those who will be the successful'}.
Furthermore, it should be noted that responsibilities on everyone, concerning financial matters, are determined based on his capabilities and circumstances, and what he can afford to provide. No one is burdened with obligations beyond that. There is leniency for the poor, and their responsibilities even include providing for their families and fulfilling other obligations according to their circumstances and what they can afford, for they are not burdened with the same responsibilities as those who are well-off and have been granted abundance in their sustenance.
Islam then guides towards an economical way of living and warns against extravagance and wastefulness. Those who seek luxury in this life, who strive for indulgence, pursue all desires and pleasures, and only focus on that, fall into a state of loss, get entangled, engage in sinful deeds, exhaust themselves, and ultimately lose even their faith, morals, humanity, and dignity, among other things.
Islam guides people to have their concerns and outlook on material resources driven by a sense of responsibility. For example:
- Muslims as a community are required to strive to prepare themselves to the best of their abilities to become a strong ummah that fulfills its religious responsibilities before Allah, the Almighty. This includes engaging in Jihad for the sake of Allah, enjoining good, forbidding evil, confronting their enemies, and achieving independence based on their identity and belonging.
- They also required to build their economic reality to be strong in general and achieve self-sufficiency, so that they are not dependent on their enemies and their strength is not in the hands of their adversaries.
And when people adopt this approach, their concern for livelihood matters and economic development becomes part of their Jihad and actions through which they seek closeness to Allah. This also makes them purify themselves from extravagance, indulgence in blessings, wastefulness, and the negatives that arise when desires, lusts, pleasures, and luxury become the driving force. The focus shifts significantly.
Testing people with abundance in provision or restriction of provision
With regard to the matter of testing either with ease and vast means of provision or with restriction of provision, Allah (Glory be to Him) says in the Holy Quran:
{'So, as for man, whenever his Lord tries him through honouring and blessing him, he says, "My Lord has honoured me." But when He tries him and restricts his provision, he says, "My Lord has humiliated me." No! But you do not honour the orphan. And you do not encourage one another to feed the poor. And you eat the heritage with indiscriminate eating. And you love wealth with an ardent love'}.
In these blessed verses of Surah Al-Fajr, Allah clarifies to us that He tests some people by provision: He provides them with provision and extends it for them, and such a test entails obligations and responsibilities. Some people do not understand that this is a matter of testing; instead, they think that Allah loved them personally, so He honours and grants them because they are deserving and meritable. Such a person forgets that it is a matter of testing and so forgets the responsibilities and obligations he has towards what Allah has bestowed upon him, forgets how to express gratitude for this grace, and forgets to fulfil his responsibilities towards it. That is why he becomes vain and boastful, and he turns his attention only towards enjoying money, being preoccupied with it, and being distracted with increasing it, investing it, saving it, using it for trade, etc.
{'But when He tries him and restricts his provision'}—Allah tests a person by restricting his provision, but he forgets that this is a test and forgets that he should deal with such a test by being patient, seeking the protection of Allah (Glory be to Him), abstaining from what is forbidden, restricting himself to what is lawful], hoping for what is with Allah (Glory be to Him) and for the great reward Allah has prepared for the patient, etc. Rather, what he does is getting depressed, developing ill feelings, and allowing his difficult circumstances to affect him; this is the case of many people. {'He says, "My Lord has humiliated me,"'} for he thinks that Allah does not love but humiliates him. Indeed, he thinks that Allah has honoured those but has humiliated him, and forgets that it is a testing matter.
{'No!'}: This is a refutation to this wrong view and thinking by many of those who are extensively provided and many of those who are restrictedly provided. The matter is not as they imagine, for it is a matter of testing, and this test entails obligations over the rich towards the poor. {'But you do not honour the orphan. And you do not encourage one another to feed the poor. And you eat the heritage with indiscriminate eating'} that gathers between what is lawful and what is forbidden.
The serious consequences of pursuing worldly adornments and forgetting the Hereafter!
{'And you love wealth with an ardent love'}: This is the problem. Indeed, when one's love for money gets beyond the normal level as a need and means for living and when this love becomes an extensive love—{'an ardent love'}—that dominates everything, it makes one do forbidden things, fall short in fulfilling his obligations, and neglect his duties and responsibilities.
