Question:
Assalaamu’alaikum Sheikh Sajid. Are we the owners of our wealth or is it Allah? I once heard in a lecture that Allah owns all wealth, but in Surah aalImraan, aayah: 186 Allah says that the wealth is ours. Can you please shed some light on this?
Answer:
باسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن والاه
Wa’alaykum salaam dear brother. May Allah Almighty raise your ranks in this life and the hereafter. Ameen.
Our sources teach us that the wealth we have belongs to Allah Almighty and that the wealth has been shared amongst the us in different portions as a trust. It is because of this every human being will be questioned on the day of Judgement regarding his/her wealth and his/her earnings.
Substantiating this is the following evidences;
Allah Almighty says in Surah Noor, Aayah 33:
[…and give them from the wealth of Allah which He has given you]
And He Almighty says in Surah alHadeed, Aayah 7:
[Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend out of that in which He has made you successors. For those who have believed among you and spent, there will be a great reward.]
And our Messenger (Peace be upon him) said in a narration found in Saheeh Muslim:
“The world is sweet and green (alluring); and verily, Allah is causes you to succeed each other, generations after generations in it in order to make manifest your actions (and choices). So beware of this world and beware of women”.
And in another narration found in Sunan atTirmithi, He (Peace and blessings be upon Him) said:
“The two feet of the son of Adam will not move from near his Lord on the Day of Judgement until he is asked about five (matters) concerning his life – how he spent it; about his youth – how he took care of it; about his wealth – how he earned it; and where he spent it; and about that which he acted upon from the knowledge he acquired.” [Tirmidhi]
With regards to the Aayah in Surah aalImraan which you have shared; Allah Almighty says:
[You will surely be tested in your possessions and in yourselves. And you will surely hear from those who were given the Scripture before you and from those who associate others with Allah much abuse. But if you are patient and fear Allah – indeed, that is of the matters [worthy] of determination.]
In this Aayah wealth is listed in a way that gives the impression of wealth being possessed by a human being, and even though; there is no contradiction between this Aayah and previous evidences I have shared. Rather the sources of our Shariah explain each other and our scholars, in particular the scholars who specialize in explaining the Qur’an, teach us that all of wealth is owned by Allah Almighty and the Aayah in Surah aalImraan teaches us that the choice regarding how we earn this wealth and how we spend the wealth given to us in trust is ours. Thus, we are responsible and owners of the decision making related to how we earn and spend the wealth which Allah Almighty entrusts us with, with Allah Almighty being the ultimate owner of all wealth.
I pray this short answer sheds some light and should you require further clarification; please do not hesitate to write in.
And Allah Almighty knows best.
Your brother,
Sajid Umar
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