We all know, that in order to survive everyone needs to earn and needs some form of wealth. And this wealth is achieved in different ways, whether by working for someone or by engaging in business.
The main ways of increasing wealth in Islam are:
- Start with seeking forgiveness for your sins
- Perform Salah and enjoin it on your family
- Maintaining ties of kinship
- Returns on spending in Allah’s Cause
- Dua (supplication)
Ways to increase wealth in Islam
In the Quran and Sunnah, Muslims are indeed encouraged to seek out ways to acquire Allah’s bounty and the Prophet (SAW) has given many teachings regarding how to acquire wealth, money and to protect oneself from poverty.
Allah is well aware of our desire for wealth, for He says in the Quran:
‘And indeed he is, in love of wealth, intense.’
Quran [100:8]
There are two meanings to this, one is that he is severe in his love of wealth and the other view is that it means he is covetous and stingy due to the love of wealth.
In the Quran and Sunnah, Muslims are indeed encouraged to seek out ways to acquire Allah’s bounty and the Prophet (SAW) has given many teachings regarding how to acquire wealth and also to protect oneself from poverty.
‘…And ask Allah of his bounty. Indeed Allah is ever, of all things, Knowing.’
Quran [4:32]
So what are some of the halal ways of increasing wealth?
1. Start with seeking forgiveness for your sins
‘…Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.’
Quran [2:268]
‘And said, ‘Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver – He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers – And give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers.
Ibn Abbas (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said,
“If anyone constantly seeks pardon (from Allah), Allah will appoint for him a way out of every distress and a relief from every anxiety, and will provide sustenance for him from where he expects not.” [Abu Dawood].
It is the Sunnah of the Prophet to seek forgiveness 100 times a day so follow this practice strictly.
2. Perform Salah and enjoin it on your family
‘And enjoin prayer upon your family [and people] and be steadfast therein. We ask you not for provision; We provide for you, and the [best] outcome is for [those of] righteousness.’
Quran [20:132]
Ibn Kathir in his tafsir says this means that if you establish prayer, your sustenance will come to you from where you did not expect.
Abu Hurairah (RA) said that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: ‘Allah, the Exalted, says, ‘O son of Adam, perform My worship and I will fill your chest with wealth and fulfil your needs. If you do not do so, then I will fill your chest with toil and I will not fulfil your needs.’ (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)
‘And when the prayer has been concluded, disperse within the land and seek from the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often that you may succeed.’
3. Maintaining ties of kinship
‘So would you perhaps, if you turned away, cause corruption on earth and sever your [ties of] relationship?’
Quran [47:22]
This involves a general prohibition of spreading corruption and a specific prohibition of severing the ties of kinship. Allah has commanded the people to establish righteousness on earth, as well as to join the ties of kinship by treating relatives well in speech, actions and spending wealth in charity.
In a hadith reported by Anas bin Malik (RA), the Prophet (SAW) said:
“Whoever loves that he be granted more wealth and that his lease of life is prolonged then he should keep good relations with his kith and kin.” [Bukhari]
4. Returns on spending in Allah’s Cause
‘The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.’
Quran [2:261]
This verse indicates that Allah ‘grows’ the good deeds for its doers, just as He grows the plant for whoever sows it in fertile land.
It is also worth remembering that spending in charity also protects against poverty. As the hadith mentions: ‘It was narrated from Abu Hurairah (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) said: “There is no day on which the people get up but two angels come down and one of them says, ‘O Allah, give in compensation to the one who spends (in charity),’ and the other says, ‘O Allah, destroy the one who withholds.’ (Bukhari, Muslim)
5. Duas for increasing wealth
‘…Indeed, my Lord is the Hearer of supplication.’
Quran [14:39]
‘And He answers [the supplication of] those who have believed and done righteous deeds and increases [for] them from His bounty…’
Quran [42:26]
Ibn Kathir says this means Allah answers their supplications and gives them even more besides.
There are different duas taught by the Prophet (SAW) regarding increase in wealth and removal or avoidance of poverty and we shall look at some of these below:
‘O Allah, I ask You for knowledge that is of benefit, a good provision and deeds that will be accepted.’ (Ibn Majah) It is mentioned the Prophet (SAW) used to recite this at the end of Fajr prayer.
O Allah, I ask You for guidance and piety, chastity and wealth
O Allah, forgive my sins, widen my home and grant barakah in my rizq (sustenance)
O Allah, suffice me with what You have allowed instead of what You have forbidden, and make me independent of all besides You (Tirmidhi)
The greatest businessman of the Ummah – Give more get more
The more you give, the more you get. The story of Abdur Rahman ibn Auf (RA), who was considered one of the richest if not the richest men among the Sahaba, tells us one of the ways to get more is to give more. He started his trade dealings from nothing and Allah blessed him with so much wealth over time, and giving so much away in charity or to help Islamic causes was one of the ways he became rich.
It may seem counter-intuitive but an important lesson from his life story is how much he gave away, so when you are generous, Allah will give you more, when you work hard Allah will give you more, when you reach out to people, Allah will bless you with so much more. May Allah bless us with the same generosity.
Maximise your wealth
‘… Say, “Indeed, [all] bounty is in the hand of Allah – He grants it to whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Wise.‘
Quran [3:73]
From the hadith in Muslim we read:
Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated from the Prophet (SAW) that once, a man was travelling in the wilderness. He heard a voice in the clouds ordering an angel of a cloud to rain on a particular farm. So the man followed the cloud and saw that it did indeed rain on a rocky mountain plain. All the water gathered into a stream and poured into the farm. The man saw the owner working on that farm and asked his name. It was the same name he had heard specified to the cloud.
The man then narrated what he had seen and heard, and inquired from the owner what was so special about him that would explain all of this. The owner answered that he split his harvest into three equal parts: the first, he gave as sadaqah (charity in the name of Allah, the second he kept as sustenance for his family, and the third, he replanted back into the garden.
What does this teach us?
From this story we learn that there is no sustenance that will come to you without the permission of Allah, Your sustenance is written down and will come to you in ways that you don’t even know and from avenues that you don’t recognize. But Allah will continue to give rizq (sustenance) to a person who is doing good.
We also learn from this hadith that although this man wasn’t rich, he didn’t have a huge garden but was a simple man. With his giving Allah continues to give to him as he goes forward and his investment continues to grow and he becomes blessed.
This hadith also teaches that it’s Sunnah to invest your money and to build for a future in this world as the man did by replanting back into the garden. Don’t be reckless with your money.