It is evident that the test in such matters is sensitive for people. Therefore, the Quran has focused on correcting one's orientation within the framework of responsibility and on making a person's focus extend beyond this life. If you are dragged to what this life offers in terms of needs, requirements, desires, and lusts, these needs themselves will be available to you even in a greater, more abundant, and more sublime way in the eternal life, in Jannah. If your ambitions are to obtain a palace, a farm, or immense capabilities and are to live comfortably without troubles or difficulties, this is possible for you in Jannah more wildly than it is in this world. In this life, even if a person obtains a specific blessing or abundance, there are obstacles, tests, obligations, fears, risks, circumstances that may affect the person, etc. Hence, Allah drags our attention to how our will should be directed to Him and the Hereafter. If we obtain anything in this world, we should use it to reach those great, eternal, permanent blessings. Our entire focus and orientation should not be towards the desires of this life.
Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'Whoever desires this worldly life and its luxuries, We will pay them in full for their deeds in this life—nothing will be left out. It is they who will have nothing in the Hereafter except the Fire. Their efforts in this life will be fruitless and their deeds will be useless'}. If all your concern and orientation in this life is towards this world, its requirements, its wealth, and its adornments, and you have no concern or attention towards your future in the Hereafter (the important, eternal future), then you will receive only what is written for you from this world, but you will lose your eternal future and great blessings. If you were dragged to this world because of the desires, whims, and lusts it contains, then in the Hereafter, there is what is greater, finer, more lasting, and more enduring without any troubles. So how come you choose what is little and ephemeral over what is abundant, lasting, sublime, eternal, and great? Such an approach indicates that your calculations are grossly wrong.
Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'Whoever desires this fleeting world , We hasten in it whatever We please to whoever We will; then We destine them for Jahannam, where they will burn, condemned and rejected. But whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it accordingly, and is a believer, it is they whose striving will be appreciated. We provide both the former and the latter from the bounty of your Lord. And the bounty of your Lord can never be withheld'}. In this world, whoever is totally obsessed with this fleeting life (its pleasures, desires, and wealth) and has no concern for the Hereafter, {'We hasten in it whatever We please to whoever We will,'} but he will completely lose in the Hereafter, as in the Hereafter, he will get only Hellfire and permanent torment. Just as soon as he enters Hellfire, such a person will forget any blessing he may have enjoyed and anything he may have attained in this life.
However, one who directs his desires and efforts towards the Hereafter even in his concerns of this life (living concerns, practical concerns, and economic concerns) and connects them with the matter of the Hereafter (its deeds and affairs), how will this end up for him? He will obtain Allah's promise—{'It is they whose striving will be appreciated'}—and will not remain in this life with no sustenance or care: Allah says, {'We provide both the these and the those'}—meaning both the ones who desire this fleeting life and those who desire the Hereafter, and this is only in this life—{'from the bounty of your Lord. And the bounty of your Lord can never be withheld.'}
Allah sets forth the offer of care and good for humans. He offers for you the good of this life and the Hereafter, and you feel satisfied and content with what He grants you in this life because you hope for what is greater and more important. Therefore, Allah says, {'Whoever desires the reward of this world, then with Allah are the rewards of this world and the Hereafter. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing'}. He teaches us to say in our supplication, {'Our Lord! Grant us the good of this world and the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire'}.
If this worldly life (its desires, money, adornment, wealth, and luxury) becomes the ultimate focus of a person at the expense of the Hereafter, leading him to forget and neglect it, this represents a source of danger because he prefers this worldly life to the Hereafter. That is, for the purpose of gaining something in this worldly life, he disobeys Allah, neglects his religious and faith-based commitments, and commits forbidden acts: Allah says, {'Nay, you prefer the life of this world although the Hereafter is better and more lasting'}. It is a losing deal when one fails to retain his future in the Hereafter: Allah says, {'Then as for those who transgressed and preferred the life of this world, the Hellfire will certainly be home'}. (We seek Allah for refuge.) This is an extremely serious state.
Examples of the terrible evils of prioritizing the worldly life over the Hereafter!
When a person directs all his interests and desires towards this worldly life, there are many extremely dangerous consequences. At the forefront of these consequences is selling the religion for the sake of the worldly life and trading the signs of Allah for a small price. This is one of the evils that occur when your desires, interests, and directions are turned towards this worldly life and its indulgences. Many people fall into this extremely dangerous trap of selling the religion for the sake of worldly gains, trading the signs of Allah for a small price. This takes various forms.
