The Quran’s Mindset on Wealth | Surah Al-Ma’arij | Nouman Ali Khan

The Purpose of Wealth in Islam

The Qur'an's picture of what we're supposed to do with wealth is to build more for a greater objective. For the benefit of humanity, for the bringing about of justice, for the bringing about of the end of corruption, the end of being looted and robbed and killed without purpose.

That's the idea.

Where Does Value Come From?

Where does value come from? What is my value as a person? Nowadays, if you Wikipedia somebody, they'll say their estimated net worth is so and so and so forth.

So how is humanity valuing other human beings? By a monetary number. Or in the world of social media, the younger generation might say, what's the value of this person? How many followers do they have? As an influencer, oh this person has 26 million followers. That's a higher value.

This person has 400 followers. They don't have much value. This person has 13 followers. They're barely human. Because your value comes from some kind of currency. You have to take something non-living that's associated with you for you to have value.

So your value is not actually coming from you. It's coming from stuff. Or it's coming from accomplishments. Again, those are non-living. Titles, degrees, accomplishments, history, family, family background. That's giving you value.

Your credentials are giving you value. The ascription of some elite status, like you belong to the royal family. That gives you value. Money, of course, gives people value. The neighborhood you live in might give you value. The university you might go to gives you value.

The Changing Nature of Value

I think those definitions are about to experience a revolution in the next 10 years. Value systems are changing. Who would have thought 20 years ago, 30 years ago, that somebody who makes remixes of cats meowing is going to be a famous celebrity, that everybody's going to be like, wow, oh my god, that's amazing. You play a piano when a cat is meowing, and this is your contribution to humanity. But human beings can give anything value that's outside of themselves.

The Psychology of Money

However, the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders barely addresses money. This is interesting in a capitalist society. We haven't actually studied money disorder much, except in cases of financial deprivation. So we study when somebody loses money, and then becomes depressed and becomes suicidal and all that stuff. There's more studies on that.

It is not mentioned as a possible disorder. Nevertheless, recent research hints at the possibility of a psychology of money, or even a psychopathology of money, with money accumulation potentially meeting the criteria of a behavioral addiction. This can become an addiction.

Islamic and Biblical Perspectives on Wealth

Now, having read all of this to you, I want to just share with you also from the Islamic tradition, and also Biblical tradition. What's been said about money? Rasul Allah (peace be upon him) says:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi)

"Every ummah, every nation will have a fitna. And the fitna of my ummah is money. It's wealth."

Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land. (Isaiah) — meaning people who become conglomerates and keep acquiring.

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income. This also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes)

And then Jesus specifically says, you cannot worship both God and money, which is similar to what the Quran is saying, and even in the Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him):

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2887)

"The servant of the dinar and the servant of the dirham, may they be destroyed."

Building Wealth with Purpose

Now, having said all of that, the concluding discussion I want to have with you on this subject is as follows. Is the Quran then against building wealth, saving money, gathering wealth? Actually, the Quran is against having a small world where gathering and collecting and hoarding is a goal in and of itself. But when you're gathering money for a purpose, when you're collecting for a purpose, that is actually very much in line with Islam.

The Example of Dhul-Qarnayn

You have the story of Dhul-Qarnayn. Allah says:

Allah gave him all kinds of resources, and he used those resources to pursue more resources. أَتْبَعَ سَبَبًا — Why is he pursuing more resources? What's he going to do with these resources? Why is he expanding his empire? Why is he going to places where people don't even speak a full language yet? Why is he going to uncharted territory where there's mud? عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ — Why is he going to muddy marshland? Like what Orlando used to be before Disney moved there. How would anybody go there? To hang out with the gators? What are you going there for?

Why is he going east and west and all over? He's expanding his empire, is he not? And Allah is saying, wherever he went, he acquired more resources, and he used those resources to build more resources, and then more resources, and then more resources. But that wasn't his goal.

