بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“And [they are] those who, when they spend, do so not excessively or sparingly but are ever, between that, [justly] moderate” [25:67]
We see two extremes around us today:
- Those who over spend on unnecessary items.
- Those who don’t spend enough.
Allah teaches us that Islam is balance in all its aspects and spending is an important one. In this section of the Qur’an Allah speaks of those Muslims who will earn extra status with Allah.
Not throwing money away or spending insane amounts on pointless things is one way of being in this category. This is not merely talking about “shopaholics”, but also those who go out of their way to buy something that is logically over priced. These people know that the item is too expensive yet they buy it anyway.
Allah uses the word “yusrifou” which is derived from the word “israf” meaning to go overboard, to waste. This can apply to legitimate items too such as clothing or food. Spending on food and clothing is legitimate but over spending on them becomes a problem.
Then there is the other side of the spectrum, those who hog their wealth, spending the bare minimal just to keep the numbers in the bank account or the stacks of notes. Allah uses the verb “yaqtorou” which essentially means to shrink the budget.
With these people it is usually the people surrounding them that suffer the most, such as family. The father may be overly attached to his earnings to the point where any money he spends on his kids feels like a huge burden. Allah teaches us that this is not the way a Muslim’s mentality should be.
We must spend our wealth on ourselves, the people around us and those in needs, within the limits Allah has given us. Those who are rich will have different limits to those who are less wealthy. We must stay in our lanes, as they say today.
At the end of the day the money we keep in this world will mean nothing once we pass on to the next life. What will have value is what we have spent in doing good for ourselves and others, and also abstaining from that which is wasteful.
May Allah make us of those who balance their wealth.
Allah knows best.