It can also lead to supporting the side of falsehood against what is right. When you support falsehood because you will be given some money, obtain material benefits, or safeguard material interests that you fear losing and align yourself with falsehood, you have sold your religion in exchange for gaining or preserving something from this worldly life. This is a tremendous loss!
One form of this is to hinder others from the path of Allah. When you actively work to hinder people from the path of Allah, whether through your words, actions, fighting, or any other means or forms of hindering others from the path of Allah in exchange for material interests, this is one of the forms of selling the religion for the sake of the worldly life and trading the signs of Allah for a small price.
The same applies to supporting falsehood, whether through media, culture, military means, or any other form, by propaganda, stance, or even financial support—that is, when you support falsehood with money.
Another form is to distort facts and attribute lies to Allah. This is what evil scholars do when they fabricate lies about Allah to support falsehood, all for the sake of material interests and accumulating wealth. This takes place when evil scholars align themselves with the enemies of Allah, supporting them in their falsehood, injustice, and crimes. They justify their sins, deviations, falsehood, misguidance, corruption, and aggression. They justify whatever these enemies do, defend their crimes, and accumulate financial gains.
In recent times, in the case of Al-Sudais—that is when he encountered a problem with the financial balances he had accumulated, and some of it was taken from him or seized—it became evident that his account contained hundreds of millions or tens of millions! There are evil scholars who justify and fabricate lies about Allah in favour of the enemies and oppressors.
One of the forms of selling the religion for the sake of the worldly life and trading the signs of Allah for a small price is when materialistic aspects and worldly interests become the determining factor in your dealings with the religion of Allah, His commands, and His guidance.
This is true when you obey Allah only to the extent that you don't see it affecting your material interests: If there are material benefits available, then it's fine for you to comply; however, if they are not available, you won't comply. You have tied your direction (whether in what you do or what you refrain from) to material interests. That's why you will abandon aspects of the religion that you perceive as affecting your material interests, missing out on certain material benefits, or posing a threat to your material interests that have become your primary concern, while religion becomes secondary. The commands of Allah, His guidance, become secondary, whether in matters of halal and haram, positions, actions, obligations, and so on.
All of this constitutes different forms of selling the religion for the sake of the worldly life. All of these are forms of selling religion for the sake of worldly gains. Allah warned greatly against them and said, {'These are the ones who trade the Hereafter for the life of this world. So their punishment will not be reduced, nor will they be helped'}.
Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'They have taken a paltry price for the verses of Allah, so they have prevented from His path'}—those who try to hinder others from the path of Allah and go against the guidance of Allah and against the truth for the sake of material gains—{'Indeed, evil is what they have been doing'}.
Allah says about those who conceal truth, support falsehood, and attribute lies to Allah for the sake of material gains, {' when Allah took the covenant of those who were given the Scripture to make it known to people and not hide it, yet they cast it behind their backs and traded it for a paltry price. What a miserable profit'}. He said that they traded it for a paltry price such as material interests and gains from this worldly life, but those gains and interests would lead into Jahannam: They would lose the bliss of Jannah and then end up in the eternal torment (May Allah be our refuge).
Allah also says about such people, {'Indeed, they who conceal what Allah has sent down of the Book and exchange it for a small price—those consume not into their bellies except the Fire. And Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them. And they will have a painful punishment'}. They turn toward luxury and material interests, so this makes them conceal what Allah has revealed in the Scripture and trade it for a fleeting gain in return for concealing the truth and supporting falsehood. They seek to gain wealth and luxury in this life, so the result is this: {'Those consume not into their bellies except the Fire.'} They desired luxury, blessings, and indulgent meals, but in return for what? It was concealing the truth, endorsing falsehood, supporting misguidance and falsehood, and engaging in injustice. The punishment for such actions is extremely severe: {'And Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them. And they will have a painful punishment.'}
Allah warns in the Holy Quran against such actions: all forms of deviating from the religion of Allah, pursuing worldly luxuries, endorsing falsehood, hindering others from the path of Allah, all forms of selling religion for the sake of worldly gains, and trading the signs of Allah for a small price. The Quran explicitly warns against this, saying, {'And do not exchange My signs for a small price'}. That is because it is a meagre price, even if it were the entire world. By doing so, you would lose the pleasure of Allah, Jannah, eternal happiness, and your humanity, dignity, religion, and honour. Your ultimate destiny will be eternal punishment and the fire of Jahannam! We seek refuge in Allah from that! This is one of the evils: completely focusing on the worldly life and its pleasures is an evil that leads to selling the religion for the sake of the worldly life.
