Too Much Love Of Wealth Is The Root Of All Evils!

By Imam Murtadha Gusau

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy

All praise is for Allah, we praise Him, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, and we seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our own souls and the wickedness of our actions, whoever Allah guides, there is none that can lead him astray, and whoever Allah allows to go astray, there is none that can lead him to the right path.

I testify and bare witness that there is no deity worthy of worship in truth but Allah, alone, without any partners. And I testify and bare witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is His Servant and Messenger. As for what’s after:

Dear brothers and sisters! From Allah Almighty’s wisdom regarding His creation and His mercy towards them is that when He created them, He apportioned their livelihoods. And made some at the service of others to rectify affairs and to realise benefits. Allah Almighty said:

“It is We who have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world and have raised some of them above others in degrees [of rank] that they may make use of one another for service.” [Qur’an, 43:32]

Allah Almighty made some wealthy and others poor. And the honourable and the humble. And the strong and the weak. And the boss and the subordinate. So that this serves that and that needs this.

And from His blessings is that He made the benefits of the earth subservient to them and what is extracted from it for their benefit and what He provided for them from its bounties. Allah the Most High said:

“It is He who made the earth tame for you – so walk among its slopes and eat of His provision – and to Him is the resurrection.” [Qur’an, 67:15]

And at the peak of this provision is the wealth that people have. Thus it satisfies needs. And suffices them from needing others. And Allah Almighty explained that He tests His servants with wealth. And He entrusts them with it to see how they manage it in terms of earning and spending. Allah Almighty said:

“And spend out of that in which He has made you successive inheritors.” [Qur’an, 57:7]

Respected brothers and sisters! Islam has come with what suffices to explain the relationship of man to this wealth that Allah Almighty provided him. And to clarify the limits and requirements in earning and spending in a manner to benefit both communities and individuals. If he adheres to the limits and controls, he will attain two benefits. First, the wealth itself. Second, adhering to Allah Almighty’s ordainments. And if he violated what Allah commanded him regarding wealth, then the blessing of the wealth will disappear. And he will be held to account on the Day of Resurrection for his violation.

And what keeps most people from adhering to Allah Almighty’s ordainments regarding wealth in earning and spending is their inherent love of wealth that crowds out being conscious and mindful of Allah. Allah Almighty said:

“And you love wealth with immense love.” [Qur’an, 89:20]

And Allah the Most High said:

“And indeed he is, in love of wealth, intense.” [Qur’an, 100: 8]

And Allah made wealth an adornment for the children of Adam in front of other people regarding what they eat, drink, wear, ride and live in. As Allah Almighty said:

“Wealth and children are [but] adornment of the worldly life.” [Qur’an, 18:46]

And for this reason, wealth is a great trial that tempts people. On one hand, they love it immensely and they would not have enough of it even if they owned valleys of gold and silver. And on the other hand, Allah did not give mankind the freedom to acquire and spend wealth however he wishes. Rather, Allah established limits to direct them. So it is a trial for people and a test for the wealthy. Allah Almighty said:

“Your wealth and your children are but a trial, and Allah has with Him a great reward.” [Qur’an, 64:15]

And in spite of that, the Shari’ah describes wealth as good in view of the lawful and permissible ways of earning it and spending it on what benefits.

As was narrated in the Hadith of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:

“O you people! Indeed Allah is Tayyib (good) and he does not accept but what is good. And indeed Allah ordered the believers with what He ordered the Messengers. He (Peace be upon him) said: “O (you) Messengers! Eat of the tayyibat [all kinds of halal (legal) foods], and perform righteous deeds.” [Qur’an, 23:51] and the Almighty has said: “O you who believe! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you.” [Qur’an, 2:172] “And he mentioned a man who is undertaking a long journey, whose hair is disheveled and he is covered with dust. He raises his hands to the heavens and says: “O Lord! O Lord!” Yet his food is from the unlawful, his drink is from the unlawful, his clothing is from the unlawful, and he was nourished by the unlawful. So how can that be accepted?” [Muslim]

And the Prophet (Peace be upon him) instructed his companions that no one should enter into his stomach except from good earnings (Halal). They said to him (Peace be upon him) Advise us. So he (Peace be upon him) said:

“The stomach is the first thing of the human body to rot (after death), so whoever is able to eat nothing but pure (Halal and earned lawfully) should do so.”

