Dealing with the Financial Crisis
يَابَنِي ءَادَمَ خُذُوا زِينَتَكُمْ عِنْدَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ(الأعراف 31)
Children of Adam! Dress well when you are at worship, and eat and drink, but do not be extravagant. Allah does not like extravagant people. (al-A’raf 7:31)
وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّهُ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَأَحْسِن كَمَا أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ وَلَا تَبْغِ الْفَسَادَ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ {القصص77}
Seek the life to come by means of what Allah has granted you, and do not neglect your rightful share in this world. Do good to others as Allah has done good to you. Do not seek to spread corruption in the land, for Allah does not like those who do corruption.
(Al-Qasas 28:77)
America is today in the grip of a terrible financial crisis. A Chicago based psychologist Nancy Molitor said, “It is not a Wall Street crisis … it is affecting the entire consumer economy and almost every individual that I see… I have never seen something that has affected such a wide range of people. The number of people seeking mental help because of finance related stress has skyrocketed over the last month.” She further said, “There is a sense of total helplessness, which if it goes on long enough it becomes depression.” A survey released by the American Psychological Association found that eight in ten Americans say the economy is a major source of stress in their lives. Nearly half say they are worried about providing for their families basic needs. (Islamonline, October 8, 2008)
What caused this crisis? There are a multiple factors of greed, corruption, mismanagement, extravagance, injustice, war, exploitation, riba etc. that have brought about this crisis. It may take years to fix this and bring the situation back to normal. Meanwhile we all have to learn how to deal with this for our sake and for the sake of our children. When people are in financial crunch, they normally try to find scapegoats. Minorities whether racial or religious often, often suffer more during a country is in crisis, whether political or financial. We Muslims are already under great stress due to negative propaganda. For us Muslims in America, it is even more important to understand this financial challenge and to face it with wisdom.
According to the Qur’an, money is both a blessing as well as a trial. It is called “khayr” (a blessing, see al-Baqarah 2:180; 215), “Qiyam” (a mean of support as in al-Nisa’ 4:5) and “fadl” (a bounty as in al-Baqarah 2:198; al-Jumu’ah 62:10; al-Muzzammil 73:20); but it is also called ‘mata’” (a temporary thing as in al-Qasas 28:60; al-Shura 42:26) and “fitnah” (a trial as in al-Anfal 8:28 etc.). We are reminded again and again in the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet – peace be upon him- to earn in the Halal and honest ways, avoid greed, deception, fraud, cheating and stealing. We are also told that we should use our wealth carefully, without waste or extravagance. To deal with the current crisis I suggest that we should do the following things:
- Observe Taqwa and keep our trust in Allah. Allah has promised in the Qur’an:
....وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا {2}وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا {الطلاق 2-3}
“…. Whosoever is mindful of Allah, He will find a way out for him and provide for him from where he did not expect. Whoever puts his trust in Allah, He is enough for him. Allah achieves His purpose and Allah has set a due measure for everything.” (Al-Talaq 65:2-3)
Observing the Taqwa (God consciousness) and Tawakkul (trust in Allah) in this situation would mean first that we should not panic, remain steadfast and contented. It would also mean working hard without doing anything Haram (against our faith ) or illegal (against the law of the land).
- Second thing for us Muslims is to remember that Islam teaches us to live debt free. We should avoid as much as possible taking loans. And if we take any loan, we should pay it off as soon as possible. Loan with interest is greatest wrong and it should be avoided completely. The worst loans are the credit card loans. They are very easy to get into, but they have highest interest. They ruin the life of many middle income people. Treat your credit card like cash and do not get into what is called, ‘buying what you do not need with the money that you do not have.’
- Third thing is that we should be very careful with our resources. Wastefulness, extravagance, showoff and unnecessary expenditure are signs of ungratefulness to Allah. Those who waste their resources and indulge in extravagance are called ‘Devil’s brothers’ in the Qur’an (Al-Isra’ 17:27).
- Muslims should also learn how to save money for themselves and for their children. The Prophet – peace be upon him- used to remind:
اغتنم خمسا قبل خمس: شبابك قبل هرمك، وصحتك قبل سقمك، وغناك قبل فقرك، وفراغك قبل شغلك، وحياتك قبل موتك (الحاكم في المستدرك)
Take advantage of five before five: Your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your become too busy, your life before your death. (Al-Hakim in Mustadrak)
- Be smart with your money. Invest it very carefully and always in Halal ways. Also do not be fooled by telemarketers or people who will try to take away your money by giving you many incredible lucrative ideas. Some of them may even come to the Masjid also with very pious look and then deprive you of your precious earnings or savings. Check out every proposal very carefully and consult with others.
- Take care of your health. The health costs are ruining the savings of many people. Find good health plan and keep it up.
- Pay your Zakat carefully and give Sadaqat regularly. This is best way to receive Allah’s blessings and be saved from difficulties. Help the poor and needy. Help those who are out of job and are in difficulties. Those who help others Allah helps them. The Prophet – peace be upon him said,
فعن عبدالله بن عمر رضي الله عنهما أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال :( أحب الناس إلى الله أنفعهم ، وأحب الأعمال إلى الله عز وجل سرور تدخله على مسلم ، أو تكشف عنه كربة ، أو تقضي عنه دينا ، أو تطرد عنه جوعا ولأن أمشي مع أخي المسلم في حاجة أحب إليّ من أن اعتكف في المسجد شهرا ومن كف غضبه ستر الله عورته ومن كظم غيظا ولو شاء أن يمضيه أمضاه ملأ الله قلبه رضا يوم القيامة ومن مشى مع أخيه المسلم في حاجته حتى يثبتها له أثبت الله تعالى قدمه يوم تزل الأقدام وإن سوء الخلق ليفسد العمل كما يفسد الخل العسل ) رواه الطبراني في الكبير وابن أبي الدنيا وحسنه الألباني في السلسلة الصحيحة
The most beloved to Allah among the people are those who are most beneficial to people. The most beloved deeds in the sight of Allah are that you bring happiness to a Muslim, to remove his difficulty, pay off his loan, or remove his hunger. (Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said, ‘That I go out with my Muslim brother to take care of his need is more beloved to me than spending a month in I’tikaf.’) Whosoever will control his anger, Allah will cover his shortcomings. Whosoever will subdue his revenge that he could carry on, Allah will fill his heart with happiness on the Day of Judgment. Whosoever will walk with his brother to take care of his need, Allah will establish his feet on the Day when the feel will stumble. Bad temper spoils the deed as the vinegar spoils the honey. (Reported by al-Tabarani in the Kabir and Ibn Abi Dunya. Albani says this is a Hasan Hadith)
I pray to Allah to keep us all on the right path and save us from all difficulties in this world and the Hereafter. Ameen. – email@DrSiddiqi.com
(Khutbah at ISOC – Shawwal 10, 1429/ October 10, 2008)
