having just enough is better; and others have suspended judgment, declining to regard either as superior. This disagreement concerns those who fulfill their obligations to Allah in poverty and in wealth, as appropriate to each condition. For someone who fulfills his obligations to Allah when poor but fails to fulfill them when wealthy, there is no disagreement that poverty is better for him than wealth. Likewise, for someone who fulfills his obligations to Allah when wealthy but fails to fulfill them when poor, there is no disagreement that wealth is better for him.
The merit of poverty and wealth does not lie in either condition itself, but in the deeds worthy of reward that each enables a person to perform. Through poverty, a person acquires patience, contentment with the share Allah has allotted him, and gratitude to Allah Most High for it. He also works and serves to provide for his own maintenance and clothing, and the maintenance and clothing of those he is obliged to support, and is rewarded for this. Through wealth, he acquires steadfastness in spending it on obligatory duties and recommended acts of devotion, despite his love for it. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:
“And gives wealth, despite his love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask, and to free slaves” [al-Baqarah: 177], continuing to His words: “Those are the ones who have been true, and those are the ones who are mindful of Allah” [al-Baqarah: 177].
And He, Mighty and Majestic, says:
“And they give food, despite their love for it, to the needy, the orphan, and the captive” [al-Insān: 8].
He also acquires gratitude to Allah Most High for the bounty He has granted him, and is rewarded for all of this, as were the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. Among them were the poor, the wealthy, and those whom Allah enriched from His bounty after they had been poor. They were all, may Allah be pleased with them, praiseworthy in both poverty and wealth. In poverty, they patiently endured straitened circumstances, thanked Allah Most High for them, remained content with what they were given, and gave others preference over themselves even when they were in need. For all of this, they received a reward whose measure was known only to Allah Most High.
In wealth, they thanked Allah Most High for the bounty He had bestowed upon them and the abundant provision He had granted them. They paid the obligatory zakat that Allah had enjoined upon their wealth, met the pressing needs they were obliged to address, and voluntarily offered acts of devotion and charity that were not obligatory upon them, seeking Allah’s pleasure. For all of this, they received a reward whose measure is known only to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, Creator of the earth and the heavens.