The Blessings of Faith Compared to Worldly Luxuries

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ” اللَّهَ يُعْطِي الدُّنْيَا مَنْ يُحِبُّ وَمَنْ لَا يُحِبُّ، وَلَا يُعْطِي الْإِيمَانَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَحَبَّ

The Prophet(ﷺ) said: Allah bestows the luxuries of this world to those whom He loves and hates; however, He Only bestows faith to those whom He loves.[1]

Lessons from this Hadith

This hadith establishes the attribute of, “Love” for Allah in manner that befits His Majesty.

Having wealth along with the opulence of this vanishing world isn’t a sign that Allah loves you, or that you are blessed.

Being chosen by Allah to be an upright Muslim with correct speech, belief in the hearth, and actions are evident signs Allah loves you.

Those who are deceived by the wealth they amassed, and believe that this is evidence of their dignity, then they are the disadvantaged. They are the ones who hastened the reward of their deeds in this world and believed that what was granted to them from Allah provides them with evidence of their dignity, their virtue, their honor, along with their superiority to others. Similarly, this happened to others from the previous nations. For that reason Allah mentioned Qarun said” This has been given to me only because of knowledge I possess…”[Al-Qasas:78]

Those people who are ignorant about the way Allah works are duped into thinking the wealthy are truly successful and favored. For that reason they say, “ “Ah, would that we had the like of what Qarun (Korah) has been given? Verily! He is the owner of a great fortune.”[A;-Qasas:79] These are the ones whose outlook is worldly, and they do not know that Allah gives this world to those whom He loves and to those whom He doesn’t, yet He only gives the eternal life to those whom He loves.[2]

A questioner might ask then why does Allah allow those whom He doesn’t love to enjoy the riches of this world ? The answer is found in the hadith, “Were this world worth a wing of mosquito, He would not have given a drink of water to an Kafir.”[3]

Allah (تعالى ) has ordered the believers to be grateful during times of ease and patient during times of hardship.

Translated and prepared by Abu Aaliyah Abdullah Battle

Jakarta, Indonesia 1445H, Dhul -Qi’dah 26^th

[1] Muʻjam Asāmī 342 graded as being Sahih by Imam Al-Albani

[2] Explanation of Aqeedah At-Tahawiyah, by Shaykh Al-Jibreen

[3] At-Tirmithi #2320 . Imam At-Tirmtihi graded this hadith as being Sahih