The reward for striving to earn a halal living
Allah Almighty says towards the end of Surat al-Jumu’ah:
فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةُ فَٱنتَشِرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱبْتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضْلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“When the prayer has been concluded, disperse through the land and seek the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often so that you may succeed.”
(Surat al-Jumu’ah, 62:10)
We see here that Allah Almighty tells us that when we have finished our obligation to pray, we should go out and seek His provision. The provision He has provided all creation. We have a responsibility to worship Allah, but we also have a responsibility to seek halal rizq, to provide for ourselves and those who depend on us.
Seeking a halal living is not separate from worship. With the right intention, it can itself become an act for which you are rewarded.
A man once passed by the Prophet ﷺ. He was strong, healthy and full of energy. The Companions were impressed by him and said, “O Messenger of Allah, if only this were in the cause of Allah!”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
إِنْ كَانَ خَرَجَ يَسْعَى عَلَى وَلَدِهِ صِغَارًا فَهُوَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ خَرَجَ يَسْعَى عَلَى أَبَوَيْنِ شَيْخَيْنِ كَبِيرَيْنِ فَهُوَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ يَسْعَى عَلَى نَفْسِهِ يَعُفُّهَا فَهُوَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ خَرَجَ رِيَاءً وَمُفَاخَرَةً فَهُوَ فِي سَبِيلِ الشَّيْطَانِ
“If he has gone out striving to provide for his young children, then he is in the cause of Allah. If he has gone out striving to provide for two elderly parents, then he is in the cause of Allah. If he has gone out striving to provide for himself and preserve his dignity, then he is in the cause of Allah. But if he has gone out seeking to show off and boast, then he is in the cause of Satan.”
(Al-Tabarani and al-Bayhaqi)
The Companions were judging what they could see. They saw a man who looked strong and energetic, perhaps what we would call “Mr Muscles” today, and they wished that all that energy were being used for the sake of Allah. But the Prophet ﷺ directed them towards something they could not see: his intention.
How do you know what is inside his heart?
Perhaps he is on his way to work because he has young children to feed. Perhaps he has elderly parents to support. Perhaps he simply wants to earn enough to support himself so that he does not have to ask anyone for anything. All of these, the Prophet ﷺ said, can be fi sabilillah. So ask yourself when you leave home for work: what is my intention?
If you are going out to seek halal, provide for your family, support your parents and maintain your independence without having to ask people for money, then you can be rewarded for that effort.
The Prophet ﷺ said to Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas:
وَإِنَّكَ لَنْ تُنْفِقَ نَفَقَةً تَبْتَغِي بِهَا وَجْهَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا أُجِرْتَ عَلَيْهَا، حَتَّى مَا تَجْعَلُ فِي فِي امْرَأَتِكَ
“You will never spend anything seeking thereby the pleasure of Allah except that you will be rewarded for it, even the morsel of food you place in your wife’s mouth.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
Even something as simple as feeding your family can become an act of worship because of your intention.
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
السَّاعِي عَلَى الأَرْمَلَةِ وَالْمِسْكِينِ كَالْمُجَاهِدِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، أَوِ الْقَائِمِ اللَّيْلَ الصَّائِمِ النَّهَارَ
“The one who works to support a widow and a poor person is like one who strives in the cause of Allah, or like one who stands in prayer throughout the night and fasts throughout the day.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
The scholars explained that the one who “strives” for them here is the one who works to earn and provide for their needs.
Check your intention
At the same time, the Prophet ﷺ warned us that the very same work can become blameworthy when the intention is wrong. If somebody goes out to earn so that he can boast about his wealth and show people that he is better than them, the Prophet ﷺ said that this is fi sabil al-shaytan.
You might buy a new car. Why did you buy it? If it is simply to show your friends, “Look what I have. I am better than you,” this is showing off. But perhaps your work brings you into contact with certain clients and you need to present yourself professionally. Outwardly it may be the same car, but inwardly the intention is completely different.
This is why it is not enough simply to ask whether your income is halal. You also have to look at your heart. Why do you want the money? What are you trying to achieve with it? Earn well, but do not make money a means of competing with people, looking down on them or showing off.
The Prophet ﷺ taught Hakim ibn Hizam another important principle when it comes to wealth:
يَا حَكِيمُ، إِنَّ هَذَا الْمَالَ خَضِرَةٌ حُلْوَةٌ، فَمَنْ أَخَذَهُ بِسَخَاوَةِ نَفْسٍ بُورِكَ لَهُ فِيهِ، وَمَنْ أَخَذَهُ بِإِشْرَافِ نَفْسٍ لَمْ يُبَارَكْ لَهُ فِيهِ، وَكَانَ كَالَّذِي يَأْكُلُ وَلَا يَشْبَعُ
“O Hakim, this wealth is sweet and attractive. Whoever takes it with generosity of spirit will be blessed in it, but whoever takes it greedily will not be blessed in it, and he will be like one who eats but is never satisfied.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
Money is attractive. There is nothing wrong with wanting to earn well or build a successful business, but you have to control your heart.
