Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … There is no doubt whatsoever that wealth and poverty are not things that are inherited generation after generation. Those who are great capitalists today, their ancestors were not born with a golden spoon in their mouths. Similarly, those who have become poor and destitute today, there is no apparent connection between their recent past and poverty or indigence. In reality, the matter is that when Allah, the Exalted, bestows His servants with blessings, and the servants gradually forget their own status and begin to deviate from the path of moderation, and, like Qarun, start considering their wealth as a result of their own person, skill, or lineage, then the One above the heavens either gives them respite for a while or begins the process of depriving them of that blessing. Reflect upon the following excerpt from the Noble Qur’an:

The command of Allah, the Exalted, is: {فَاَمَّا الْاِنْسَانُ اِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاہُ رَبُّہٗفَاَکْرَمَہٗوَنَعَّمَہٗفَیَقُوْلُ رَبِّیْ اَکْرَمَنِ۔ وَاَمَّا اِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاہَ فَقَدَرَ عَلَیْہِ رِزْقَہٗفَیَقُوْلُ رَبِّیْ اَھَانَنِ۔ کَلَّا بَلْ لَّا تُکْرِمُوْنَ الْیَتِیْمَ۔ وَلَا تَحٰٓضُّوْنَ عَلٰی طَعَامِ الْمِسْکِیْنِ۔ وَتَاْکُلُوْنَ التُّرَاثَ اَکْلًا لَّمًّا۔ وَتُحِبُّوْنَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا۔} “As for man, when his Lord tries him and honors him and bestows favor upon him, he says, ‘My Lord has honored me.’ But when He tries him and restricts his provision, he says, ‘My Lord has humiliated me.’ No! But you do not honor the orphan, and you do not encourage one another to feed the poor, and you consume inheritance, devouring it all together, and you love wealth with immense love.” (Surah Al-Fajr: 15–20)

In these verses, Allah, the Exalted, has mentioned four reasons for the turning away of wealth: (1) Not honoring the orphans, (2) Not encouraging one another to feed the needy, (3) Usurping the inheritance of relatives, and (4) Loving wealth excessively.

When these vices appear in a capitalist, the direction of wealth changes, and he sees that either after a few years the circumstances change completely, or otherwise, his children have to bear the consequences of his actions. Many individuals in our society are presently before my eyes, whom Allah, the Exalted, turned their fortunes in such a way within ten or twelve years that even they could not understand what policy was being applied to them: for some, it was their indulgence, for others, their miserliness, for some, looking down upon the poor, for others, considering wealth itself as the standard of honor and disgrace, for some, the usurious system, for others, showing insensitivity to the serious problems of the poor, for some, frowning upon seeing the helpless, … and so on. These are such causes due to which Allah, the Exalted, changes the direction of wealth. I would only request this: O capitalists! Wealth is a fleeting shadow; never forget your own status. The true owner of your treasures is Allah, the Exalted. Establish His system in your temperaments and homes. You will attain the title of “Ghani” (the wealthy) in the sight of Allah, the Exalted, like our master Uthman radi Allahu anhu, otherwise you will become deserving of the angels’ curses, as is evident from the aforementioned hadith.