Poverty leads to envy and unrest. Spending on the poor is a public duty
Seven prophetic instructions for a believer
عن أبي ذَرٍّ الغِفاريِّ رضي الله عنه، قال:
أمرَني خليلي ﷺ بسبع:
١-(أمرَني بحبِّ المساكينِ والدُّنوِّ منهُم.
٢-وأمرَني أن أنظرَ إلى مَن هو دُوني ولا أنظرَ إلى مَن هو فوقي.
٣-وأمرَني أن أصِلَ الرَّحِمَ وإن أدبَرَتْ.
٤-وأمرَني ألا أسألَ أحدًا شيئًا.
٥-وأمرَني أن أقولَ الحقَّ وإن كان مُرًّا.
٦-وأمرَني ألا أخافَ في الله لومةَ لائم.
٧-وأمرَني أن أُكثِرَ من قول “لاحولَ ولا قوَّة إلا بالله”؛ فإنهنَّ من كنزٍ تحتَ العرش).
وهو حديث حسن.
روى أحمد في “مسنده”،
Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
My beloved (the Prophet ﷺ) instructed me with seven things:
- He commanded me to love the poor and to keep close to them.
- He commanded me to look at those who are below me (in worldly matters) and not to look at those who are above me.
- He commanded me to maintain the ties of kinship, even if my relatives turn away from me.
- He commanded me not to ask anyone for anything.
- He commanded me to speak the truth, even if it is bitter.
- He commanded me not to fear the blame of any blamer for the sake of Allah.
- He commanded me to frequently say:
“There is no power and no might except through Allah” (La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah), for they are among the treasures beneath the Throne.
(Musnad Ahamd)
Although the Prophet ﷺ addressed these words directly to Abu Dharr, it extends to his whole ummah. They contain principles that every believer can apply to their life. The first of these is a lesson in humility.
Love the poor and remain close to them
The first instruction was:
بِحُبِّ الْمَسَاكِينِ وَأَنْ أَدْنُوَ مِنْهُمْ
“To love the poor and remain close to them.”
People usually look at those who are poor or below them in financial or social status and keep their distance from them. But the Prophet ﷺ is teaching Abu Dharr, and teaching us through Abu Dharr, not to do this. Do not neglect the poor. Do not keep away from them. Do not classify people according to how much money they have or what social position they hold.
If you look at the lives of the prophets and messengers, you will see this again and again. Very often, the first people to believe in them were the poor, the weak and those whom society did not consider important. This was also the case with the Prophet ﷺ.
If you read the seerah, you see that the leaders of Quraysh were uncomfortable with some of the people sitting around the Prophet ﷺ. They were saying, in effect, “How can you expect us to sit with these servants and slaves?! We are not equal to them.” You see, arrogance had taken over their hearts. This arrogance became a barrier between them and the truth.
The Prophet ﷺ was changing this completely. He was teaching people that this is not how Allah classifies His servants. It is not about financial status or social status. It is not about which family you come from, which title you carry or how much wealth you have. It is about your connection with Allah and your taqwa.
Allah Almighty says:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
“O humanity, indeed We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may know one another. Indeed, the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the one with the most taqwa. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
(Surat al-Hujurat, 49:13)
Allah has honoured all of mankind, not just the rich. He clearly stated in the Qur’an:
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا
“Indeed, We have honoured the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, provided them with good things, and greatly favoured them above many of those We created.”
(Surat al-Isra, 17:70)
The Prophet ﷺ said:
النَّاسُ بَنُو آدَمَ، وَآدَمُ مِنْ تُرَابٍ
“People are the children of Adam, and Adam was from dust.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi and Sunan Abi Dawud)
All of us are the children of Adam, and Adam was created from dust. So where does this sense of superiority come from? We are all equal in our human origin. What makes one person better in the sight of Allah is not money or status, but taqwa, character and closeness to Him. This is why the Prophet ﷺ told Abu Dharr to love the poor and to remain close to them.
In another verse, Allah said:
إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ
“Indeed, the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the one with the most taqwa.”
(Surat al-Hujurat, 49:13)
This is the real measure. It is not which car you drive, which house you live in, which street you live on or which titles you carry. These things do not make you better than somebody else.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ وَاحِدٌ، وَإِنَّ أَبَاكُمْ وَاحِدٌ، أَلَا لَا فَضْلَ لِعَرَبِيٍّ عَلَى عَجَمِيٍّ، وَلَا لِعَجَمِيٍّ عَلَى عَرَبِيٍّ، وَلَا لِأَحْمَرَ عَلَى أَسْوَدَ، وَلَا لِأَسْوَدَ عَلَى أَحْمَرَ إِلَّا بِالتَّقْوَى.
