Page 112 - 24 Hours in the Life of a Muslim

24 Hours in the Life of a Muslim
24 Hours in the Life of a Muslim

And when your Lord announced: "If you are grate-
ful, I will certainly give you increase, but if you are
ungrateful, My punishment is severe." (Surah Ibrahim: 7)

At the same time, all blessings are a part of a human
being's worldly testing. For this reason, people of faith, in addi-
tion to giving thanks, use the blessings given to them as much
as possible in doing good works; they don't want to be stingy
and hoard wealth. This is because collecting and hoarding wealth
is a characteristic of the people of the Fire. Our Lord draws our
attention to this in the Qur'an:
But no! It is a Raging Blaze stripping away the limbs and
scalp, which calls for all who drew back and turned away,
and amassed and hoarded up. Truly man was created head-
strong, desperate when bad things happen, begrudging when
good things come. (Surat al-Ma'arij: 15-21)
In response to the question as to what people should give
away, Allah recommends that one give from "whatever is surplus
to your needs." (Surat al-Baqara: 219) It is a requirement of the
teachings of the Qur'an that believers use a portion of their earn-
ings apart from their own needs for good works as Allah directs.
The legal minimum of that is the obligatory alms, which is col-

lected by the ruler or community leader for distribution to the
poor and needy and those others
Allah mentions in the verse
about alms. Giving beyond
that is not obligatory but
highly recommended.
Certainly believ-
ers' thanksgiving for
their blessings will be to
use the blessings Allah
has given them to win His

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