SACRED THINGS IN ISLAM
Al-DarUriyyAAt al-Khams
(The Five Sacred Trusts in Shariʿah)
Class 5
HIFZ AL MAAL - 1
Protecting & INCREASING RIZQ
We've spent four classes protecting what's inside a person — their dīn, their nafs, their ʿaql, their honor and family. This class turns to something more external, and often more anxiety-inducing: wealth : Maal.
Wealth as a Trust (Amānah)
Before anything else, it's worth getting the starting frame right. Wealth in Islam isn't something you own outright and answer to no one for — it's something you hold, temporarily, as a trustee:
"Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend out of that in which He has made you successive trustees. For those who have believed among you and spent, there will be a great reward." (Qurʾān 57:7)
Trustee, not owner — the wealth passes through your hands, and what matters is how you handled it while it was there. That framing also comes with a built-in reminder about proportion — wealth is real, and pursuing it honestly is not a spiritual failing, but it isn't the point of a life either:
"Wealth and children are the adornment of this worldly life, but the everlasting good deeds are far better with your Lord in reward and in hope." (Qurʾān 18:46)
Nothing in that verse tells you to avoid wealth or feel guilty for having it — it simply keeps the ranking honest. Everything else in this class, and in Class 6, sits on top of that one frame: it's a trust, not a trophy.
Allah is Ar-Razzāq
— The Provider
One of Allah's own names, repeated throughout the Qurʾān, is a direct claim about where provision actually comes from:
"Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the possessor of power, the Steadfast." (Qurʾān 51:58)
Ar-Razzāq isn't a name that only applies to believers, or only to human beings. It's a promise built into creation itself, covering everything that lives:
"And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision, and He knows its dwelling place and place of storage. All is in a clear register." (Qurʾān 11:6)
A sparrow doesn't have a job, a savings account, or a business plan, and it still eats every day. That isn't an accident of nature — it's Ar-Razzāq doing what the name means. Believing this doesn't remove the need to work for a living, which the rest of this class addresses directly, but it does remove a specific kind of fear: the fear that provision ultimately depends on your own cleverness, connections, or effort alone, rather than on Allah.
Rizq is Already Written, and It Follows You
Islam doesn't leave the amount of a person's provision to chance or to a lifetime of anxious guessing. It teaches that rizq is decreed early, specifically, and permanently — before a person is even born:
"Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother's womb for forty days in the form of a seed, then he becomes a clot of blood for a like period, then a morsel of flesh for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows his soul into him and who is commanded with four matters: to write down his provision, his life span, his deeds, and whether he will be wretched or blessed." (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3208; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2643a)
Rizq is written before deeds, before choices, before anything a person has yet done to earn or deserve it. That doesn't make effort pointless — it makes anxiety about the outcome unnecessary. The Prophet ﷺ made the same point about timing directly:
"O people, fear Allah and be moderate in seeking a living, for no soul will die until it has received all its provision, even if it is slow in coming. So fear Allah and be moderate in seeking provision; take that which is permissible and leave that which is forbidden." (Sunan Ibn Mājah 2144)
A soul cannot die with provision still outstanding — whatever has been decreed for a person will reach them, on time, in full. And it isn't only that rizq arrives; it's that it actively pursues a person, in a way that makes running from it futile:
"Even if a person were to flee from his provision as he flees from death, his provision would catch up with him just as death catches up with him." (Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 7/90; graded as “Hasan” by Shaikh al-Albani)
Rizq isn't a prize a person has to chase down and capture before someone else gets to it first. It's already assigned, already moving toward them, on a schedule Allah alone controls.
TAWAKKUL
Trust the Outcome, Not the Effort
When a believer truly internalizes that Allah is Ar-Razzaq, it changes how they live:
They no longer chase what is in others’ hands.
Their heart becomes calm even when the world around them is restless.
They stop compromising their faith for worldly gain.
Imagine a shopkeeper who refuses to cheat in business, saying, “My Rizq is from Allah, not from lying to customers.” Or a man sporting a beard or a hijabi woman who continues with it at work even when discouraged, trusting that his/her provision will never be taken away by obeying Allah.
