Good Health Is Better Than Wealth: Lessons from a Prophetic Hadith

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

لَا بَأْسَ بِالْغِنَى لِمَنِ اتَّقَى، وَالصِّحَّةُ لِمَنِ اتَّقَى خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْغِنَى، وَطِيبُ النَّفْسِ مِنَ النِّعَمِ
“There is nothing wrong with wealth for the one who has taqwa, but good health for the one who has taqwa is better than wealth, and a contented soul is among the blessings.”¹

Preserving the Blessing of Health

Good health is one of Allah’s greatest blessings, yet many people spend years chasing wealth while neglecting their bodies. The Prophet ﷺ taught us that good health is better than wealth because it allows us to perform many acts of worship and fulfill our responsibilities. When health is lost, many of these acts become difficult or even impossible.

Since Allah has entrusted us with our bodies, we should strive to take care of them. There is nothing wrong with going to the gym, eating healthy foods, and avoiding habits that harm our health. These efforts should not be driven by vanity ,or pride, but by gratitude to Allah with the desire to preserve the blessings He has bestowed upon us.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, though there is good in both.”²

Strength of faith is the greatest strength, but physical strength is also a blessing when it is used in obedience to Allah. Every healthy meal, every walk, every workout, and every effort to improve our well-being can become an act of worship when done sincerely for His sake. In other words, if you embark on these acts with the intent to become a better practicing Muslim, then its worship. A wise Muslim therefore strives to preserve his health.

Lesson One: Islam Does Not Condemn Wealth

The Prophet ﷺ did not say that wealth is evil. Rather, he conditioned it upon taqwa. Wealth without taqwa can become a means of destruction. It may be earned unlawfully, withheld from those who have a right to it, or spent in sinful ways.

However, when joined with taqwa, wealth becomes a means of charity, supporting one’s family, and aiding the cause of Islam. For this reason, Islam does not praise poverty for its own sake, nor does it condemn wealth when it is acquired and spent correctly.³

Lesson Two: Health Is Better Than Wealth

This is the central lesson of the hadith. Good health enables a believer to pray, fast, seek knowledge, provide for family members, and engage in many other righteous deeds. Money cannot purchase the ability to stand in prayer if illness prevents a you from standing. Al-Sindi explains that bodily health assists a person in worship, while sickness may prevent many acts of obedience.⁴

For this reason, a healthy believer with modest means may possess a greater blessing than a wealthy person burdened by illness.

Lesson Three: Good Health Is Among the Greatest Worldly Blessings

The scholars often connect this hadith to another famous narration in which the Prophet ﷺ said:

“There are two blessings that many people squander: health and free time.”⁵

Many people do not appreciate the value of health until it is taken from them. The righteous predecessors frequently asked Allah for al-‘afiyah (well-being) because they understood that health is one of the greatest aids in worship and obedience.

Lesson Four: Contentment Is Greater Than Both

The Prophet ﷺ concluded the hadith by saying:

وَطِيبُ النَّفْسِ مِنَ النِّعَمِ
“A contented soul is among the blessings.”

The scholars explain that this includes peace of mind with the satisfaction of Allah’s decree. A person may possess wealth and health yet still live in misery. Another person may have little wealth but enjoy peace of heart and gratitude to Allah.

Such a person may, in reality, possess the greater blessing.

Lesson Five: This Refutes Monasticism

Some people believe that piety requires poverty. This hadith disproves that idea.

Many of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ were wealthy, including Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Uthman ibn Affan, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf. Their wealth was praised because it was accompanied by taqwa, generosity, and service to Islam.

The problem is not wealth itself. The problem is becoming attached to wealth and allowing it to distract one from obedience to Allah.

Lesson Six: The Importance of Good Health

Al-Munawi explains that health assists a servant in both religious and worldly affairs, while wealth only benefits a person when it is accompanied by taqwa.⁶

The Prophet ﷺ redirected the attention of believers away from what people usually admire and toward what Allah truly values. Wealth is not blameworthy when accompanied by taqwa, yet health is often the greater blessing because it enables worship and obedience. Beyond both of them is a contented heart, for a servant who is pleased with Allah’s decree enjoys a blessing that many wealthy people never attain.

The successful person is not merely the one who possesses much, but the one who uses his health, wealth, and life in the obedience of Allah.

Footnotes

Al-Adab al-Mufrad, no. 300; Sunan Ibn Majah, no. 2141. Authenticated by al-Albani.
Sahih Muslim, no. 2664.
See the discussions of this hadith in the works of al-Suyuti and later commentators.
Al-Sindi, Hashiyat al-Sindi ‘ala Sunan Ibn Majah, commentary on Hadith no. 2141.
Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 6412.
Al-Munawi, Fayd al-Qadir, commentary on this hadith.

Prepared by
Abu Aaliyah Abdullah Dwight Battle

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