الغِنى

RICHES

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2– Imam Ali (AS), in his description of the most wonderful thing in man, which is the heart, said, ‘If it comes across riches, freedom from need makes it rebellious. If calamity befalls it, it is humbled by anguish.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 108]

3– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) narrated, ‘A rich man, clad in a clean robe, once came to the Prophet (SAWA) and sat near the Prophet (SAWA). Then a poor man clad in dirty clothes came and sat next to the rich man, at which the rich man grabbed his clothes from under his thighs. So the Prophet (SAWA) asked him, ‘Do you fear that some of his poverty will rub off onto you?!’ so he replied, ‘No.’ Then he asked, ‘Then perhaps you fear that some of your riches will fall upon him?!’ to which he replied, ‘No.’ So he asked, ‘Then do you fear that he will make your clothes dirty?!’ to which he again replied no. So the Prophet (SAWA) asked him, ‘Then what made you do what you just did?’ to which he replied
[remorsefully], ‘O Prophet of Allah, verily I have an associate
[i.e. Satan] who embellishes every ugly act to me, and who makes every good act appear ugly to me. Indeed I will give him
[the poor man] half my wealth!’ So the Prophet (SAWA) asked the poor man, ‘Do you accept it?’ and he replied, ‘No’, so the rich man exclaimed, ‘But why not?!’ so he replied, ‘I fear that the same thing that has affected him will affect me!’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 262, no. 11]

4– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘What a good aid riches can be to Godwariness.’
[Mustadrak al-Wasail, v. 13, p. 15, no. 14598]

5– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Ask Allah for riches and vitality in this world’s life, and ask him for forgiveness and Paradise for the life hereafter.’
[al-Kafi, v. 5, p. 71, no. 4]

6– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘There is no treasure more precious than contentment.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 371]

7– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘There is no wealth like the intellect.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 54]

8– Imam Zayn al-Abidin (AS) said, ‘Show your despair of people
[and their possessions], for verily that is true wealth.’
[Amali al-Mufid, p. 183, no. 6]

9– Imam al-Hadi (AS) said, ‘
[Truly] Being rich is to wish for little and to be content with whatever suffices you, and
[true] poverty is the voracity of the soul
[for more] and severe despondence.’
[al-Durra al-Bahira, p. 41]

10– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘He who wishes to be the richest of people should be more trusting of what is in Allah’s Hands than what is in others’ hands.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 139, no. 8]

11– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Be free from need of people, even for a toothpick.’
[Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 7156]

12– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The best of riches is richness of the soul
[i.e. its being needless of everyone but Allah].’
[Amali al-Saduq, p. 394, no. 1]

13– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘He who is needless of all but Allah is himself needed by people.’
[Kashf al-Ghamma, v. 3, p. 137]

14– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The greatest of riches is to despair of
[obtaining] what other people possess.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 342]

15– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Verily the most affluent of riches is intellect, and the worst poverty is stupidity.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 38]

16– Imam al-Baqir and Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘He who is content with whatever sustenance Allah has provided him is the richest of people.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 139, no. 9]

17– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Whoever has been granted three things, receives three other things in addition, and this is the greatest wealth: contentment with what one has been given, despair of other people’s possessions, and abandonment of all that is superfluous.’
[Tuhaf al-`Uqoul, no. 318]

18– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The key to affluence is conviction.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 78, p. 9, no. 65]

19– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘One cannot be rich unless one has self-restraint.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 78, p. 8, no. 64]

20– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘He who wakes up in the morning concerned about his Hereafter is enriched without the need for riches, finds solace without the need for family, and is honoured without the need for a clan.’
[Amali al-Tusi, p. 580, no. 1198]

21– Imam al-Baqir (AS) said, ‘Verily the Godwary people are the richest, and they have been enriched by their possession of very little so that their provisions
[on their journey to the Hereafter] are very light.’
[Tuhaf al-`Uqoul, no. 287]

22– Imam al-Sadiq (AS), when a man mentioned the rich people in his presence, defaming them, replied, ‘Be quiet! For verily if the rich man maintains relations with his kin and does good to his fellow brothers
[with the aid of his riches], Allah doubles his reward for him, for Allah has said, “It is not your wealth, nor your children, that will bring you close to Us in nearness, except those who have faith and act righteously. It is they for whom there will be a twofold reward for what they did, and they will be secure in lofty abodes.”
[ Tafsir al-Qummi, v. 2, p. 203]

23– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Verily Allah, Glory be to Him, allotted the food provisions of the poor within the wealth of the rich, so no poor man goes hungry except as a result of what a rich man has denied him, and Allah, most High, will question him about that.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 328]

24– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Verily Allah allotted to the rich their wealth in proportion to what would also suffice the poor from among them, so if they go hungry or are naked or exhausted, it is only because of the rich people’s deprivation of them. And Allah has a right to take them to account for it on the Day of Resurrection and to punish them for it.’
[Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 16840]

25– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘There is no burden greater than the burden that a rich person carries for depriving the needy.’
[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 10738]