In reality, he is asking this question, and you have answered much of it. He asks: What will be the fate of the Muslim community if their spatial and living conditions change?
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The questioner : In reality, he is asking this question, and you have answered much of it. He asks: What will be the fate of the Muslim community if their spatial and living conditions change? If they face new circumstances, such as disasters like massive floods that expel many of them from their homes and the comfort within them, or an earthquake that deprives them of their dwellings and the means of comfort therein, and expels them with their children and women into the open, or hurricanes that creation has no power to withstand? Then he says: By Allah, what is the way? For I am telling you this because I have come to know my position in this world, with the wealth I possess that exceeds the imagination of many people, and because I have come to know that this wealth is not mine, but rather a deposit with me for its true owner, who is Allah. I fear that one day He may reclaim His loan, and nothing will remain with me but its trace: the softness of my touch, the beauty of my complexion, the quality of my clothing, and the luxury of my vehicle. O merchants, guide us to the right path, for we are in danger?
The Shaykh : I thank the brother for this good, solid speech, which indicates this man's faith, his intellect, and his fear of the future. My advice to these merchants is, first, to take their money from its proper source, in a permissible way that contains no prohibition, such as deception, fraud, or trickery of officials or non-officials, and not to dare to take it through riba (usury or interest), for riba is among the greatest of sins and the most dangerous for society. And Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:278-279] And it is authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he cursed five people in regard to riba: the one who eats it, the one who gives it, the two witnesses, and the scribe. And he said: So my advice to these merchants is that their acquisition of wealth be through lawful means. Second, that they pay out what is obligatory in this wealth, such as zakah (the obligatory alms) and expenses. Third, that they do not be extravagant in consuming this wealth in matters of luxury, such as excess food, drink, clothing, marriage, dwellings, vehicles, and the like, but rather be moderate. For among the transmitted supplications is: Sunan an-Nasa'i 1305Hasan (Darussalam) And nothing follows extravagance except... If they adhere to these three matters—acquiring wealth from its lawful source, spending what is obligatory in it of zakah and expenses, and not being extravagant in its expenditure—then much good is hoped for them. And good wealth is a blessing for the righteous man.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : This is a message we received from one of the noble listeners from the Yemen Arab Republic, Ahmad Ibrahim al-Sudani. He is complaining to us because we did not answer his letters, whereas we answered three of his letters a very short time ago.
He says, after praising the program and the respondents in it, and asking for their long life.
The Shaykh : I thank the brother for this good, solid speech, which indicates this man's faith, his intellect, and his fear of the future. My advice to these merchants is, first, to take their money from its proper source, in a permissible way that contains no prohibition, such as deception, fraud, or trickery of officials or non-officials, and not to dare to take it through riba (usury or interest), for riba is among the greatest of sins and the most dangerous for society. And Allah the Exalted said:
(278) O you who have believed, fear Allah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers. (279) And if you do not, then be informed of a war [against you] from Allah and His Messenger. But if you repent, you may have your principal - [thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِنْ كُنتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ * فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا فَأْذَنُوا بِحَرْبٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَإِنْ تُبْتُمْ فَلَكُمْ رُءُوسُ أَمْوَالِكُمْ لا تَظْلِمُونَ وَلا تُظْلَمُونَThey are all the same.
هم سواءI ask You to make me moderate in times of wealth and poverty
أسألك القصد في الفقر والغنىThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : This is a message we received from one of the noble listeners from the Yemen Arab Republic, Ahmad Ibrahim al-Sudani. He is complaining to us because we did not answer his letters, whereas we answered three of his letters a very short time ago.
He says, after praising the program and the respondents in it, and asking for their long life.