Other terrible evils of greed for the worldly life.
Crimes of killing for or in return of something from this world are also some of the evils . This is when greed for obtaining money by any means drives you to kill through aggression and injustice, either to gain some money wrongfully or in return for being given money. This is the case with lots of people who join ranks of aggression and falsehood and align themselves with enemies in various parts of the world. History is full with such incidents in which some people kill in exchange for money or take a stance to support injustice, aggression, or falsehood. This is an extremely terrible crime and a grave danger for one to fall into while seeking to gain financial reward—what matters to him is only money, driven by greed (We seek refuge in Allah).
Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'Whoever kills a believer deliberately, his reward is Jahannam where he shall remain forever, and Allah shall be angry with him and shall cast curse upon him, and He has prepared for him a mighty punishment'}. Thus, we find in the Holy Quran severe threats for whoever commits such a crime! How dreadful is it when one commits such crimes in exchange for money, which is a tremendously grave matter, or he covets someone's wealth and resorts to killing him in order to attain it? This is an extremely horrific crime! How many incidents like these happen in life, where some people, due to their greed, may kill a person and seize his money wrongfully through injustice and aggression. By doing so, he combines two heinous and grave transgressions, each of which condemns its perpetrator to eternal punishment in the Fire: killing through injustice and aggression and taking possession of ill-gotten money.
One of the harmful consequences of greed for this worldly life is injustice in inheritance and in consuming the wealth of orphans. This occurs within inheritance itself and in other situations related to consuming the wealth of orphans. Allah, the Almighty, says, {'And you eat the heritage with indiscriminate eating.'} How often injustice occurs in matters of inheritance, especially against women. Some people consume the shares of their sisters or female relatives in inheritance, seizing those shares for themselves and not giving them their portion, even though it is rightfully theirs. Believing that these women are weak and do not like to enter into confrontations or disputes over their shares, their greed drives them to seize the inheritance by methods of embarrassment or threats. The method of embarrassment does not absolve a person of his responsibility. If you see that she doesn't want to take her share of the inheritance directly, then let her remain a partner with you, but on fair and equal terms, just as you would be a partner with anyone who is equal to you and wouldn't allow you to deceive them even in a single penny. This is the minimum requirement. This issue has caused the destruction of many people who are lenient with it while it is a grave matter and a catastrophe. It is one of the major sins, and there is a severe warning against it.
The same is true when there are orphans (males or females), and they are wronged, whether by taking all their wealth or some of it or by replacing it , as Allah (Glory be to Him) says in the blessed verse: {'Give orphans their wealth , and do not exchange your worthless possessions for their valuables'}. You want something from their wealth because you find it good and better than what you have, so you want to take it and exchange it with something that is not equal to it or something worthless and bad. {'And don't cheat them by mixing their wealth with your own. For this would indeed be a great sin'}. It is a despicable, heinous, terrible, and horrible sin and of the greatest sins to take something from their wealth, to mix their wealth with yours and make them lose it, or to exchange your worthless possessions for their valuables.
One of the most egregious forms of injustice is that injustice done to orphans, which can even occur within their own families. It may take the form of an older brother doing injustice to his younger siblings, a grandfather to his grandchildren, an uncle, or any other relative. In such cases, the burden of sin is multiplied. Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'Indeed, those who unjustly consume orphans' wealth consume nothing but fire into their bellies. And they will be burned in a blazing Hell'}. (We seek refuge in Allah.) This is a stern warning, as their punishment is the torment of Jahannam. What they consumed in this life will be transformed into fire and held against them. In Jahannam, they will be forced to eat it, experiencing the scorching of their bellies (May Allah be our refuge).
After dividing inheritance in Surah An-Nisa and clarifying the allocated shares and portions at the beginning of it, after He clearly illustrates that, Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'But whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and exceeds His limits'}—that is because He said, {'These are the limits set by Allah'}—{'will be cast into the Fire to stay there forever. And they will suffer a humiliating punishment'}. In fact, this is a clear warning and a serious threat. A person must be cautious because this issue is extremely dangerous. It is a very serious issue!
Because this topic is important and there is still more to it, we will (Allah willing) continue our discussion in the coming lecture.
We ask Allah (Glory be to Him) to accept our fasting, nights of worship, and good deeds.
O Allah, have mercy on our virtuous martyrs, heal the wounded among us, set free our captives, and grant us victory. You are All-Hearing!
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.