The amount of sustenance is assigned to each servant through God’s benevolence and he has to earn it in the right ways. An individual should not get involved in the multiplication of wealth, as it is forbidden by the Holy Quran. Little amount of sustenance does not imply one’s deprivation; such a person does not have to ask people for help. This kind of sustenance is in fact an examination for the individual to pass.
Any body who is given ample sustenance should spend his extra income for the needs of the society and should not be carried away by his income. One who does not enjoy ample sustenance should be content with what he has and should not get himself involved in sins. This scarcity is not for ever. It will last for a certain amount of time: it is the time of trial and examination set out by God. The Holy Quran says wealth, ornaments, government are not in the hand of one individual; they constantly change hands.
Thus the large amounts of wealth which is in the hands of the oppressors are gained through tyranny and injustice and is not given by God. This is because God will not approve such an accumulation of wealth. At Doomsday these tyrants are accountable and are penalized by chastisement. The deprivation of nations who are living in poverty beside mines of gold and valuable metals or oil is not approved by God, either, This is the product of the government of tyrants and has nothing to do with God.
The verses of the Holy Quran which deal with the sustenance, the right and wrong incomes, the amount of sustenance are divided into five classes:
1. There are those verses which absolutely relate sustenance to God. These verses declare that what is rightfully assigned to people is correct and good and is away from evil. This is because Allah is the source of benevolence, blessings, favor and glory. His might is infinite and He wishes every servant good. The health and welfare of man depends on his obedience towards God’s commands. Since the magor factor for prayer is the legal sustenance, God will assign people rightful means of subsistance:
الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ.
“Those who believe in the unseen and keep up prayer and spend out of what we have given them. 2:3”
الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ.
“Those who keep up prayer and spend benevolently out of what we have given them. 8:3”
الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَالصَّابِرِينَ عَلَى مَا أَصَابَهُمْ وَالْمُقِيمِ الصَّلَاةِ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ.
“To those whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned, and those who are patient under that which afflicts them, and those who keep up prayer, and spend benevolently out of what we have given them. 22:35”
أُوْلَئِكَ يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوا وَيَدْرَءُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ.
“These shall be granted their reward twice, because they are steadfast and they repel evil with good and spend out of what we have given them. 28:54”
تَتَجَافَى جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنْ الْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ.
“Their sides draw away from their beds, they call upon their Lord in fear and in hope and they spend benevolently out of what we have given them. 32:16”
In these verses reference is made to men of God and the lover-Gnostics who are in connection with the world of unknown and who establish prayers, whose heart are filled with God’s fear and awe as they remember Him, who are patient for their religion with oceans of hardships, who answer bad and evil with good and generosity, and who worship God at the dawn. As we see at the end of each one of the five verses we will read: “They spend benevolently out of what we have given them”.
The essence of sustenance rests on God’s knowledge and benevolence. Whatever stems from His names and Attributes is correct, genuine, and flawless. This meaning is deriven from the sentence:
وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ…
With regards to the above verses, nobody will ever dare to claim that there is any kind of sustenance except the clean one. This would be an utter accusation to the existence of Almighty God. God is free from any defect and flaw, and He has the features of perfection, wholesome, justice, rightousness, benevolence and magnanimity.
2. There are, as well, those verses which explicitly deem as good and clean those sustences which are allocated by God, and have exempted the Manager of the world from allocating any unlawful sustenance. They have considered unlawfully-gained bread as a satanic act:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ كُلُوا مِمَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌ.
“O Men! Eat the lawful and good things out of what is in the earth, and do not follow the footsteps of the shaitan; surely he is your open enemy. 2:168”
وَكُلُوا مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمْ اللَّهُ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي أَنْتُمْ بِهِ مُؤْمِنُونَ.
“And eat of the lawful and good things that Allah has given you, and be careful of your duty to Allah, in whom you believe. 5:58”
فَكُلُوا مِمَّا غَنِمْتُمْ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ.
“Eat, then, of the lawful and good things which you have acquired in war, and be careful of your duty to Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. 8:69”
فَكُلُوا مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمْ اللَّهُ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَاشْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ.
“Therefore, eat of what Allah has given you, lawful and good (things), and give thanks for Allah’s favor if Him do you serve. 16:114”
In the above verses our attention is drawn to the lawful nature of our daily bread and we are warned against unlawful sustenance and we are ordered to be careful of our duties towards Allah. We are also told to thank God for the lawful sustenance we receive from Him.
From the sentences مِمّا رَزَقَكُم الله ومِمّا غَنِمتُمْ (From what Allah has given you, and from what you have acquired in war) we could easily conclude that what Allah has given us is clean, lawful and good. It is not He who has opened up the unlawful way of gaining daily bread; rather, it is people who break the border of piety and follow the footsteps of Shaitan and the Aggression and sell their bright and prosperous tomorrow, when they could sit with Prophets, to the filthy things which they can get here in this world.
Refrence, The land of lovers, Ansarian Hossein , Prof
source : The land of lovers, Ansarian Hossein , Prof
