بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Richness does not lie in the abundance of (worldly) goods but richness is the richness of the soul (heart, self).” [Muslim]
Worldly gains are merely a form of keeping one sustained in this life. Yes, wealth is a desire placed into mankind by Allah. However, as much as we gain we are never satisfied and it will not last forever either. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire – of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him the best return.” 3:14
Allah uses the phrase ” وَالْقَنَاطِيرِ الْمُقَنطَرَةِ” which briefly translates to “heaps upon heaps” of wealth. This is why we see the extremely rich still chasing to get richer – the greed of mankind will never stop. The only method of contentment for the soul is the consciousness and worship of Allah. An example of the worth even a small islamic ritual has:
The prophet (ﷺ) said: “The two sunnah rak’at of the morning prayer are better than the world and what it contains.” [Muslim]
This hadith relates to the two rak’at before the Fajr prayer. Imagine those 5 or 10 minutes spent praying is worth more than the entire world. This is one of many actions that are far better than any worldly gain. Materialism means nothing to Allah, and there is no bribing the angel of death. Let us all work to make our souls richer for it will be what enriches our afterlife.
Allah knows best.