By Sheikh Saleh ibn Abdullah ibn Humaid – 02 Thul Qa’dah 1437

His Eminence Sheikh Saleh ibn Abdullah ibn Humaid – May Allah protect him– delivered this Friday Khutbah titled “Disparagement of Extravagance” in which he talked about extravagance, its ruling in Islam, and its effect on the Muslim who is extravagant in his food, drink, attire, etc. To support his argument, the Sheikh provided evidence from the Qur’an and the Sunnah as well as quotations by Muslim scholars from among the righteous Salaf (early Muslim predecessors) and others.

Praise be to Allah! Praise be to Allah Who created mankind and shaped everything He created with perfection:

“To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth, and all that is between them, and all that is under the soil.” [Ta-Ha: 6]

I praise Him – May He be extolled – thank Him for His ever-increasing graces and sequential favours, repent unto Him and pray for His forgiveness. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone with no partner, a true, certain and sincere witness that has no shadow of doubt or scepticism. I also bear witness that our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, is the Servant and Messenger of Allah who was sent (with the Message) from Umm-al-Qura (i.e. Makkah). May Allah send his profuse Salat (Graces, Honours, Mercy), Peace and Blessing upon him, his noble and immaculate Family, his magnanimous and blessed Companions, his wives, the Mothers of the Believers, who were the best generations and the masters of mankind, the tabi’in (the contemporaries of the Companions of the Prophet [May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him] after his death), and those who followed them in righteousness as long as mornings and evenings are kept in rotation.

Now then,

I exhort you – O People ‒ and myself to observe taqwa (fear of disobeying Allah). Observe Taqwa – May Allah have mercy upon you – for Allah will judge you by the balance of Taqwa, not the balance of riches or power. Look – O you Servant of Allah – at your position in Allah’s not in people’s eyes. How many a celebrity on earth is unknown in heaven, and how many an unknown person on earth is well-known in heaven!

Allah has kept His acceptance (of His servants’ deeds) under wraps so that hearts remain apprehensive. He kept the door of repentance wide open so that the servant is given to hope, and He willed that the last deeds be taken into account lest people be over-conceited by their earlier good deeds.

“Say: “O ‘Ibâdî (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allâh, verily Allâh forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And turn in repentance and in obedience with true Faith (Islâmic Monotheism) to your Lord and submit to Him, (in Islâm), before the torment comes upon you, then you will not be helped. “And follow the best of that which is sent down to you from your Lord (i.e. this Qur’ân, do what it orders you to do and keep away from what it forbids), before the torment comes on you suddenly while you perceive not!”” [Al-Zumar: 53-55]

O Muslims!

Allah has made man’s life money-based: in survival, perfection, glory, happiness, knowledge, health, might, urban expansion, and hegemony. Allah ‒ Be He exalted ‒ made money pivotal to people’s lives. He ‒ Glorified be He ‒ said:

“And give not unto the foolish your property which Allâh has made a means of support for you,” [Al-Nisa’: 5]

This means that living is maintained thanks to money and that private and public interests are preserved through it. Allah ‒May He be exalted‒ described money as the “adornment of this worldly life.” He said:

“Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world” [Al-Kahf: 46]

Further, maintenance of wealth is one of Islam’s five necessities on which religion and worldly life are established. Al-Hafiz ibn al-Qayyim –May Allah bless his soul‒ said: “You should know that Allah has made wealth a means of supporting lives, commanded that it be maintained, and prohibited incompetent men, women and children from accessing it.” Some of the righteous salaf said: “No glory without feats, and no feats without money.” That is why Omar ‒May Allah be pleased with him‒ said: “For your life I fear extravagance more than I do penury. With righteousness nothing goes scarce, but with corruption nothing remains.”
 
The Sharia does not proscribe earning, investment or saving money; quite the contrary, it urged people and incited them to do that; however, it prohibited the use of unlawful means of earning and spending it.

O Brothers and Sisters [in Islam]!

