Prosperity and hardship among people are no coincidence, but are ordained by Almighty Allah, in His supreme wisdom and design, to test His servants, today's Friday sermon said.
Today's Friday sermon, delivered on the theme “Wealth belongs to Almighty Allah”, said that everything in the universe is under the absolute ownership of Almighty Allah, and that the wealth in our possession is a trust placed temporarily in our care. Just as people must account for every trust in this world, they will have to account for that trust before Almighty Allah on the Day of Judgement, the sermon said.
The sermon said Almighty Allah has made clear that wealth is not merely something granted to meet the needs of life, but is a test.
One of His revealed verses means:
“And know that your wealth and your children are indeed a test.”
The sermon said this was a test fraught with danger, and that if a person's love of wealth exceeded its bounds, it would destroy their faith, corrupt their morals and sever their relationship with Allah. It said, however, that people would certainly be questioned on the Day of Judgement about the wealth they accumulated.
Noting that earning income through unlawful means is among the acts most strongly prohibited in Islam, the sermon said Almighty Allah has expressly forbidden making money through usury, bribery, fraud and deception, theft, gambling, robbery and breaches of trust. These are not merely financial wrongdoings, but grave betrayals of a divine trust, it said.
The sermon said Almighty Allah has prescribed rights and responsibilities that must be fulfilled in relation to the wealth He has entrusted to people. The first and foremost obligation is to provide for one's family — one's wife and children, parents and everyone else one is required to support, it said. This is more than a social responsibility; it is a lofty religious obligation, the sermon added.
Noting that people have no right to squander wealth or waste it needlessly, the sermon said spending beyond one's needs, buying unnecessary goods and leaving them unused until they expire and have to be discarded also constitute a betrayal of trust.
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