What was his goal? Wherever he goes, he makes sure corruption is put to an end. He makes sure people are not going to get away with doing crime.

Or if he doesn't have the resources to fight the enemy, at least he will develop the resources to stop the enemy. So he'll build a wall. And if he realizes he's someplace where he can do no good, that's also possible. Sometimes you just can't help a situation. كَذَٰلِكَ وَقَدْ أَحَطْنَا بِمَا لَدَيْهِ خُبْرًا — I can't help this situation. He let them be. But he's constantly building.

The Quran's picture of what we're supposed to do with wealth is to build more for a greater objective. For the benefit of humanity. For the bringing about of justice. For the bringing about of the end of corruption. The end of being looted and robbed and killed without purpose.

That's the idea.

Correcting Misconceptions About the Dunya

The Christian, the Catholic idea was wealth itself is a curse. You're not supposed to earn wealth. And it's funny, it was a convenient idea because wealth is not for you, it's for the king. Give to the church and give to the God-chosen king. Make them wealthy, not you. So it was a very convenient ideology because it served the church and it served the king.

But we have unfortunately in Islamic discourse we've developed this idea of a terrible fear of حُبُّ الدُّنْيَا (love of the world). Because we find in the Quran:

Or you find a hadith where it's not worth the wing of a mosquito. Or even when Fajr Salah is better than the whole world and everything in it. And when you read all of this literature what thought starts building in your head? This world is nothing, this world is nothing, this world is nothing.

Two Extremes to Avoid

And that becomes a "this world is nothing" disorder. Because on the other extreme is "this world is everything" disorder. And on the other extreme is what? This world is nothing. These are both disorders.

If this world is nothing, why are you going around the Kaaba wearing the clothes that mimic your presence before Allah on Judgment Day or at the moment of your death? Why are you saying:

"Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter"?

Why in the world are you going to Hajj which is supposed to be the most spiritual experience of your life and your Rabb is telling you:

There's no harm if you pursue some business opportunities when you go to Hajj. Why would that be the case? Because Allah wants us to make the most of this world for a higher purpose.

The Promise of Worldly Blessings

Why is it that Allah says about the people of the book that came before us:

Had they established Torah and Injil they would have eaten from above and from below. In other words, rain would have been abundant, produce would have been abundant, the earth would have revealed its gold, its plutonium, its uranium, its natural resources, its lithium, its technologies. The earth would have given them copper and iron and steel and ore and all of its vegetation. They would have become resource rich if they established the book of Allah.

Allah didn't say if they established the book of Allah, if they established Torah and Injil, Allah would have given them Jannah because this world is just for you to suffer. He didn't say that. That's not our deen. That's not our deen at all.

The Balanced Approach to Deen and Dunya

But we've developed this sick idea and because of this sick idea you get Muslim kids, Muslim youth that say, "I just want to serve deen, I don't want anything to do with dunya." Stupid, where did you get this idea from? "No, because I don't want dunya, I just want deen." Okay, okay, okay, hold on a second.

When Allah said:

"Gather whatever power you can. Get whatever power you can, gather it. وَمِن رِّبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ"

Just look at, contemplate مِن رِّبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ. I talked about it in a few khutbahs before. Gather the cavalry. Build the horses. The army that has the cavalry has horses in it. How are you going to build horses without money? How are you going to buy one horse without money? Where are you going to get the money from? If the sahaba are all, "I don't want dunya, I don't want dunya" — Who's going to get the horse? Who's going to get the horse?

And by the way, for a horse you need a stable. You need the ironsmith who's going to build the horseshoes. You're going to need the saddle maker, the horse trainer. You're going to need the fields where the horses can run. The hay that the horses can eat. The land that has to be bought for them. Isn't it a major investment? And Allah just said, "Just prepare it, go. Make it, prepare it."

That means build an entire economy. Build an entire economic system. But it has a higher purpose. It's something bigger.

