With regards to earning money, mankind  fall into three types: someone whose livelihood distracts him from his Afterlife, and he is thus of the  ruined; someone whose Afterlife distracts him from his livelihood, and he is, therefore, of the winners; and someone whose livelihood distracts him for the sake of his Afterlife, and he is, thus, of those who follow a middle course. The  Messenger of Allah, PBUH), says, “ My nation will be of three classes: The first class do not cleave neither for gathering money nor for saving it. They do not strive to possess or monopolize it. Their satisfaction of the present world is (only) something that satisfies hunger or covers private parts. They are contented, in it (i.e. the present life), with that which gives them access to the Hereafter. Those are the ones on whom there shall be no fear neither shall they sorrow. The second class are those who love to gather up wealth by the noblest ways, and to spend it in the best ways; they establish contact with their relatives and Kin; they favor their brothers with it; they console the poor with it. It is easier for them to bite at a stone than to earn one dirhem (penny) illegally or to spend it improperly, to hold it back from those who deserve it, or to store it away till they die. Those - should they be interrogated they will be chastised; should they be forgiven, they will be safe. The third class are those who love to gather up wealth whether legally or illegally, and to hold it back from those to whom it has been ordained. If they spend it, they spend it extravagantly; and if they hold it back, they hold it back with avarice and monopoly. Those are the ones whose hearts have been invaded by the love for the present life that will bring them to the Hell Fire with their sins.” Imam Alai, was also reported as saying, “ The present world: Its lawful things are reckoning; its forbidden things are chastisement; its judicial errors are punishment”

                                                                                                                        Allah Most Merciful incites mankind to seek livelihood and makes it easy for them. He, says, “ and we made the day as a means of subsistence.” [LXXV III; 11] and, “ It is We who have paced you with authority on earth, and provided you therein with means for the fulfillment of your life.” [VII; 10], and, “ And when the Prayer is finished, then may you disperse through the land, and seek the Bounty of Allah.” [LXII; 10]. The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH) also says, “ verily, Allah has prescribed endeavor for you, so endeavor!”

Omar bin Al-Khattab, also said, “ None of you should refrain from seeking livelihood saying, ‘O Allah! Provide me with sustenance!’  You know that the sky rains neither gold nor silver.” He also said, “ Be in no need of men; it is safer for your religion and more honorable for you with them.”

However, for driving away anxiety for the sake of livelihood and preventing committing sins for the sake of livelihood, and for safeguarding oneself from humbling oneself for the sake of livelihood, the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), reassured the believer that his provision is already allotted, guaranteed, and even well-proportioned, that Allah’s provision is never brought forth by greed or driven back by hatred, and that Allah, the Almighty has made happiness and delight in faith and consent, while worry and sadness in disbelief and discontentment To this effect, He (PBUH) says, “ The Holy spirit has inspired  me that no living creature will ever die until it gets all its provision; so fear Allah, o servants of Allah! And make your demands reasonable and make your jobs decent, and let not delay of any of provision cause you to seek it through disobedience; verily what is with Allah is not obtainable by disobeying Him.”

In the Divine Hadith, Allah, Praise be to Him, says, “ O My servant! I have created the heavens and the earth and I have not been tired by their creation. Does it tire Me to drive a loaf of bread to you every now and then?! You are to execute your duties towards Me, and I am to provide you with livelihood. Even though you might fail to do your duties towards Me, I shall never deprive you of your livelihood. By My Might and Majesty! If you are not contented with What I have allotted for you, I shall give the present life power over you, so that you run in it as a beast does in the wilderness, getting nothing save that I have allotted to you; and I shall not care, and you will then be reprehensible in My sight”. That is why our Lord has forbidden us from being distracted by that which He has guaranteed for us from that which He has ordained on us.