“Indeed, your Lord is One and your father is one. There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, nor of a non-Arab over an Arab, nor of a red person over a black person, nor of a black person over a red person, except through taqwa.”
(Musnad Ahmad)
Do not push the poor aside for people of status
We see the same lesson in the way Allah instructed the Prophet ﷺ to deal with the leaders of Quraysh. The leaders of Quraysh wanted the Prophet ﷺ to expel the poor and weak believers around him. They wanted a special gathering. They did not want to sit with people whom they regarded as beneath them. And you can understand, from a purely worldly point of view, why there might have been a temptation to accommodate them. These were the leaders of Quraysh. If they accepted Islam, perhaps others would follow them. People usually follow their leaders. So perhaps, you might think, move these poor people aside for a while and bring the leaders in. But Allah told him not to listen to this, but to look after the poor.
Allah Almighty says:
وَلَا تَطْرُدِ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُ ۖ مَا عَلَيْكَ مِنْ حِسَابِهِمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ وَمَا مِنْ حِسَابِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَتَطْرُدَهُمْ فَتَكُونَ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
“Do not drive away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His pleasure. You are not accountable for them in any way, nor are they accountable for you in any way. If you were to drive them away, you would then be among the wrongdoers.”
(Surat al-An‘am, 6:52)
Thus Allah was directing the Prophet ﷺ not to bow to this pressure. Do not push these people away simply because others have more money, more influence or a higher position in society. These believers might have been poor in the eyes of Quraysh, but their hearts were close to Allah. That is what mattered.
This is what the Prophet ﷺ in turn was teaching Abu Dharr: humility. Allah has the right to determine people’s true status, not us. We cannot create our own scale and say this person is important because he is wealthy. That is not the Islamic measure. So love the poor and remain close to them.
At the same time, this does not mean that every poor person is automatically righteous. Of course not. You can have a poor person with bad character just as you can have a wealthy person with good character. Poverty itself does not make somebody righteous. The point is that we should never mistake someone’s bank balance for their spiritual worth.
Look at those who have less than you
Then the Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Dharr:
وَأَنْ أَنْظُرَ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ أَسْفَلَ مِنِّي، وَلَا أَنْظُرَ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ فَوْقِي
“He instructed me to look at those who have less than me and not at those who have more than me.”
This is very much connected to the first advice. First, love the poor and remain close to them. Then look at those who have less than you.
In another hadith, he ﷺ said:
انْظُرُوا إِلَى مَنْ أَسْفَلَ مِنْكُمْ، وَلَا تَنْظُرُوا إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ فَوْقَكُمْ، فَهُوَ أَجْدَرُ أَنْ لَا تَزْدَرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ
“Look at those who have less than you and do not look at those who have more than you, for this is more likely to prevent you from belittling the blessing of Allah upon you.”
(Sahih Muslim)
This is very much connected to the first advice. First, love the poor and remain close to them. Then look at those who have less than you. Why? Because if you always look above you in financial matters, you will never be satisfied. You have a cheap car, and you look at somebody with the newest Bentley and say, “I wish I had that.” You have a house, but you look at somebody with a mansion and suddenly your house does not seem good enough. Stop. This is envy. Envy will corrupt your heart. The Prophet ﷺ is teaching us not to live like this.
If you have a car, say Alhamdulillah, because some people do not have one. If you have a roof above your head, even if you are renting, say Alhamdulillah. There are people who have no house. I just returned from Beirut where one million people have been displaced and large numbers are living in tents, and there are people who do not even have a tent. People are suffering from the brutality of being attacked day and night.
Look at what is happening around the world. People have lost their homes and everything they possessed. In Gaza and elsewhere, families have been displaced again and again. When you see this, you realise how many blessings we take for granted.
I am not saying that you should not be ambitious. Of course you should be ambitious. Work hard. Improve yourself. Earn more if Allah opens the door for you. Provide well for your family. But do not belittle what Allah has already given you.
There is a difference between ambition and ingratitude. When you wake up in the morning and you can move, say “Alhamdulillah”. You open your eyes and you can see. You can walk. You can serve yourself. You can eat and taste the food. You can smell. You can hear. We take all of this for granted. Yet there are many people who have lost one or more of these blessings. So before looking at what you do not have, recognise what Allah has already given you. Otherwise, Allah can remove your blessings.
Allah Almighty says:
وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِنْ كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ
“And remember when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more. But if you are ungrateful, surely My punishment is severe.’”