This is tawakkul — true reliance upon Allah. It means doing your best, then resting your heart upon His promise. Allah says: “And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him.” (Qur’an, 65:3)
Seeking Provisions the Halal way
The concept of tawakkul, or reliance on Allah, is fundamental in Islam. Placing our trust in Allah for our provision is a form of worship and acknowledgement of His omnipotence. It doesn't mean abandoning effort but pairing our endeavours with faith in Allah's plan. When we place our trust in Allah, we're increased tenfold!
Knowing that rizq is guaranteed is not an excuse to be lazy. No one knew ar-Razzaq better than the Prophet ﷺ, but there is not one moment in his seerah (life) where we see a defeatist attitude. His example is the best example, because he shows us what it means to have full trust that he will receive what Allah (swt) has written for him, and yet work in a way that shows he planned, thought deeply and sought people’s opinions.
Reliance on Allah — sits alongside effort, not instead of it, and the Prophet ﷺ illustrated the balance with an image from nature: "If you were to rely upon Allah with the required reliance, then He would provide for you just as a bird is provided for: it goes out in the morning empty, and returns full." (Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī 2344)
Notice what the bird actually does: it leaves the nest. It doesn't sit and wait for food to arrive — it goes out, searches, and returns full, because Allah provides through the effort, not instead of it. A companion once asked the Prophet ﷺ whether he should simply leave his camel untied and rely on Allah to protect it, and the answer that followed became one of the most quoted lines on this exact balance in the entire tradition: "Tie your camel first, then place your trust in Allah." (Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī 2517)
Tie the camel — take the reasonable, available step. Then trust Allah with everything beyond your control: the outcome, the timing, the amount. Tawakkul without effort isn't trust, it's neglect wearing trust's name; effort without tawakkul isn't diligence, it's a quiet belief that the outcome depends on you alone. Both halves are needed, together, at the same time.
MEANS OF INCREASE IN PROVISIONS
The top and the main reason people tend to commit Bidah or even Shirk is the desire for more provisions, whether it be children or wealth, people are ready to do anything to get it, forgetting that Allah is Ar-Razzaq and Islam is complete and that our Beloved Prophet ﷺ has passed on to us every information that was of benefit with regards to our faith. So it is essential for us to learn the right ways to increase provisions but before that please note:
In the saheeh Sunnah there is no known prayer specifically for asking for increased provision.
Whether it be a specific kind of Salah or a specific number of times a dua is to be recited or calling Allah’s name some number of times, all of these are very common practices amongst Muslims these days. All of these has no basis from the Sunnah or the acts of the Sahaba or those who came after that these are all innovations that came from not even weak ahadeeth but fabricated ones.
There are some means of increasing provision that are prescribed in Islam, which we shall highlight here, so as to adopt the means that are prescribed and warn against innovations which in way is like Hifz Al Maal (protecting Wealth). The means include:
1. Istaghfaar (Seeking Forgiveness)
Allah, the Most High said, citing the call of Nūḥ (alayhis salām) to his people: I said (to them): ‘Ask forgiveness from your Lord. Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving. He will send rain to you in abundance. And give you increase in wealth and children and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers.‘ Surah Nūḥ (71:10-12).
From the fruits of seeking forgiveness are the sending down of rain (which is a means through which sustenance is created and provided) and increase in wealth and children have been connected with the seeking of forgiveness
2. Tawbah (Repentance)
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning in English is): - And (commanding you): “Seek the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance that He may grant you good enjoyment for a term appointed and bestow His abounding grace to every owner of grace. But if you turn away, then I fear for you the torment of a great day. Surah Hūd (11:3).
And also His saying of Dawood (ʿalayhis salām): “And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him, He will send you (from the sky) abundant rain, and add strength to your strength, so do not turn away as criminals, wrongdoers.” (Surah Hūd 11:52).
From the fruits of repentance are good enjoyment in this world, receiving increase in bounty and excellence from Allāh and sending of rain and providence from the sky.
Repentance has a number of conditions for it to be accepted and they are:
Acknowledging that sin has been committed
Remorse for falling into the sin
Resolving not to return to the sin
Rectifying any harm if it involved the rights of others
Asking for forgiveness for this sin
Having firm belief that Allāh is the Forgiver of sin
3. Taqwa (Piety)
Allāh, the Exalted said,
“And whoever has taqwā of Allāh, He will make for him a way out (of difficulty) and provide for him from (sources) he could not imagine”. Surah Ṭalāq (65:2-3).