Do not spend your life looking at somebody else’s business and saying, “Look how many customers he has. Why don’t I have that?” Your rizq will come to you. Of course, look at what you can improve. Perhaps your service needs improving. Perhaps the way you speak to your customers could be better. Perhaps you need new skills or a better product. Work on those things, but do not allow envy to enter your heart.
Seek the dunya through halal means and with a good heart. Do not seek it because you want to be above everybody else. Otherwise, you become like the person described by the Prophet ﷺ who keeps eating but never feels full.
Take your rope and go
The Prophet ﷺ also taught us not to sit around waiting for somebody else to provide for us when we are capable of working.
He said:
لَأَنْ يَأْخُذَ أَحَدُكُمْ حَبْلَهُ فَيَأْتِيَ بِحُزْمَةِ الْحَطَبِ عَلَى ظَهْرِهِ فَيَبِيعَهَا فَيَكُفَّ اللَّهُ بِهَا وَجْهَهُ، خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَنْ يَسْأَلَ النَّاسَ أَعْطَوْهُ أَوْ مَنَعُوهُ
“It is better for one of you to take his rope, gather a bundle of firewood on his back and sell it than to ask people, whether they give him or refuse him.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
Take your rope and go.
Of course, today you probably will not go into the woods with a rope and start collecting firewood. The principle is to take the initiative. Find something useful that you can do. Develop a skill. Start a project. Offer a service. Build a business.
Don’t wait for the big ticket to come. Be the big ticket yourself.
Create an opportunity rather than spending your life waiting for an opportunity to appear.
We live at a time when technology, particularly AI, is transforming the employment market. Yes, some jobs will disappear or change, but at the same time new opportunities are being created. The tools available to a young person starting something today are extraordinary compared with what was available even a few years ago.
Use them. Learn. Experiment. Create something.
The Prophet ﷺ was teaching this spirit of initiative long before the language of entrepreneurship existed.
He also said:
عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ صَدَقَةٌ
“Every Muslim should give charity.”
The Companions asked, “What if he has nothing?”
He replied:
يَعْمَلُ بِيَدِهِ فَيَنْفَعُ نَفْسَهُ وَيَتَصَدَّقُ
“Let him work with his own hands, benefit himself and give in charity.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
First he benefits himself, and then he becomes capable of benefiting others.
The Prophetic model is not simply: earn enough so that somebody does not have to support you. It is greater than that. Become someone who adds value wherever you are.
Investing in our young people
This has particular relevance to our young people today.
According to figures published by the Office for National Statistics in August 2026, around 981,000 young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training between April and June 2026. This was around 13 per cent of that age group.
Nearly a million young people. That should concern all of us because these young people are our future. Of course, their circumstances are not all the same. Some may be unable to work or study for genuine reasons. But there are also many young people who need encouragement, skills, opportunities and somebody willing to invest in them. The answer cannot simply be, “My parents are looking after me, so I am fine.”
May Allah bless your parents and reward them for looking after you, but that is not the long-term solution. At some point you have to take your rope and go. Metaphorically, of course.
Start something. Learn something. Become productive.
And there is another responsibility here. We have successful and wealthy people within our Muslim community. We need some of them to support young people with good ideas, help them develop their skills, mentor them and invest in worthwhile projects.
Governments use grants, loans and other incentives to stimulate businesses and create employment. As a community, we should also be thinking about how we can create opportunities for the next generation.
A young person may have ability and a good idea but lack capital, experience or contacts. Someone else may have all three. Bring them together.
This is part of building a healthy community: not creating dependency, but helping people become independent.
The Prophet ﷺ is teaching us to be productive, to take initiative and to become people of value wherever we are. Seek halal rizq. Support your family. Look after your parents. Preserve your dignity. Help those in need. Do not be consumed by greed or comparison, and do not wait indefinitely for somebody else to create your opportunity.
Take your rope and go.
Don’t wait for the big ticket. Be the big ticket yourself.
May Allah Almighty grant us halal and blessed provision, make us grateful for His blessings, protect our hearts from greed, envy and showing off, and enable us to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions.
Ameen.
Based on the khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 11th September 2026
- Halal earning – Part 1: Seeking halal provision and trusting Allah
Part 1 – Halal earning - Halal earning – Part 2: Seeking halal income
Part 2 – Seeking halal income - Halal earning – Part 3: Halal income and self-sufficiency
Part 3 – Halal earning - Halal earning – Part 4: Contracts in Islamic transactions
Part 4 – Contracts in Islamic transactions - Halal earning – Part 5: The prohibition of riba
Part 5 – The prohibition of riba - Halal earning – Part 6: Salam contracts
Part 6 – Salam contracts - Halal earning – Part 7: Istisna contract
Part 7 – Istisna contract - Halal earning – Part 8: Ijarah (leasing)
Part 8 – Ijarah contract - Halal earning – Part 9: Mudaraba (profit-sharing partnership)
Part 9 – Mudaraba contract - Seeking the Halal – Part 10: Unjust financial dealings
Part 10 – Unjust financial dealings - Halal earnings – Part 11: Not harming the contracting party
Part 11 – Not harming the contracting party - Halal Earnings – Part 12: Excellence in transactions
Part 12 – Excellence in transactions