(Surat Ibrahim, 14:7)
The Prophet ﷺ is giving us an antidote to dissatisfaction and ingratitude. Look at what Allah has given you and say “Alhamdulillah”.
There is another side to this advice. The Prophet ﷺ is not telling us to look at those who have less simply so that we can feel better about ourselves. Remember the first instruction: love the poor and remain close to them.
When you put these two instructions together, you see something very important. Notice those who have less, be grateful for what you have, but also care about their situation. If people around us are deprived, under-served or struggling, we should not simply say, “Alhamdulillah, I am better off,” and then forget about them. No. Their situation should concern us.
Riots
We can see this even in our own country. Look, for example, at what has been happening in Thetford in Norfolk. The violence and attacks we have seen there are wrong. There is no justification for attacking people, damaging property or directing hatred towards immigrants or asylum seekers.
At the same time, if you want to understand what is happening in a community, you have to look deeper. Thetford has areas of serious deprivation. The government has not invested in that area. Some neighbourhoods have struggled with poor opportunities, education, skills, services and investment for years. The Abbey Estate, for example, is among the most deprived areas in the country.
So when a community already feels neglected, and then another controversial issue is introduced into that community, anger can be exploited. People can come along and feed on that frustration. They can direct it towards immigrants, Muslims or anybody else and say, “They are the reason for your problems.” This is dangerous.
Of course, deprivation does not excuse riots, racism or violence. Wrong is wrong. But if you want to prevent these things, you also need to address the underlying problems. You cannot neglect communities for years and then be surprised when frustration grows.
This takes us back to the prophetic teaching. Look at those who have less. Do not ignore them. That applies to us as individuals, and there is also a lesson here for those entrusted with public responsibility. Invest in deprived communities. Improve opportunities. Improve services. Listen to people. And make sure public money reaches the places where it is genuinely needed. Because wealth is an amanah.
Public money is also an amanah
We sometimes speak about amanah only at an individual level. But the principle is much wider. If Allah has entrusted you with wealth, you will be asked how you used it. And if you are entrusted with the wealth of millions of people, the responsibility is even greater.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
لَا تَزُولُ قَدَمَا عَبْدٍ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ حَتَّى يُسْأَلَ عَنْ عُمُرِهِ فِيمَ أَفْنَاهُ، وَعَنْ عِلْمِهِ فِيمَ فَعَلَ، وَعَنْ مَالِهِ مِنْ أَيْنَ اكْتَسَبَهُ وَفِيمَ أَنْفَقَهُ، وَعَنْ جِسْمِهِ فِيمَ أَبْلَاهُ
“The feet of a servant will not move on the Day of Judgement until he is asked about his life and how he spent it, his knowledge and what he did with it, his wealth, how he earned it and how he spent it, and his body and how he used it.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi)
So we will be asked: where did the money come from, and where did it go?
This applies to every one of us, but those managing public money have an enormous responsibility. It is taxpayers’ money. It should not be frittered away and wasted. There must be transparency and accountability, and policies should benefit the people it is supposed to serve.
Squandering public money
Look at HS2. The original project was going to connect London with Birmingham and then extend further north. Yet after years of changes, delays and cancellations, the Government now estimates that the remaining programme will cost between £87.7 billion and £102.7 billion.
How did we reach this point? The Government itself has acknowledged that much of the increase came from work that was missed from the original plans, underestimation and inefficient delivery. This is exactly why accountability matters.
If billions are wasted through poor planning and poor management, that money cannot be used somewhere else. It cannot be invested in deprived communities, schools, healthcare, housing, transport and other services people need.
Political parties exploit situations of deprivation for their gains
When money is not invested properly, parties such as Reform can step in and feed on that frustration. When people feel that their area has been neglected, that services are poor and that nobody is listening to them, it becomes very easy to direct their anger towards immigrants, asylum seekers or Muslims. Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice said that local people were “furious” about asylum seekers being placed in their area, while also making clear that peaceful concern is different from violence. But this is precisely why governments have to deal with the underlying problems. Invest in deprived communities, improve services and give people opportunities. Otherwise, you leave a vacuum in which anger can be redirected towards vulnerable groups instead of addressing the real issues of underinvestment and lack of accountability.
So when the Prophet ﷺ teaches us to look at those who have less, this is not a small piece of personal advice. It creates a whole way of thinking.
Do not concern yourself with those who have more than you. Be grateful for what Allah has given you. Notice those who have less. Do not neglect them. And if Allah has placed wealth or authority in your hands, use that amanah properly and make sure that those who are deprived and under-served are not forgotten.
Based on the khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 7th August 2026.
Leadership is Amanah: Don’t mix personal gain with the public interest