Any ummah (nation) can soar high in the spheres of glory and invincibility on the wings of important virtues: preserving wealth, being economical, and rationalising expenditure.  An ummah should not boast the many sorts of dishes and foodstuffs it serves on its dining tables; instead it should boast its men if they have sound bodies, strong will, deep insights, high aspirations, and great knowledge.

Consuming excessively large amounts of food and rushing upon material gains are too low an objective to be coveted, unlike the case of some people nowadays.

Dear brothers and sisters [in Islam]!

Extravagance leads to poverty and penury. The extravagant will spend excessively to satisfy his desires and fulfil his whims. How many a home founded by able fathers reasonable in their spending habits, collapsed on account of extravagant inheritors who unleashed their desires and consequently dissipated their wealth. This is indeed the ultimate ending of the extravagant and the destiny of the affluent.

Clinging to the pleasures of life and personal desires, if anything, strengthens the desire to live long and debilitates the will of sacrifice, giving, glory and high-aiming ambition. The extravagant end up with a weak aspiration; their desires distract them away from serious matters and preclude them from creativity and ingenuity.

It is well-known that talent, genius and high aspirations cannot be achieved without perseverance, forbearance and risk-taking. However, the extravagant person is always characterized by feeble will and limited hopes. Those who pin their will power on a great aspiration and work towards achieving it will move away from entertainment and licentiousness, for none but those who part company with desires can attain their goals.

Those who exceed all bounds in satisfying their desires, in filling their stomachs, and in devising all kinds of cuisine and gastronomic delights are unfit for great feats and, therefore, their disabled motivation will never make them apt for glory and sacrifice.
 
Brothers and sisters in Islam!

Extravagance emboldens the soul to perpetrate tyranny and commit injustice.  Aiming primarily to satiate his desires, the extravagant person will not be mindful as to what he earns, whether it is lawful or not. Using twisted ways and suspicious means, he thus stretches his hand out to take others’ property. He who is indulged in desires will have weakened his trustworthiness because his inclination towards desires and worldly delights has the upper hand.

Extravagance tends to keep people from enjoining good and giving charity. Since desires take total control over the heart of the extravagant person, his major concern and aspiration become focused on indulging himself in food, clothes, means of transportation (cars) and furniture. The extravagant are tight-fisted, whereas the generous extend helping hands to the needy, the misfortune-stricken, and the homeless. In all that, they seek Allah’s satisfaction, showing a high feeling of responsibility and in recognition of Allah’s favours and graces, in addition to their innate values of altruism, fraternity and nobility.

O Muslims!

Extravagance –May Allah protect you– contradicts with the preservation of wealth. It was said: “He who preserves money will have preserved the two noble things: religion and honour.”

When he was told that a family were spending extravagantly from a legacy they have inherited, Bishr ibn al-Harith told them: “You’d better be reasonable and economise on expenditure. To go to bed on empty stomachs but you have money is better for me than to go to bed on full stomachs but you have no money.”

Abu al-Darda’ said: “Leading a reasonable life is a sign of deep insight.” Man transgresses all bounds if he considers himself self-sufficient:

“And if Allâh were to enlarge the provision for His slaves, they would surely rebel in the earth, but He sends down by measure as He wills. Verily! He is in respect of His slaves, the Well-Aware, the All-Seer (of things that benefit them).” [Al-Shura: 27]

“Nay! Verily, man does transgress all bounds (in disbelief and evil deed, etc.). Because he considers himself self-sufficient.” [Al-‘Alaq: 6-7]

O Muslims!

Extravagance has recently taken a demeaning twist. The rich spend extravagantly; the poor borrow money so they can spend extravagantly on unnecessary luxuries. This is part of  the materialistic nature of this era; its culture is characterised by natural impulses, desires and heedlessness.
O brothers and sisters [in Islam]!

