Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 569 [Read full issue]
Prosperity
The Messenger, peace be upon him, declares in a concise saying that summarizes the essentials of a happy economic and social life and prosperity in both this world and the next:
When you are involved in speculative transactions, occupied only with animal-breeding, content with agriculture, and abandon striving in the way of God to preach His religion, God will subject you to such a humiliation. He will not remove it until you return to your religion.
[Abu Dawud, Musnad Ahmad]
This hadith gives a very accurate description of the pitiable condition of Muslims over the last few centuries. Speculative transactions signify the dying of a healthy economic life and the resort to unlawful, self-abandoned ways of earning one's living. Contentment with agriculture and animal breeding is the sign of laziness and abandoning scientific investigation - the Quran explicitly states that God created humanity as His vicegerent and entrusted us with knowledge of the names of things.
Confining knowledge to religious sciences devoid of reflection and investigation inevitably results in contentment with animal breeding and agriculture, in idleness and the neglect of striving in the way of God. The ultimate result is misery, poverty, and humiliation.
Being powerful requires both spiritual and physical health as well as scientific and technical competence. Restricting the meaning of being powerful to physical strength shows one's total lack of understanding of what true power is based on.
Compiled From:
"The Messenger of God: Muhammad" - Fethullah Gulen, pp. 193, 194