Please see the final week giving note at the end of today’s email.
My sweet wife is currently reading a book called God and Money. (Fair warning, you might not want to read it. I get little nervous every time she says, “So I read this thing in that book on money. . . .”)
The book tells the story of how “John and Greg met as Harvard MBA candidates in a men’s Bible study and stopped asking ‘How much should I give?’ and started asking ‘How much do I need to keep?’”
That’s a great question. For the sake of honesty, though, I should admit our family has yet to fully engage it. But it’s got us thinking about how Muslims think about money. (It’s almost always easier to wonder about someone else, than deal with it yourself, innit?)
The Zakat Foundation, a non-profit helping distribute Muslims’ charity briefly shares:
“Five Essential Islamic Teachings on Wealth”
(If you think, “Whoa, these sound familiar, you’re not wrong!)
1. Wealth can be enjoyed, but do not let it distract you.
Wealth can give us pleasure in life, but it can also be a distraction from what is truly important. A Muslim should not save and hoard great sums of money, but should distribute it to those who are in need of it.
2. It is never acceptable to earn a living by doing wrong.Muslims must earn their wealth in a lawful, or halal, way. “O you who have believed, do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent.” Quran 4:29
3. Practice charity toward the poor, orphans and those in need.
The faith of Muslims is built on the five pillars of Islam. One of those pillars is giving wealth to charity, or zakat.
4. Do not fear poverty. God will provide.
Some believers say that fearing poverty is the same as not trusting in God.
5. Giving of your wealth is the source of true prosperity.
“The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of God is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains.” [Quran 2:261]
May God help Muslims honor him with their wealth. And you and me, too.
Today is the final week for this semi-annual Muslim Connect funding drive. (And it’s oddly aligned with an unplanned edition on zakat!) If you’ve been considering a gift, now would be a good time. I’m raising money to get all the 390+ editions of Muslim Connect archived at shanebennett.com. I’m also beginning to dream about putting a collection of them together in a book! If you’d like to give, please click here, navigate to the “Staff” drop down, select me and proceed. Thank you very much.