And if the people of the towns had believed andhadtaqwa (piety), certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth, but they belied (the Messengers). So We took them (with punishment) for what they used to earn”. Surah Aʿrāf (7:96).
From the fruits of taqwā are removal from every difficulty, provision from where one would not imagine, opening up of blesings from the Earth and the heaven.
As for the definition of taqwā then it is, as related from Ṭalq bin Ḥabīb (raḥimahullāh): “To work in obedience to Allāh, upon light from Allāh, hoping for Allāh’s reward and to abandon disobedience to Allāh, upon light from Allāh, fearing the punishment of Allāh.” Siyar of al-Dhahabī (4/601).
The meaning of “upon light from Allāh” is upon knowledge and insight in His religion, that you obey Him and abandon disobedience to Him upon knowledge of what He ordered and prohibited.
4. Tawakkul (Reliance upon Allah)
Allāh, the Exalted said: “And who ever places his trust in Allāh, He will suffice him (in his needs). Verily, Allāh will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things. Surah Ṭalāq (65:3).
And also think of the hadeeth of the birds mentioned earlier.
From the fruits of relying upon Allāh are, Allāh being sufficient for the servant (in all his needs), acquiring what a servant desires of goodness for himself, and sustenance being acquired with the ease with which the bird acquires sustenance.
5. Performing Hajj and ‘Umrah often, following one with the other
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Follow up between (the performance) of Hajj and ʿUmrah for they remove poverty and sins just like the bellow (of the furnace) removes the dross from iron, gold and silver. And a righteous Hajj has no other reward but Paradise.” (Ahmad; ṣaḥīḥ by al-Albānī).
6. Upholding Ties of Kinship
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever is pleased that his sustenance is enlargened and his life is extended then let him maintain the ties of kinship.” (Sahih Bukhārī).
7. Giving a great deal of charity
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Say: Truly, my Lord enlarges the provision for whom He wills of His slaves, and (also) restricts (it) for him, and whatsoever you spend of anything (in Allah’s Cause), He will replace it. And He is the Best of providers” Surah Saba’ (34:39).
The Messenger of Allah ﷺsaid: “Charity does not decrease wealth.” (Sahih Muslim)
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: They (the scholars) mentioned two meanings of this hadeeth, one of which is that (the wealth) will be blessed (as a result of giving charity) and harm will be warded off from it, so the apparent decrease will be compensated for by means of hidden blessing (barakah). This is something that is well known from experience. The second is that even if it appears to be decreased outwardly, there will be compensation for that in the reward that results from it, and it will be increased manifold. End quote.
8. Kindness to the Poor & Weak
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Are you aided and granted sustenance except by way of the poor, weak ones amongst you?” (Sahih Bukhārī).
“Seek (closeness to) me through your poor & weak ones, for you are granted sustenance and aided through your poor, weak ones.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī)
9. Hijrah for His Sake
Allāh, the Exalted said, “He who emigrates (from his home) in the cause of Allah, will find on earth many dwelling places and plenty to live by”. Surah Nisāʾ (4:100).
The one who emigrates in Allāh’s cause will find goodness and blessing and also plentifulness in the means of living.
10. Dhikr (Rememberance of Allah)
Allāh, the Exalted said: “But whosoever turns away from My remembrance verily, for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection.“ Surah Ṭā Ha (20:114).
And the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said, “No people sit together, remembering Allāh, the Mighty and Majestic, except that the Angels surround them and envelope them with mercy and tranquility descends upon them and Allāh mentions them to those who are with Him.” (Sahih Muslim).
From the fruits of remembrance (dhikr) is a life of ease. Constant remembrance of Allāh brings about ease and spaciousness in provision and livelihood.
11. Starting Early Morning
The Prophet ﷺ said: “O Allāh bless my ummah in its embarkment (of their affairs) in the earlier (part of the day).” (Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah and others, declared ṣaḥīḥ by al-Albānī).
And whenever he ﷺ would send people on a mission or dispatch an army, he would send them in the first part of the day. Many Sahaba were traders and would send out their workers in the first part of the day, so he was successful and his wealth increased greatly.
12. Shukr (Gratefulness)
Allāh, the Exalted says:
“And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: “If you are grateful (give thanks), I will give you more (of My blessings), but if you are thankless (ungrateful), My punishment is indeed severe.” Surah Ibrāhīm (14:7).
