Allah is All Knowing, and He created man's emotions and desires. Allah has also bestowed upon man the power to choose. Everything else is in His control. An example of the human being's ability to choose is Adam. Adam had the power to listen to Satan or choose otherwise.
Allah tells us about this in the following verse of the Qur'an:
Then We said: O Adam! Verily, this is an enemy to thee and thy wife, so do no let him (Satan) get you both out of the Garden; so that you will land in misery. (20:117)
Allah has placed the resources of the earth at the disposal of human beings. He says:
Do you not see that Allah has subjected to your use all the things that are in the skies and earth? 31:20)
Thus, the accumulation of wealth (which comes from the bounties of the skies and the earth) is made possible. There is no doubt that all of us would like to gain wealth, however there are some who place a lot more emphasis on it than on anything else. Alalh says in the Qur`an:
وَإِنَّهُ لِحُبِّ الْخَيْرِ لَشَدِيدٌ
And violent is he in his love of wealth.
(Chapter 100, verse 8)
Some people will do anything to acquire wealth; and this is indeed an unfortunate thing. Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said;
Two hungry wolves, if let loose among a flock of sheep, will not do more damage than that which is caused by a man's avarice for wealth and status to his religion, (Tirmidhi).
A majority of the people only work for this duniya, i.e. material things. They will do whatever it takes to gain more, be it moral or immoral. Allah says in Qur`an;
And violent is he in his love for wealth. (100:8)
Some people spend their whole life acquiring wealth and soon after they die and leave behind everything they worked so hard to achieve. Others reach a stage of understanding where too much wealth doesn’t bring benefit, e.g. you can have all the wealth in the world but it cannot compensate you for poor health. The danger is that some people believe that because they are wealthy they can do anything and they fail to realize that it is out of the Graciousness of Allah that they have and can benefit from it.
Prophet Muhammad (saw) said
A servant says: My wealth, my wealth, but out of his wealth three things are only his: whatever he eats and makes use of, or by means of which he dresses himself and it wears out or he gives as charity, and this is what he stored for himself (as a reward for the Hereafter), and what is beyond this (it is of no use to you) because you are to depart and leave it for other people. (Sahih Muslim).
Never forget that this moment can be your last and everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve will be left behind. That is why as Muslims we must do things that will be of benefit to us in the hereafter. Look at how wealthy and powerful Pharaoh was, so much so that he declared in the famous meeting his historic line:
وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ يَاأَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ مَا عَلِمْتُ لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرِي فَأَوْقِدْ
"O Chiefs! no god do I know for you but myself”
(Chapter 28, verse 38)
Allah says in Qur`an,
وَقَالَ مُوسَى رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ آتَيْتَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَأَهُ زِينَةً وَأَمْوَالاً فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا رَبَّنَا لِيُضِلُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِكَ رَبَّنَا اطْمِسْ عَلَى أَمْوَالِهِمْ وَاشْدُدْ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُوا حَتَّى يَرَوْا الْعَذَابَ الأَلِيمَ
Moses prayed: "Our Lord! Thou hast indeed bestowed on Pharaoh and his chiefs splendour and wealth in the life of the present, and so, Our Lord, they mislead (men) from Thy Path. Deface, our Lord, the features of their wealth, and send hardness to their hearts, so they will not believe until they see the grievous penalty."
(Chapter 10, verse 88)
Why didn’t Pharaoh stop the sea from closing in on him? Your wealth can help you up to a certain point in this world and depending on how you utilize it; it can help you a great deal in the hereafter. Because wealth can provide all the physical comforts of life a lot of people spend all their time acquiring it. About this Allah says,
وَتُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا
And ye love wealth with inordinate love!
(Chapter 89, verse 20)
Prophet Muhammad (saw) said;
Every ummah (nation) has a test to undergo, my Ummah (nation) will be tried through wealth, (Tirmidhi).
To acquire wealth in a halaal way is a jihad, and to spend it in the cause of ALLAH (swt) is a jihad. Allah says in Qur`an:
تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
That ye believe in Allah and His Messenger, and that ye strive (your utmost) in the Cause of Allah, with your property and your persons: That will be best for you, if ye but knew!
(Chapter 61, verse 11)
Work hard and use all your resources to propagate Allah's Deen. Prophet Muhammad (saw) is reported to have said,
When we were sitting together, Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) appeared with a trace of water on his head, and when we told him that he appeared to us to be in a happy frame of mind, he agreed. The people then began to discuss wealth and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "There is no harm in wealth for him who fears Allah, Who is Great and Glorious, but for him who fears Allah, health is better than wealth, and a happy frame of mind is one of Allah's favours." (Tirmidhi)
Thank your Lord everyday for His blessings and mercy, and let everyone of us understand our true mission and goal in this life. Use the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon you to achieve it.
