Muslim and Money

“In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful. O Allah! Verily, I lack acquaintance with the place of my sustenance; rather, I am seeking it owing to ideas that come upon my mind. I consequently wander in places searching for it. By doing such, I am as confused as the confounded, since I do not know whether my sustenance lies in a plain, on a mountain, on the ground, in the air, on lands, in seas, at whose hands, or who the source of it is. I have full knowledge that You know all these, the causes of them are in Your Hands, and it is You Who distribute it out of Your compassion and cause it out of Your mercy. O Allah, please send blessings to Muhammad and his Household and make, O Lord, Your sustenance that is provided (by You) to me expansive, my seeking for it easy for me, and its source close to me. Please, do not fatigue me by seeking that which You have not decided for me to take, because You are certainly in no need for tormenting me while I am in full need for Your mercy. [Please] send blessings upon Muhammad and his Household and confer liberally upon me, Your slave, out of Your graciousness. You are surely the Lord of great favor.”

This supplication after  the daily ‘Isha’ (night) prayer teaches many things about personal finance:

(1) Seeking sustenance is not merely raising your hands in supplication, but rather a combination of action and prayer.

(2) True knowledge (in personal finance or any field of endeavor) is the acknowledgment of one’s ignorance and affirmation of the All-encompassing knowledge and cognizance of the Self-sufficient Lord and Sustainer.

(3) Your hard work does not necessarily turn into massive income because, after all, the Ultimate Source of sustenance is not your hard work but the Self-sufficient Lord and Sustainer.

(4) The habit of supplication nurtures positive attitude toward earning for a living, which in the parlance of the Law of Attraction, inevitably invites ‘good vibration’.