“Indeed there was for Sabaʾ (Sheba) a sign in their dwelling place, – two gardens on the right hand and on the left (and it was said to them) “Eat of the provision of your Lord, and be grateful to Him, a fair land and an Oft-Forgiving Lord.” But they turned away (from the obedience of Allah), so We sent against them a flood released from the dam, and We converted their two gardens into gardens producing bitter bad fruit, and tamarisks, and some few lote-trees. Like this We requited them because they were ungrateful disbelievers. And never do We requit in such a way except those who are ungrateful, (disbelievers). “ Surah Sabaʾ (34:15-17).
Being grateful for the blessings and favours of Allāh leads to an increase in the favours and their persistence. Being ungrateful is a cause of punishment and ending of the blessings and favours as occurred to the people of Sabaʾ. And being grateful is giving obedience to Allāh in what He commanded and refraining from disobedience to Allāh in what He prohibited
13. Being easy-going with a debtor who is facing hardship
The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said: “…Whoever is easy-going with a debtor who is facing hardship, Allaah will make it easy for him in this world and in the Hereafter…” (Sahih Muslim).
14. DUAS FOR PROVISION
General Dua for barakah
اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَنَا فِي رِزْقِنَا
“O Allah, bless for us our provision.” (Sahih Muslim)
Duas for sufficiency, contentment & removal of poverty
اللَّهُمَّ اكْفِنِي بِحَلالِكَ عَنْ حَرامِكَ، وَأَغْنِنِي بِفَضْلِكَ عَمَّنْ سِوَاكَ
Allahumma akfini bihaalaalika ‘an haraamika, wa aghnini bifadhlika ‘amman siwaaka
“O Allah, suffice me with what You have made lawful so that I may avoid what You have made unlawful, and make me independent of all others besides You.” (Tirmidhi — Hasan)
للَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْهُدَى وَالتُّقَى وَالْعَفَافَ وَالْغِنَى
Allāhumma innī as’alukal-hudā wat-tuqā, wal-`afāfa wal-ghinā.
O Allah, indeed, I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity, and sufficiency. (Sahih Muslim)
May Allah give us all good Provisions along with the Hidayah to use it Halal ways and spend it in His Cause.
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
RABBANAA ATINA FID-DUNIYA HASANTAN WA FIL ÁKHIRATI HASANTAN WAQINA ÁDHABAN-NAR
“Our Lord, give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire” (al-Baqarah 2:201).
اَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا , وَ رِزْقًا طَيَّبًا , وَ عَمَلاً مُتَقَبَّلاً
ALLAHUMMA INNI ASÁLUKA ÍLMAN NAAFIÁN WA RIZQAN TAYYIBAN WA ÁMALAN MUTAQABBALAN
O Allah! I ask You for knowledge that is of benefit, a good provision and deeds that will be accepted.
(Ibn Majah, classed as saheeh by al-Albaani)
A Trust From Ar-Razzāq
Everything in this class comes back to one settled fact: your provision was written before you were born, it is already moving toward you, and Allah — Ar-Razzāq Himself — has guaranteed it will arrive. That doesn't remove the need for honest effort; it removes the need for the fear that so often comes with it. Tie the camel, do the work in front of you, maintain the ties that matter, ask forgiveness, be grateful for what has already come — and leave the outcome exactly where it belongs.
May Allah make us among those who trust Him fully, who take the means without forgetting who provides the result, and who never let anxiety about rizq crowd out gratitude for it.
TIPS FOR THE TEST
Do not have to memorise the ayahs or hadeeths word for word and their references, but remember their meanings and the msg being given.
Remember the Duas.
Remember the tips from Sunnah
ASSIGNMENT
There will be an Assignment Question asked in the Test. Marks will be given based on the following: -
I. Invite atleast 10 people to the course (can invite via WhatsApp, Facebook, Email, telegram or word of mouth) 4 Marks. (check the note below for exceptions)
Note:
Those who have already invited whether on Whatsapp, Email or FB, do not need to invite again.
It does not matter, whether people join or not, our job is to invite.
II. Talk to 3 people (friends or family) about any three topics from the course - (5 Marks)
III. Pray for the Ummah, pray for the ease of all the poor & oppressed Muslims and Maghfirah of the Muslims who passed away. Pray that Allah make us all strong in imaan and give us the hidayah to work for the aakhirah and to help each other. - 1 Mark
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