Lessons from the stances of Abu Dharr (may God be pleased with him)
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-Islam and Life-اسلام والحياة
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### 05 – D – The Responsibility of Wealth
Every blessing carries a responsibility behind it. Every coin added to a person’s wealth becomes a new burden placed upon his shoulders. He must carry the trust of this burden throughout his journey along the dark, winding, and fearful road of life until he meets God.
Yet the human back is too weak to bear the burden of wealth and riches in the face of the strength of one’s desires and passions. Therefore, a balance must be maintained between the weight of the load and the weakness of the back. One must not carry more than he is able to bear. A person must know his capacity for challenge and for bearing responsibility, and should not load upon his back more than he can carry.
It is permissible to earn whatever wealth you wish, but on the condition that you do not burn your life in the Hereafter because of it.
Have you heard the advice of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) to his son Imam al‑Husayn (peace be upon him)? He said:
“Do not place upon your back more than you can bear, lest it become a burden against you. And if you find among the needy and the poor someone who can carry your provisions and your load to the Day of Resurrection and deliver it to you there, then seize that opportunity. Increase in what you give him and provide him with, for perhaps you will seek him on the Day of Resurrection and not find him.”
The glitter of wealth robs many people of the ability to understand life and prepare for their final destiny. It drags them into confusion within a world of competition and bidding. They wander among the lines of dinars and dirhams until they eventually sink into degradation.
The worship of material wealth confines a person to narrow horizons and prevents him from seeing life and things except through the small holes of personal interest.
To prevent materialism from dominating the human being, wealth must be spent in the way of God and on those in need. One must not seek unlawful wealth, for in that lies the end of faith.
Nothing prevented Abu Dharr from acquiring great wealth. He was a companion of the Messenger of God, the fifth of the Muslims, and among the foremost fighters alongside the bearer of the message throughout his life. Yet faith restrained him from that. In the era in which Abu Dharr lived—when people were suffering from extreme poverty and deprivation—the entourage of the caliph was devouring the wealth of God as camels devour the vegetation of spring (as Imam Ali, peace be upon him, described).
Al‑Ahnaf ibn Qays said:
“I was among a group of Quraysh when Abu Dharr (may God be pleased with him) passed by saying:
‘Give glad tidings to those who hoard wealth of branding upon their backs that will come out from their sides, and branding upon the backs of their necks that will emerge from their foreheads.’
Then he moved aside and sat by a pillar. I asked: ‘Who is this?’
They said: ‘This is Abu Dharr.’
So I went to him and said: ‘What was that statement I heard you saying just now?’
He replied: ‘I said nothing except what I heard from their Prophet.’
I said: ‘What do you say about this allowance (stipend)?’
He said: ‘Take it, for today it is a means of assistance; but if it becomes the price of your religion, then leave it.’”
(Al‑Ghadir, p. 320)
Now you know the stance that a sincere believer should take regarding wealth:
– Seek it through lawful means.
– Spend it in the way of God and for the benefit of people.
– But if it becomes the price of your religion, then abandon it.
For “my beloved (the Prophet) entrusted me with this: any wealth of gold or silver upon which its due right is not fulfilled will be heated and become burning coals upon its owner until he spends it in the way of God.”
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