And when Amr Bin Al As (may Allah be pleased with him) entered into Islam the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said to him:

“Amr, I want to put you in charge of an army and Allah will protect you and give you spoils. And I will give you a fair portion of the spoils.’ I said, ‘I did not become Muslim for the sake of wealth. I became Muslim out of the desire for Islam and so that I would be with the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him)‘ He said, ”Amr! Sound (legitimately acquired) wealth is very excellent for a righteous man.” [Sahih Adab Al Mufrad of Sheikh Albani]

Dear servants of Allah! These textual evidences describe wealth as good and sound if it is with a righteous man who observes the ordainments of Allah Almighty in earning and spending it. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) made it permissible to yearn for this characteristic saying:

“There is no coveting except for two: A man whom Allah has given wealth and caused him to dispose of it in a proper manner…” [Bukhari and Muslim]

And due to the great place and value of wealth with people, it is from the five necessities of life – Preservation of religion, preservation of life, preservation of the mind, preservation of honour, preservation of wealth. Life is not established without these five necessities. Regarding wealth, the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:

“Whoever is killed protecting his wealth, he is a martyr (Shahid).” [An-Nasa’i]

However, preserving wealth has the lowest position among the five necessities. Therefore, one sacrifices wealth for safeguarding the religion, protecting life, preserving the mind and defending honour. Allah Almighty said:

“Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire – of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him the best return [i.e., Paradise].” [Qur’an, 3:14]

Dear brothers and sisters! Wealth is not a place for absolute condemnation or for absolute praise. Rather, one views its source and how it is spent. For if its source is good then it is sound wealth. And if it is with a good Muslim that is conscious of Allah who spends it, then it is with a righteous man. Then the wealth is praiseworthy as is its owner.

However, if it is corrupt wealth whose source is usury, bribes, corruption, looting of public treasury, theft, armed and pen robbery, kidnapping, rituals, devouring rights or unlawful trade, then it is bad wealth. And it lacks blessing and is often a liability and curse for its owner.

And questioning about wealth on the Day of Resurrection is unlike questioning about other matters. For the questioning has two aspects. From the aspect of earning and the aspect of spending. As was related in the Hadith that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

“The feet of the servant shall not move on the Day of Resurrection, until he is asked about four (matters): … about his wealth and how he earned it, and what he spent on…” [At-Tirmidh]

And on the Day of Resurrection, wealth will bear witness upon its owner. As the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

“This wealth is attractive and sweet. It is a good companion for a Muslim who gives it to the orphans, the widows, the poor and wayfarers. And the one who takes it unlawfully is like the one who eats but is never satisfied, and it will be a witness against him on the Day of Resurrection.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

I ask Allah Almighty to suffice us with His lawful (Halal) over His prohibitions (Haram). And with His obedience over His disobedience. And with His grace over all else. Indeed, Allah is All Hearing, Answering.

Dear brothers and sisters! Our Mosque and Islamic center, Nagazi-Uvete Islamic Center is soliciting for your help and assistance. We sincerely seek your financial support, help, assistance, donation and contribution on the buying of cows in this coming blessed Eid-Ul-Adha Celebration for our orphans, widows and the students under our care. Your support is highly needed for Allah’s sake.

As usual, we sincerely solicit for your kind and sincere contribution towards the Eid-Ul-Adha Udhiyyah/Layyah (sacrifice) for our orphans, widows and students; and the development of our schools and Islamic Center financially, materially and morally.

Our aim and objective always is to have a standard Islamic center and Arabic/Islamic schools for orphans and less privileged Muslims children.

And if you want to pay your Zakah our great Islamic center is waiting for your kind and merciful gesture. Sincerely, your donation will help distribute sacrifice meat, etc for our orphans.

Remember, Eid-Ul-Adha Celebration will not be the same without our families, but unfortunately this is not a privilege enjoyed by everyone. This is the reason we’re steadfast in planning to provide meat for the orphans, widows and students under our care!

We planned to distribute meat package that worth amount up to 4000 widows and 2000 orphans In Shaa Allah, this year.

And your contribution is highly waiting as usual. May Allah rewards all your efforts and your good deeds, ameen.

Allah Almighty says:

“If you support the course of Allah, He will support you.” [Qur’an, 47: 7]

The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:

“Whoever relieves his Muslim brother of a hardship from the hardships of this world, Allah shall relieve him of a hardship from the hardships of the Day of Judgement. And whoever makes things easy for a person in difficulty, Allah will ease for him in this world and the Next. Allah is forever aiding a servant so long as he is in the aid of his Muslim brother.”

And he (Peace be upon him) said:

“Every act of goodness is considered as Sadaqah.” [Al-Bukhari]

Account details:

Account no. – 0048647196

Account name – Murtala Muhammed

GTBank

For more enquiries contact, Imam Murtadha Muhammad Gusau, the director and Imam Of the Center: 08038289761.

To donate cows, rams etc, contact the following Numbers: 08038289761, 08056557477

Jazakumullah Khairan as you kindly contribute.

I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) as your Lord commanded:

“Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.” [Qur’an, 33:56]

O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided, grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.

O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know.

O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know.

O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge.

O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good.

Dear servants of Allah! Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.

Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favours – He will increase you therein. And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.

All praises and thanks are due to Allah alone, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true and sincere followers.

Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: [email protected] or +2348038289761.