Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Hazrat Shaikh Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) has written:
A person can be content with sufficing on less livelihood if he is particular about five things:
1. He should cut down his expenses and never spend more than what is absolutely necessary.
2. If he has sufficient money or food for his present needs, he should not worry about his future requirements, and should trust in the promise of Allah Ta‘ala to provide sustenance to all living beings.
3. He should consider the fact that through being content with little provision from Allah Ta‘ala, he will develop a sense of self-sufficiency and will protect his honor by not being dependent on others. On the other hand, a greedy person has to humiliate himself before others.
4. He should consider the fateful end of the rich who were enamored with this world i.e. the Jews, the Christians and the irreligious people who lived in affluence. At the same time, he should think of the beautiful future of the Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam) and the pious servants of Allah Ta‘ala and reflect over the pure lives they led. He should then ask himself: Do you prefer to be counted among the fortunate ones who enjoyed nearness to Allah Ta‘ala or do you wish to be like those irreligious fools who enjoyed the riches of the world?
5. He should keep in view all the harmful effects of excessive wealth.
If a person keeps these five points in view, he will be easily satisfied with a small provision from Allah Ta‘ala.
(Extracted from Fazaail-e-Sadaqaat [urdu] pg. 421)
