Is it permissible for a person who is wealthy but wants to live the life of a poor person?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : I mean, if he is wealthy, is it permissible for him to live in that state?
The Shaykh : No, it is not permissible, but what should be done is that he should not be distracted by it. Unless the man loves to give it in charity and benefit people, then that is good. Yes.
The questioner : It was recorded in our book.
The Shaykh : What is this? If it is less than the zakat al-fitr, there is no harm.
The questioner : I mean, does he live in those days?
The Shaykh : He does this and gives the rest in charity. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to spend his wealth in charity and in the path of Allah for the benefit of the Muslims; he did not keep the wealth with him.
The questioner : Or, for example, a man has wealth and Allah has enriched him, but by his own effort and by what Allah placed upon him, he leaves this wealth to live the life of the poor. But this is like an obsessive person to whom Satan whispers; if he turns away from Allah’s blessing, Allah will test him; he turns away from what Allah has given him.
The Shaykh : And if a person wants to spend his wealth in obedience to Allah, in charity, in jihad, in the path of Allah, in seeking knowledge, and other such things, that is good; he has made his wealth for the Hereafter.
The Shaykh : No, it is not permissible, but what should be done is that he should not be distracted by it. Unless the man loves to give it in charity and benefit people, then that is good. Yes.
The questioner : It was recorded in our book.
The Shaykh : What is this? If it is less than the zakat al-fitr, there is no harm.
The questioner : I mean, does he live in those days?
The Shaykh : He does this and gives the rest in charity. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to spend his wealth in charity and in the path of Allah for the benefit of the Muslims; he did not keep the wealth with him.
The questioner : Or, for example, a man has wealth and Allah has enriched him, but by his own effort and by what Allah placed upon him, he leaves this wealth to live the life of the poor. But this is like an obsessive person to whom Satan whispers; if he turns away from Allah’s blessing, Allah will test him; he turns away from what Allah has given him.
The Shaykh : And if a person wants to spend his wealth in obedience to Allah, in charity, in jihad, in the path of Allah, in seeking knowledge, and other such things, that is good; he has made his wealth for the Hereafter.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 2043 - 4600 هل يجوز لإنسان عنده غنى لكن أراد أن يعيش عيشة المسكين؟ ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.