Extravagance is certainly deleterious to one’s health. Al-Miqdad ibn Ma’di yakrib ‒May Allah be pleased with him‒ said: “I heard the Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him and his Family– say: ‘The son of Adam has never filled a pot worse than his own stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to take a few mouthfuls to keep him alive. If necessary, one can allocate a third [of his stomach] for his food, a third for his drink, and a third for his breath’.” [Narrated by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i and ibn Majah. Al-Tirmidhi said: “It is a good hadith.”]

Excessive eating and filling the stomach, plus eating meals at very close intervals and total submission to one’s desires may undermine one’s soul, have detrimental effects on one’s health, squander one’s money and instigate indolence. The Muslim eats in accordance to religious teachings: he eats in one belly; whereas a non-Muslim, prompted by desire, gluttony, and ravenous appetite, may eat in seven bellies. To mind the mouthful, is to protect health and wealth.

Among the directives of Islamic scholars what ibn Hubairah –May Allah bless his soul– said: “A Muslim must not over-eat because in addition to his ration he would be taking somebody else’s. Determining rations among him and others may not be assessed except by need. If he takes more than he needs of what is his and others’ property, he would be doing injustice in proportion to the excess of what he has taken.”

It is said that among other forms of extravagance is placing too much bread on the table than the eaters need. It is also extravagant to treat oneself to a range of dishes at the same time.

Imam Ahmad says: “With brothers, one should eat with pleasure, with the poor with self-effacement, with ordinary people with altruism, and with scholars with learning, imitation and propriety.”

Dear brothers and sisters!

Today’s world is heading towards its destruction because of its extravagance in consumption. There are herds of humans who ‒being unable to see beyond their noses let alone think properly‒ devour all that is available in accordance to what has come to be known as “consumption fever.” Rather, it is consumption stupidity.

There is extravagance in buying clothes and fashion, chasing cosmetics, and the most recent models. All this costs too much, leads to bad manners and eventually destructive paths. There is extravagance in social occasions both happy and unhappy ones; there is exaggeration in dowries and expenditure, celebrations and food. Yet, most of what is spent ends up in garbage boxes and rubbish bins. Indeed, we seek refuge with Allah against the ingratitude to Allah for his bounties.

There is extravagance in travel and its resulting expenditure, let alone if travel were prohibited ‒May Allah protect us! In such a case it is a dual disaster! There is extravagance in using utilities such as water and electricity in lighting, air conditioning, etc. Water is the cheapest of all, but still the dearest. However, people squander it carelessly. Do fear Allah ‒May He protect you– when using His bounties and blessings.

Just as the individual’s extravagance is denounced, so is the extravagance of groups, communities, associations, firms, companies, and states, for it has bad and dangerous consequences on the state economy and resources. This may lead to major losses and a declaration of bankruptcy ‒Allah forbid! Isn’t the end result of extravagance sorrow and regret?!

“And let not your hand be tied (like a miser) to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach (like a spendthrift), so that you become blameworthy and in severe poverty.” [Al-Isra’: 29]

Now then, O Servants of Allah!   

Your religion teaches you to be able to do without so many things rather than depend on them by accumulating them. The wisdom behind this is that people should not become enslaved by money; neglecting little can lead to neglecting much, and whoever wastes little is indeed bound to waste much. He earns dispraise in this life and sin in the Hereafter.

I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan:

“If only there had been among the generations before you, persons having wisdom, prohibiting (others) from Al-Fasâd (disbelief, polytheism, and all kinds of crimes and sins) in the earth, except a few of those whom We saved from among them. Those who did wrong pursued the enjoyment of good things of (this worldly) life, and were Mujrimûn (criminals, disbelievers in Allâh, polytheists, sinners, etc.) (116). And your Lord would never destroy the towns wrongfully, while their people were right-doers.” [Hud: 116-117]   

May Allah grant you and me the benefit from His Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet Muhammad –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him! I say this, and I ask Allah to forgive me and you, so ask Him for forgiveness as He is Most-Forgiving, Most Merciful!