How Can Muslims Overcome Stinginess and Miserliness?
Answered by Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yakti
Question
How can Muslims rid themselves of stinginess and miserliness?
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Blessings and peace be upon the Master of the Messengers, his Family, and all his Companions.
Wealth in Islam
The love of wealth is innate in human nature, as wealth is often considered the twin of the soul. Wealth is a blessing that Allah (Most High) has provided as a means for humans to sustain their lives and achieve happiness in this world and the hereafter, just like other blessings.
For this reason, wealth is one of the five essential objectives (maqasid) of Islamic law (the preservation of religion, life, intellect, lineage or honor, and wealth) that the Sacred Law aims to protect and fulfill.
The Role of Wealth in Islam
Allah (Most High) has, therefore, legislated the pursuit of work and earning for the purpose of spending on oneself and one’s family, and He has established guidelines and rulings for both earning and spending.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, as narrated by Abu Barza Nadlah Ibn Ubayd al-Aslami (Allah be pleased with him):
“A servant’s feet will not move on the Day of Judgment until he is asked about four things: his life and how he spent it, his knowledge and what he did with it, his wealth and how he acquired it and in what he spent it, and his body and how he used it.” [Tirmidhi]
Causes of Stinginess and Miserliness
The causes of stinginess include several factors, the most important of which are:
1. Distorted Priorities and Objectives:
When a person’s understanding of the importance of wealth and how to handle it becomes skewed, they may begin to see wealth as an end in itself rather than a means.
2. A Flawed Perception of Wealth:
When a person views wealth as a primary goal rather than a tool, it leads to an excessive love of wealth and attachment to it. Allah (Most High) says:
“Surely humankind is ungrateful to their Lord—and they certainly attest to this—and they are truly extreme in their love of (worldly) gains.” [Quran, 100:6-8]
Ibn Kathir comments on this verse: “They are truly extreme in their love of (worldly) gains.” This has two interpretations: either it means that they are extremely attached to wealth, or that they are greedy and stingy due to their love of wealth. Both interpretations are correct. [Ibn Kathir, Tafsir Ibn Kathir]
Allah (Most High) also says:
“Absolutely not! In fact, you are not (even) gracious to the orphan, nor do you urge one another to feed the poor. And you devour (others’) inheritance greedily. and love wealth fervently.” [Quran, 89:17-20]
3. Upbringing:
One of the most significant causes is upbringing. If children are raised in a household where stinginess and miserliness are practiced, and they see their parents hoarding wealth, they will learn to value money excessively and view it as the most important thing in life.
Remedies for Stinginess and Miserliness
After identifying the causes of stinginess and miserliness, we will now discuss some important remedies for stinginess and miserliness:
1. Reassessing the Role of Wealth
The first step in treating and overcoming stinginess is to reassess the role of wealth and place it in its proper context within the hierarchy of priorities and objectives, understanding that it is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
2. Recognizing Allah’s Ownership and Human Stewardship
A believer should recognize that wealth is a blessing from Allah (Most High), who is the Provider and the Owner of all dominion. The human being is merely entrusted with this wealth, acting as a steward who is accountable and will be questioned about it. Allah (Most High) says:
“Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and donate from what He has entrusted you with. So those of you who believe and donate will have a mighty reward.” [Quran, 57:7]
3. Adopting the Islamic Approach to Spending
This approach encourages spending and warns against hoarding and stinginess, as numerous texts from the Sacred Law illustrate. For example, the comprehensive hadith narrated by Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) states that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
“Every morning, two angels descend, and one of them says: ‘O Allah, compensate the one who spends generously,’ and the other says: ‘O Allah, bring ruin to the one who withholds.’” [Bukhari; Muslim]
Allah (Most High) praises the early Muslims who supported the Muhajirun (migrants), saying:
“As for those who had settled in the city and (embraced) the faith before (the arrival of) the emigrants, they love whoever immigrates to them, never having a desire in their hearts for whatever (of the gains) is given to the emigrants. They give (the emigrants) preference over themselves even though they may be in need. And whoever is saved from the selfishness of their own souls, it is they who are (truly) successful.” [Quran, 59:9]
Allah (Most High) warns against hoarding and stinginess by saying:
“Those who are stingy, promote stinginess among people, and withhold Allah’s bounties. We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment.” [Quran, 4:37]
This behavior is likened to the attitude of some Jews who would advise the Ansar not to spend their wealth, as Imam Tabari mentioned in his commentary on the revelational circumstances of this verse. Ibn ‘Abbas narrated that certain Jews would come to the Ansar and advise them not to spend their wealth, saying,
“We fear poverty for you if you spend your wealth; do not hasten to spend it, as you do not know what might happen.”
Allah (Most High) revealed in response: “(Allah does not like) those who are stingy, promote stinginess among people, and withhold Allah’s bounties.” [Quran, 4:37]
“Withhold Allah’s bounties,” meaning concealing the prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the truth of what the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) conveyed.
“We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment…And Allah has (perfect) knowledge of them.” [Quran, 4:37-39] [Tabari, Tafsir al-Tabari]
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) also said:
“Beware of injustice, for injustice will be darkness on the Day of Judgment. And beware of stinginess, for stinginess destroyed those who were before you. It led them to shed their blood and violate their sanctities.” [Muslim]
4. Understanding Wealth as a Test and Trial
Wealth is a test and a trial from Allah (Most High). He (Most High) says:
“Your wealth and children are only a test, but Allah (alone) has a great reward. So be mindful of Allah to the best of your ability, hear and obey, and spend in charity—that will be best for you. And whoever is saved from the selfishness of their own souls, it is they who are (truly) successful.” [Quran, 64:15-16]
5. Recognizing the Deprivation Caused by Stinginess
Stinginess deprives the soul of its rightful enjoyment of these blessings in this world, and one will be held accountable for it on the Day of Judgment. A miser wrongs himself twice: once in this world by depriving himself of permissible enjoyment, and again in the Hereafter, by being held accountable for how he gathered this wealth and why he withheld it from benefiting himself and others.
Conclusion
Based on the above, we advise those afflicted with the disease of stinginess or miserliness to avoid, first and foremost, the causes that lead to it. Then, they should hasten to follow the steps of treatment mentioned above, while continuously supplicating and seeking Allah’s help to rid themselves of this ailment. Indeed, Allah guides whom He wills.
Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdul Sami‘ al-Yakti
Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti is a Syrian scholar born in Aleppo in 1977. He obtained his degree in Shari‘a from the Shari‘a Faculty of Damascus University, a Diploma in Educational Qualification from the Faculty of Education at Aleppo University, and a Diploma in Shari‘a and a Master’s in Shari‘a from the Faculty of Sharia, and Law at Omdurman University in Sudan. He is currently writing his doctoral thesis.
He studied under esteemed scholars such as Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri, Shaykh Mustafa al-Turkmani, and Shaykh Dr. Nur al-Din Itr, among others. Shaykh al-Yakti has worked in teaching and cultural guidance in orphanages and high schools in Aleppo. He served as an Imam, Khatib, and reciter at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and as a certified trainer for Khatibs in Abu Dhabi’s Khatib Qualification Program.
He is involved in developing and teaching a youth education program at Seekers Arabic for Islamic Sciences.
Among Shaykh al-Yaqti’s significant works are “Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni: Bayna Ilm al-Kalam Wa Usul al-Fiqh” and the program “The Messenger of Allah Among Us (Allah bless him and give him peace).”