However, not every sustenance is lawful, neither is all that people earn licit. A true believer is supposed to seek what is lawful for his livelihood, knowing that illegal wealth is easily perishable and conduces to destruction and perdition. He believes that he whose earnings are illegal will deserve Allah’s Wrath and painful Chastisement. That is why Allah, bids us quite obviously, to earn what is good and righteous, “ O men! Eat of what is in the earth lawful and good.” [II; 168]

The lawful is that which is as such in itself and the way it is earned. Thus it is permissible to man and it maintains the good relations between him and his Lord, the good is that which is as such for man’s body, spirit and life.

The good and lawful might sometimes be less in quantity than the evil or unlawful. Being as such, it is a trial by Allah to His believer servants. Whosoever passes the trial, by preferring the less but good and lawful to the more but evil and unlawful, Allah is sure to bless his wealth and enable him to enjoy it, to bless his family and children, and make him happy with them, and to protect his health and dignity and ensure his happiness in the present life and the world to come. Allah, says, “ We have made all that is on the earth an adornment for it, and that we may try which of them is fairest in works.” [XVIII; 7].

Allah the Most Wise made earning of the good and lawful harder and more difficult than that of the evil and unlawful so as to try the believer in the extent of strive for the good and lawful, which substantiate his endeavor to gain Allah’s consent and pleasure. To this effect, the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), says, “ Whosoever goes to bed (at night) dead beat of seeking what is lawful, he goes to bed with his sins forgiven.”

When it bids Muslims to detect what is lawful in his earning, Islamic Religion forbids them strongly to inquire into the lawful or unlawful with regards to earnings if other people. it is even of man’s good faith to leave off what doesn’t concern him, and blessed is he whose faults distract him from the faults of others! The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH) also points out that whosoever seeks livelihood through lawful ways, and pursues lawful earning, aiming at sufficing himself and providing his parents, family and children, he will meet Allah pleased with him. He, says, “ whosoever seeks the present life lawfully and decently for the sake of not begging (people) and to provide his family or to be favorably disposed towards his neighbor, he will meet Allah with a face as beautiful as a full moon.” He, was one day sitting with his companions when they saw a young man, possessed of strength and endurance, going early to work. They said: “ Woe unto that man! If only his youth and strength were only in the Way of Allah!” The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), said: “Do not say that! If he works for himself to safeguard himself against begging (others) and be in no need of people, truly he is in the Way of Allah. If he works for the sake of arrogance and hoarding up wealth, he is in the way of Satan.”

The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), confirms, “ Works are not (evaluated) except by intentions”. Intention determines the value of work. A man, for example, might pick up something from the ground. If he does that for the intention of making it his own, he is obviously a transgressor. if he does so for the purpose of looking for its owner, he is surely a good-doer. There is a great difference between aggression and good-doing.

Work, in the absolute sense of the word, is the basis of man’s rank in the sight of Allah. Of the good righteous work is man’s work for earning his living. If such work is based on precision and perfection as well as honesty, and if man cares to improve and develop such work so as to serve whereby his other fellow humans, who are all Allah’s dependents, and if he is fair in wage or price and treats people tolerantly and reasonably, his work is a way to gain Allah’s pleasure and consequently to win the ever lasting bless of Paradise. He (PBUH) says, “ Verily, Allah loves the believer who has a profession.”

It may even be said that the man who earns his living lawfully, spending both his time and power, is better in the sight of Allah than that who devotes himself for worship. A man was one day seen worshipping Allah at midday. When asked: “ what are you doing?” He answered, “ I’m worshipping Allah!”, “ Who feeds you, then?” They asked. He replied, “ My brother does.”  “Your brother is more devoted than you are!” They said.

The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH) forbids begging people and points out that  begging people for money opens the gates for poverty. He, says, “ It is better for the one of you to take his rope and go gathering wood on his back than to beg a man whether he gives him or not.” He also says, “ whosoever opens to himself a door for begging, Allah opens to him seventy doors for poverty.”  It has been rightly said that whosoever sits in humbleness before a wealthy man, he losses two thirds of his religion (faith).

It does not befit a true believer to humble himself. He is supposed to seek his needs with self-respect because all things go according to divine foreordainment. The upper giving hand is better than the lower taking one.