Correcting the Story of Sulayman

Even the story of Sulayman (peace be upon him) is misinterpreted so easily. He forgot to pray Maghrib and that's why he slaughtered the animals. First of all, why? And the misinterpretation is: He cut off their legs and its neck. Which means he slaughtered an animal viciously. Because that's torturing an animal.

And Rasulullah (peace be upon him) himself told us: Do not make an example. Do not mutilate delicate creatures of God. Animals, we don't mutilate animals in this religion. It's evil. And we're okay attributing that to a prophet. And why? Because apparently he missed Maghrib.

If you missed Maghrib and you started beating your kids? "I missed Maghrib, I was working." You're working at a children's hospital, you're treating children, or you're dealing with a sick patient and you were too busy in the surgery and you got late for Maghrib. And you're like, "You know what?" Are you serious right now?

No. تَوَارَتْ is not تَوَارَتْ الشَّمْسِ. It doesn't have to be تَوَارَتْ الشَّمْسِ in that story. It could be he was training the horses and he made the horses run, and they ran as far as they could until he couldn't see them anymore. In other words, he's trained the horses really well. Because he's feeling their neck and he's feeling their legs as a good horse trainer does.

Even Imam Razi says مَسْح in Arabic — If you're going to say مَسْح as he sliced them, then what are you going to do with وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ? Quran says do مَسْح over your heads and your hands. You're going to slice your wrists every time you make wudu? You're going to end up at the hospital. You didn't have water.

The Proper Understanding of Dunya

What have we done? We've created a narrative in which dunya is condemned. Dunya is dangerous. It's definitely dangerous. And we will see in the coming ayat how dangerous it is. So it's like you're handling a radioactive material. Handle with care. And make sure you use it for the right purpose. Don't use it, don't treat it casually. Treat it with care. But it doesn't mean don't treat it. Doesn't mean don't use it. You understand?

Something can be poisonous, a snake can be poisonous. But it can have the antidote in it, isn't it? The snake's venom has the antidote in it. So the snake has to be dealt with. But if you don't deal with it, you'll never get the venom, you'll never get the antidote out. This is the attitude we have.

We don't hate dunya, we use dunya. We use dunya. And actually Allah even encouraged us to enjoy this dunya. Why is he describing fruits that have beautiful covers on them or winds that have a beautiful scent in them? If we were just — if our job on earth was only to survive — why would he make the mountains beautiful? Why would he make the animals? Why would there be flowers? Why would there be nature? Why would there be beautiful children?

We should all look a certain way just for function. There should be no beauty on this earth because we're just here to perform a function. That's not our world view.

Finding Balance

So we're not materialists. We're not prosperity gospel Christians. We're not that. And we're not Catholics that shun the world and wear uncomfortable wool because they want to shun this dunya. We're none of those. We're people of the Quran. The best of this world and the best of the next. And that can only happen when you have a higher purpose. That's the only way that can happen.

When Your World Gets Smaller

I keep saying the world gets bigger and the world gets smaller. When your world gets bigger, then you think about bigger problems and you think about bigger solutions. And your world is smaller, and you can only think about what? Smaller problems and smaller solutions.

And when your world gets really small, you only think about your own problems and your own solutions. Your world gets, it shrinks. It's just you, that's it.

Have you seen someone who takes their own desires and turns them into their God?

You become your own God. Your feelings become your own God. That's your entire universe. Everything is just you. That's all that's left.

But when your horizon expands, then you think about bigger things. You don't have time for petty things anymore. Go back to what the Prophet was told: And I told you then — These people can say whatever they say. That's not big enough of a problem. You have too big of an objective to focus on. Don't be distracted by this.

So our iman gives us broader perspective and it keeps us from being petty and material and ending up in this state. So this addiction and this hoarding — where did it come from? The diagnosis, where did this sickness start? This is like the final stage of this sickness. Where did this sickness begin? What was the early signs that you've caught the virus or you've got the bacterial infection? That's coming in ayah 19 onwards.