Page 170 - Seekers Guide Book

Islam and the Quran
with his neighbour. Such a society, in short, is a haven of
contentment and well-being.

104 Did the Prophet Muhammad live a simple
and humble life, or did he have limited

means and live a poor man’s life? For

short, what was his wealth status?

he word used in the Quran for money is qiyam, which
Tliterally means a place to settle down. God has made
wealth a means of qiyam for people, that is, it works to
provide a base to people for their livelihood. We need
money as a base for what we do in this world; we do
not require money for luxury. Here, ‘base’ means that
money forms a kind of material support for the purpose
we have to achieve in life. For example, installation of an
elevator in a house could be done as a display of wealth,
or it could be done to facilitate movement of the elderly
and those who may not be able to use the staircase. The
former approach would be against the teaching of Islam.
But the latter approach, which is to facilitate movement,
shall be looked upon favourably. Everyone is allowed to
earn money to acquire a base for the work they have to
do in life. The quantum of wealth earned by an individual
is not the concern of Islam; the individual must simply
earn his livelihood honestly and spend it on utility rather
than on vanities.

Once Umar ibn al-Khattab came to the Prophet’s house
and saw the latter lying down on a mat. The Prophet’s

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