In fact, Islam strongly forbids consuming people’s goods in vanity, and even makes it a major sin. Allah the Almighty, says, “ O believers, consume not your goods between you in vanity except there be trading, by your agreeing together.” [IV; 29].

In the above verse, the term “ consume not your goods” refers to that believers are, or should be, in true brotherhood and faithful compassion substantiated by the feeling that a believer’s goods also belong to his brethren believers in the sense that they are supposed to protect their brother’s goods and safeguard them against destruction or loss. Therefore it is more adequate for believers to abstain from consuming unlawfully goods of one another and to avoid encroaching upon their rights unlawfully. If you consumed your brother’s goods in his weakness you would be weak, too. Moreover, the term “between” denotes that goods and wealth should be circulated among all individuals of the Islamic nation, and consuming it in vanity makes it circulate only among the rich, which means oppression and injustice to the poor.

Wealth is the pillar of life, and consuming the goods of people in vanity is an aggression on the pillar and essence of their lives, which inevitably entails to  Allah’s Wrath and Painful Punishment. Causing harm to people comes too close in evil to polytheism. On the other hand, consuming people’s goods lawfully means to consume such goods as recommendation for real and lawful return, a real service with full content and satisfaction on the part of the one whose goods are being consumed. Such denotation can be inferred from Allah’s words, “except there be trading by your agreeing together”. [III; 29]. The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), also emphasized  prohibition of unlawful earning of wealth and considered it as evil as bloodshed or transgression on  people’s honor and dignity. He said, “ All The Muslim is unlawful for the Muslim: His blood, his goods and his honor.” The Bayhaki also quoted the Messenger of Allah as saying, “ Do not commit iniquity (injustice). No Muslim’s wealth is lawful unless he be contented (to offer it). He, also said  “Whosoever takes  something by force does not belong to us.”

Plundering, usurpation,looting, bribery, robbery, the Maisir [an ancient Arabian game of chance (forbidden by Islam) played with arrows without heads and feathering, for stakes of slaughtered and quartered camels], and usury are all kinds of consuming people’s properties in vanity. And the unlawfulness, limits and evil consequences of such evil deeds are so obvious that most Muslims avoid lest they should deserve Allah’s Wrath and incur self-destruction.

However, other secret ways of consuming people’s properties are hidden to a great many Muslims, due to negligence and ignorance. Omar bin Al-Khattab, the venerable Companion and Caliph was often seen walking about in the marketplace scolding some merchants: “ None is to purchase in our markets save those who are well versed in fiqh [i.e., Islamic jurisprudence], because  otherwise one will inevitably practice usury.”

Monopoly is another Kind of consuming people’s goods in vanity. Monopoly can be defined as “hoarding up and withholding a certain commodity, property, benefit, job, and refusing to sell or offer it until it becomes too scarce and badly needed and, thus, too expensive. Those who practice monopoly are much dispraised by the Messenger of Allah, who described them as damned wrong-doers who deserve the Wrath and Chastisement of Allah. He (PBUH) said, “ Whosoever monopolizes is a wrong doer!” and, “ “The importer (of goods) is blessed by Allah and the monopolizer is damned!”. He also said,, “ “whosoever monopolizes food for forty days seeking high price has nothing to do with Allah and Allah has nothing to do with him!”

The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), on the other hand, praised and advocated those who avoid monopolization, due to fear of Allah, mercy on Muslims and facilitation for Muslims. He said, “ whosoever imports food and sells it at its proper update price, it is as if he has given it away for charity.”

Monopolization is, therefore, consuming people’s wealth and property in vanity and robbing it by causing less supply and more demand on the market. Such a profit is not at all lawful, because it is not in recompense for real services offered by the merchant, and is not earned through real content on the part of the buyer, but forcing those who need such goods to bye them at much higher prices than usual. To the same effect, the Prophetic Hadith goes,  “What an evil man is he who monopolizes goods; if Allah causes prices down,  he is displeased; and if Allah causes prices to rise, he is pleased.” Well-known scholors like Imam Abi Yousef(1), even went further to consider any act of with holding back goods and causing harm to people is as evil as real monopolization. Some also went on to say that any Kind of deceit or misleading for the purpose of more demand for a certain commodity in order to bring its price up is also a kind of monopolization.

