1293 – Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Guard yourselves against injustice, for injustice will be layers of darkness on the Day of Resurrection; and guard yourselves against avarice, for it destroyed those who came before you.” Related by Muslim ⦗1⦘.

Vocabulary of the ḥadīth
• shuḥ: pronounced with a ḍammah on the shīn and a doubled ḥāʾ; it is to withhold what one has while coveting what one does not have, and it is not confined to wealth alone.

Lessons drawn from the ḥadīth

1. The narration warns emphatically against injustice and commands that it be shunned altogether. Its ultimate consequence is perilous, for it will appear as darkness on the Day of Resurrection. The believers will walk in the light of their faith, saying, “Our Lord, perfect for us our light,” whereas those who wrong their Lord through polytheism, wrong themselves through sins, or wrong others in life, property, or honour will wander in the pitch-black void of their injustice and find no path.

2. The ḥadīth likewise cautions against avarice and miserliness, for they became the cause of the destruction of earlier nations. Their greed for wealth led them to encroach upon the property of others, spawning wars and turmoil that ruined them and drove them to violate what Allah had made sacred. Such is ruin in this worldly life.

3. Avarice is also a cause of ruin in the Hereafter, for transgressing against another’s wealth, violating his sanctities, and shedding his blood are among the gravest forms of injustice and the most serious of sins. These offenses lead directly to perdition in the Hereafter and to the torment of the Fire.