Do You Want to Be Rich or Poor?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

If you have a choice, would you choose to be poor or to be rich? I think everybody would choose to be rich. If you want to be rich, it is important to consciously think about why you want to be rich. If you don’t, it’s easy to get caught up in a race to get more and more money without ever knowing why.

There are some people who want to become wealthy because of the "FREEDOM" that wealth allows. A wealthy person, for example, can wake up in the morning and choose to jet off to ski in Colorado or deep sea diving in the Red Sea, while his less wealthy counterpart is forced to spend the day at work. But then when people make money they realize that maybe this so-called "freedom" is overrated. It comes along with lots of obligations to: Employees, Investors, Customers, Family, Community.

There are others that want the STATUS they think goes along with being wealthy. What happens? They make a lot of money; say a net worth of $250 Million. For a while they think that this kind of money is giving them lots of status. But then one day they wake up and realize there are tons of people that have lots of money. Even more money than they do.

Then there are some people who think that money can buy them "HAPPINESS." Money does provide some happiness but if getting rich is the only goal, you will never be happy nor have enough. The expectation is that when I have X amount of savings, I'll be happy and can do Y. But many multimillionaires are as unhappy or even more so than ordinary people. "It's lonely at the top." You make a lot of enemies on your way up and not many friends. Many things that really make you happy do not require you to be rich. You can't buy yourself a soulmate or true friends, you can't buy your dead parents, you can't buy a child of your own, you can't buy your youth back, you can't buy the time you have passed, you can't get back your health when you're terminally ill, you can't buy your bad habits (like smoking, drinking too much, doing drugs, being overweight) to go away, etc. The pursuit of getting rich may deprive you of many lifes' great things that are free. You should not be wanting what you love, but loving what you get.

Very rarely that rich people are happy. In the business of earning money, they spend very less time with their family. They never eat good themselves nor have sufficient for their diet. They go on a certain diet by stopping themselves from eating what they like. Most of them will be suffering from high blood pressure or sugar or cholesterol. Hence their health and money cannot allow them to eat everything they want. They won't eat the roadside 'nasi lemak' or 'shawarma', or go to the beach or park with their kids so as to maintain their dignity. Their children go to school driven by chauffeurs, probably in a bullet-proof car, wear branded things, eat five star hotel food, and won't associate with poor or middle class kids.

Man surprised me most about humanity. He sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived. [a quote from James J. Lachard]

The fact is whether you are poor or rich is already written. Poverty and wealth are two of the means by which Allah is testing us with. The difference between the two is how it changes us in terms of drawing closer or farther away from Him. If the poor is content with what he doesn't have and not blame Allah for his lack thereof, then he understood the meaning of his slavehood to Allah, and a great blessing for him to be poor. If the wealth and comfort of life distract the rich from the remembrance of Allah, then having wealth is a great fitnah for him.


Generally speaking, the safest option lies somewhere in the middle. However, sometimes when poverty comes one's way, one is driven to Allah in a manner that wouldn't otherwise have been possible, and sometimes, when wealth comes one's way, it saves one from falling into impatience and jealousy.

Allah Most High says,

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلْمَوْتِ ۗ وَنَبْلُوكُم بِٱلشَّرِّ‌ وَٱلْخَيْرِ‌ فِتْنَةً ۖ وَإِلَيْنَا تُرْ‌جَعُونَ ﴿٣٥

Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned. (35) [Qur'an, Al-Anbiya' 21:35]

وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّمَآ أَمْوَ‌ٰلُكُمْ وَأَوْلَـٰدُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عِندَهُۥٓ أَجْرٌ‌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿٢٨

And Know that your wealth and your children are but a trial and that Allah has with Him a mighty reward. [Qur'an, Al-Anfal 8:28]

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىْءٍ مِّنَ ٱلْخَوْفِ وَٱلْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْوَ‌ٰلِ وَٱلْأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَ‌ٰ‌تِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ‌ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِ‌ينَ ﴿١٥٥﴾ ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَصَـٰبَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيْهِ رَ‌ٰ‌جِعُونَ ﴿١٥٦﴾ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَ‌ٰتٌ مِّن رَّ‌بِّهِمْ وَرَ‌حْمَةٌ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُهْتَدُونَ ﴿١٥٧

And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, (155) Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return." (156) Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided. (157) [Qur'an, al-Baqarah 2:155-157]

The point is not worldly hardship or ease or happiness, the point is how we fare when we return to Allah. Poverty and wealth are thus not good and bad in and of themselves. Rather, they become good or bad depending on how you react to them--if you react to poverty with patience or to wealth with gratitude, it is good, and if you react to poverty with bitterness or to wealth with forgetfulness, it is bad.

Abdur-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) was one of the first eight persons to accept Islam. He was one of the ten persons (al-asharatu-l mubashshirin) who were assured of entering Paradise. He was one of the six persons chosen by Umar to form the council of shura to choose the Khalifah after his death. He was blessed with so much wealth and business success that he said if he lifted a stone, he expected to find gold or silver under it. He became the richest man among the companions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam. His business transactions invariably met with success and his wealth continued to grow. His trading caravans to and from Madinah grew larger and larger bringing to the people of Madinah wheat, flour, butter, cloths, utensils, perfume and whatever else was needed and exporting whatever surplus produce they had.

One day, a loud rumbling sound was heard coming from beyond the boundaries of Madinah normally a calm and peaceful city. The rumbling sound gradually increased in volume. In addition, clouds of dust and sand were stirred up and blown in the wind. The people of Madinah soon realized that a mighty caravan was entering the city. They stood in amazement as seven hundred camels laden with goods moved into the city and crowded the streets. There was much shouting and excitement as people called to one another to come out and witness the sight and see what goods and sustenance the camel caravan had brought.

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) heard the commotion and asked: "What is this that's happening in Madinah?" and she was told: "It is the caravan of Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf which has come from Syria bearing his merchandise."

"A caravan making all this commotion?" she asked in disbelief."

"Yes, O Umm al-Muminin. There are seven hundred camels."

Aisha shook her head and gazed in the distance as if she was trying to recall some scene or utterance of the past and then she said:

"I have heard the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, say: I have seen Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf entering Paradise creeping."

Why creeping? Why should he not enter Paradise leaping and at a quick pace with the early companions of the Prophet?

Some friends of his related to Abdur-Rahman the hadith which Aisha had mentioned. He remembered that he had heard the hadith more than once from the Prophet and he hurried to the house of Aisha and said to her: "Yaa Ammah! Have you heard that from the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wassallam?"

"Yes," she replied.

"You have reminded me of a hadith which I have never forgotten," he is also reported to have said. He was so over-joyed and added:

"If I could I would certainly like to enter Paradise standing. I swear to you, Yaa Ammah, that this entire caravan with all its merchandise, I will give for the sake of Allah."

And so he did. In a great festival of charity and righteousness, he distributed all that the massive caravan had brought to the people of Madinah and surrounding areas.

This is just one incident which showed what type of man Abdur-Rahman was. He earned much wealth but he never remained attached to it for its own sake and he did not allow it to corrupt him.

May Allah make us of those who are patient and grateful and enable us to follow the footsteps of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam and his righteous companions (may Allah be pleased with them all). Ameen.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

Wassalaam