Another way of consuming people’s goods in vanity is cheating, which is of various Kinds most of which come from deceit by showing the good side of something and concealing the bad one, giving false identification, unjust pricing, jumbling the good and bad together and selling them at the price of the good. Of deception is that the owner says, “ I have bought it at such and such price” just to deceive the customer. Of deception is to conceal faults, playing with weight, measure and number, length, size, area. Of deception is to forge the origin and source of goods or giving false information about them. Of deception is to display the goods in a way to magnify their good qualities and conceal their disadvantages.  Of deception is to recommend bad goods that are in little command, making use of the customer’s ignorant. Of deception is to utilize the customer’s ignorance and raise the price many folds. Such an ignorant customer who doesn’t know the real quality and price of goods, was called by the Messenger of Allah “ Al-Mustarsel”. He said, “ “Doing injustice to the Mustarsel is usury” and “ Doing injustice to the Mustarsel is unlawful.”

Therefore, any wealth earned by man through deception and cheating is illegal, ill-gotten unjust and is considered as consuming people’s goods in vanity.

Cheating can be not only in selling but also in buying. The Messenger of Allah prohibited receiving caravans to buy their goods before the others and before they know the real value of such goods. He also prohibited any kind of misunderstanding that leads to the deception of the seller or buyer and causes disagreement or dispute.

In Islam it is equally sinful to deceive Muslims and non-Muslims, because human rights know no discrimination, for mankind are all Allah’s dependents; and dearest to Allah are the most good-doing to His dependents. He (PBUH) says, “Whosoever cheats (the word is absolute) does not belong to us.”

In fact, cheating non-Muslims is considered more sinful because it leads to contempt of religion because each Muslim is (as it were) at a guard-post of the castle of Islam, every Muslim must strive that the castle is assaulted fro his guard-post. It was narrated in the book of Hadith of Muslim that Abou Hourayrah said that the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), came past a heap of food, and he dipped his hand into it and his fingers became wet. He asked “ What is this, o you owner of the food?!” The man replied, “ The sky made it wet” The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), said “ Why don’t you put it on top so that people can see it?! Whosoever cheats does not belong to us.”

The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), praised merchants who do not tell lies, break promises, breach their covenants; when they sell, they don’t praise their goods, when they buy, they do not dispraise the seller’s goods; when they owe people money, they are never slow at paying back, when they are owed money by people, they never press their debtors.

The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), also said, “ whosoever deals with people but does not tell lies to them, and promises them but never puts them down, he is verily of those who are ideal in manhood, whose justice is manifest, whose fraternity is due, and whose back-biting is forbidden.”

Should he ill-treat or deceive them, or break his promise to them, his justice collapses. Scholars have enlisted lots of items that blemish one’s record of honor, whereof is eating one mouthful from illegal or giving less even in the weight of a date.

Good living models substantiate principles, verify values and turn idealism into reality. They manifest truth with its evidence and are eternal human models and  good exemplars for the generations to follow. Abou Hanifah An-No‘man, may Allah have mercy on him, brought honor to himself and his knowledge when he made up his mind to earn his living on his own and to have a high hand, having believed that the most delicious, precious and wholesome food man eats is that he earns by his own hands. Therefore, he devoted part of his time for earning money. He had a well-known clothes shop where people found honesty and trustworthiness. He also used to earn money honestly and spend it duly; and every year, he used to estimate his profits, keep only what he needed for his living and spend the remaining part on scholars and disciples.

(1)Abu Yusuf, Ya’qub bin Ibrahim Al-Koufi Al-Baghdadi, may Allah have mercy on him, was one of the companions of Abu Hanifah. He was well versed in Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and a great authority. He was born in Kufah, and was the first scholar called “Qadi-l-udat” (The Judge of Judges) and the first to write on fundalentals of Fiqh of the Hanifite School of jurisprudence. He wrote a lot of books, most important of which was “Al-Kharaj”.