Voice of British Muslim Women

Noor-Ul-Hudah Khan, Ash

In a world where prices have skyrocketed; and inflation and unemployment are at an all-time high, is financial sacrifice even possible? Nearly every other day we hear the term ‘cost of living crisis’ and it seems to be that in most households there’s a struggle to ensure outgoing expenditures are lower than the incoming amount.  

Ahmadi Muslims have the opportunity to make regular financial contributions in multiple forms as we are given the blessed opportunity to give a certain portion of our income in the way of Allah. In the Holy Qur’an, Allah states ‘O ye who believe! Spend out of what We have bestowed on you before the day comes wherein there shall be no buying and selling, nor friendship, nor intercession, and it is those that do wrong to themselves.’¹ When the list of expenditures is endless, it can seem difficult to apportion your income in which there is money left for your financial contributions.  

The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) stated ‘it goes without saying that you cannot love two things at the same time; it is not possible for you to love wealth as well as Allah. You can love only one of them. Lucky is he who loves Allah. If any of you love Him and spends his/her wealth will increase more than that of others, for wealth doesn’t come by itself, rather it comes by Allah’s will. Whoever parts with some of his wealth for the sake of Allah, will surely get it back.’² It is very easy to embark on a material race of who has the latest gadgets, bigger house etc. However, financial sacrifice doesn’t just mean apportioning a small amount of your wealth and income but requires an element of sacrifice. Sacrifice means to give up something valued for the sake of other considerations.   

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in a talk once stated that “The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.” And as said by Saint Augustine “Charity is the root of all good works.” Your bank balance is not a representation of your success, rather in a selfish world, purpose can be found by helping others, though this isn’t always comfortable. Having empathy towards others and feeling their pain enables you to let go of what you are so desperate to hold onto. As an Ahmadi Muslim I ensure that I vow to honour various financial contributions and I like to push myself each year to increase my level of sacrifice. I will admit, it’s not always easy and as mentioned before, it is not always comfortable either, But the discipline of fulfilling your commitment helps you to let go of many materialistic things and give you a purpose to strive further. Islam does not ask that you spend only in the way of Allah and leave nothing for yourself; Islam encourages a balance between your own personal wealth but also to spend in a way that can help others.  

In a Friday Sermon, His Holiness, Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his Helper) mentioned that “by the grace of Allah the Almighty, in accordance with this statement of the Holy Quran, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is at the forefront of offering financial sacrifices. Whenever the need arises, members of the Ahmadiyya community offer financial sacrifices, both openly and in secret, without any worry about falling into financial difficulties. They do this in a world that is steeped in attaining the pleasures of this world and hoarding wealth.”³  

The intention to make financial sacrifices should not be consumed by making a show out of it for the world. Our intentions are purely to gain the pleasure of our Creator. Thus, helping those who are less fortunate should not feel like a favour bestowed on them by us but rather should be a reminder that what we own is ultimately owned by our Creator and that we should not get greedy. 

References:

¹ The Holy Qur’an with Engiish Translation by Maulawi Sher Ali, Chapter 2, Verse 255 

² https://files.alislam.cloud/pdf/An-Introduction-to-Financial-Sacrifice.pdf Majmu’ah Ishtaharat, Volume 3, p.497-498 

³ Friday Sermon summary – 8 November 2024