Is wealth among the blessings or among the trials?

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The questioner : Is wealth among the blessings or among the trials?

The Shaykh : Wealth is undoubtedly among the blessings of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but every blessing from Allah is a trial from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said:

And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned.

ونبلوكم بالشر والخير فتنة وإلينا ترجعون

[Al-Anbya 21:35]

And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said regarding Sulayman (peace be upon him) when the throne of Bilqis was brought to him:

This is from the favor of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful - his gratitude is only for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever is ungrateful - then indeed, my Lord is Free of need and Generous."

هذا من فضل ربي ليبلوني أأشكر أم أكفر ومن شكر فإنما يشكر لنفسه ومن كفر فإن ربي غني كريم

[An-Naml 27:40]

So wealth is one of the blessings by which Allah tests the servant: will he thank Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for this blessing and use it in obedience to Allah, or will he be ungrateful for this blessing and use it in disobedience to Allah? If it is the former, then he is a grateful person, and Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) rewards the grateful ones, rewarding them with favor in this world and the Hereafter, as He (the Exalted) said:

And [remember] when your Lord said: "If you are grateful, I will surely increase you"

وإذ تأذن ربكم لأن شكرتم لأزيدنكم

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And if it is the latter, that is, the one who was ungrateful for the blessing and used it in disobedience to Allah, then he is ungrateful for it, and Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says:

but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.' "

ولئن كفرتم إن عذابي لشديد

[Ibrahim 14:7]

And let it be known that the one whom Allah has blessed with wealth and then he was ungrateful for this blessing and continued to enjoy it, so that he may know that this does not indicate Allah’s pleasure with him; rather, this is a gradual leading astray by Allah (the Exalted) for him. And Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has wisdom; He may allow the wrongdoer to continue and lead him astray with blessings until when He seizes him, He does not let him go, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Allah gives respite to the oppressor, but when He takes him over, He never releases him.

إن الله يملي للظالم حتى إذا أخذه لم يفلته

Sahih al-Bukhari 4686

And he recited His saying (the Exalted):

And thus is the seizure of your Lord when He seizes the cities while they are committing wrong. Indeed, His seizure is painful and severe.

وكذلك أخذ بربك إذا أخذ القرى وهي ظالمة إن أخذه أليم شديد

[Hud 11:102]

So let the one whom Allah has blessed with wealth beware of using it in disobedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and let him be grateful to his Lord and fulfill what Allah has made obligatory upon him regarding this wealth, such as zakah and obligatory expenses, and other things required by the evidence of the Shari'ah.

Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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