Frugality

This incident has been transmitted by numerous trustworthy and upright people through authentic reports as one of the famous karāmātMiraculous events granted by Allah through righteous believers who are not prophets. of the GhawthA title given to one regarded as a spiritual guide and a source of divine assistance for others, whose extraordinary karāmātMiraculous events granted by Allah through righteous believers who are not prophets. are renowned throughout the world.

The GhawthA title given to one regarded as a spiritual guide and a source of divine assistance for others then said to the woman, “When your son reaches this level, he too may eat chicken.”

The meaning of his words is this: when your son reaches the spiritual station at which his soul governs his body, his heart masters his nafsThe aspect of the soul associated with lower desires and negative traits., and his intellect guides his stomach, and when he seeks pleasure solely as a means of expressing gratitude, then he too may partake of delicious foods.

The Fourth Point

 The hadithA report of the sayings, actions, or approvals of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh).,

لَا يَعُولُ مَنِ اقْتَصَدَWhoever is moderate in spending will not suffer want.

emphasizes that the one who practices frugality will not suffer hardship in providing for his family.

There are countless reasons that demonstrate with certainty that frugality brings both abundance and prosperity. I myself have witnessed this repeatedly, and based on the testimony of my friends who assist me in conveying the message of the Qur’an, I can say that our means have at times increased tenfold through practicing frugality.

Many years ago, several tribal leaders who had been exiled with me to Burdur persistently urged me to accept their zakātOne of the Five Pillars of Islam; the obligatory almsgiving for the benefit of the poor and the needy., fearing that I would suffer poverty and humiliation due to a lack of money. I replied to these wealthy leaders: “It is true that I possess very little wealth, but I live frugally and am content with what I have. In reality, I am richer than you are.” I continued to refuse their repeated and insistent offers.

Remarkably, some of those very men who had offered me their zakātOne of the Five Pillars of Islam; the obligatory almsgiving for the benefit of the poor and the needy. later fell into debt because of their extravagance. All praise belongs to Allah: through the blessing that accompanied frugality, the small amount of money I possessed at that time sustained me for another seven years. I never found myself in a humiliating situation or had to expose my need before others. Thus, I was able to uphold my principle of remaining independent of people.

Indeed, whoever fails to practise frugality is liable to humiliation, poverty, and, in effect, begging. In our age, money—the instrument of wastefulness and extravagance—often comes at an exorbitant price. At times, a person sacrifices his honour and dignity to obtain it; at other times, he trades away the sacred values of his religion for worldly gain. Thus, material goods of little worth are acquired at the cost of immeasurable spiritual loss.

If a person lives frugally and limits his spending to essential needs, then, according to the implicit meaning of the verse,

اِنَّ اللّٰهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتٖينُ“Indeed, Allah is the Provider, the Possessor of unwavering strength. – The Quran 51:58

and the explicit meaning of the verse,

 وَمَا مِنْ دَٓابَّةٍ فِى الْاَرْضِ اِلَّا عَلَى اللّٰهِ رِزْقُهَاThere is no living creature on the earth except that its provision rests with Allah. — The Quran 11:6.

he will unexpectedly receive sufficient provision to sustain his life, for the latter verse itself guarantees it.