Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Allah Almighty is capable of granting His servant wealth, children, guidance, and righteousness all together, and He has combined these blessings for many of His servants. Therefore, a person should not despair of Allah’s bounty; rather, he should ask Him from His vast فضل. At the same time, differences among people in wealth, children, health, and guidance occur according to Allah’s knowledge, wisdom, and mercy.
Allah Almighty says:
“Is it they who distribute the mercy of your Lord? We have distributed among them their livelihood in the life of this world and raised some of them above others in ranks so that some may employ others. And the mercy of your Lord is better than whatever they accumulate.”
Az-Zukhruf 43:32.
Shaykh As-Sa‘di, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that the provisions and livelihoods of Allah’s servants are in His hands. He expands them for whom He wills and restricts them for whom He wills according to His wisdom, and the management of all religious and worldly affairs belongs entirely to Allah.
Among the wisdoms behind people differing in wealth and abilities is that they need one another, allowing the interests of life to function. If everyone were equally wealthy and completely self-sufficient, many essential interests would cease to function.
Therefore, remaining in a state of poverty may sometimes be better for a person than wealth that leads him to tyranny and corruption. However, this does not mean that every poor person would become corrupt if Allah enriched him, nor that every wealthy person is destined to become corrupt. Rather, it means that Allah knows best what is beneficial for each servant.
As for the story of the boy whom Al-Khidr, peace be upon him, killed, this occurred by Allah’s command and through knowledge that Allah had taught Al-Khidr. Allah says:
“And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would burden them with transgression and disbelief. So we intended that their Lord should replace him with one better than him in purity and closer in affection.”
Al-Kahf 18:80–81.
Allah Almighty was capable of guiding the boy, but He did not will to guide all people. Rather, His wisdom required that among people there be believers and disbelievers.
Allah says:
“And had your Lord willed, all those on earth would have believed altogether. So, would you compel people to become believers? And no soul can believe except by Allah’s permission, and He places impurity upon those who do not reason.”
Yunus 10:99–100.
Therefore, it is not correct to object by saying that Allah is capable of guiding everyone. Allah’s actions are based upon wisdom, and not everything that He is capable of doing does He will to occur.
Yes. A believer may ask Allah for wealth, prosperity, righteous offspring, guidance, and well-being, and he should not deprive himself of supplication on the assumption that wealth might corrupt him or children might become a source of misery.
A servant does not know what Allah has decreed for him, nor does he know where his true good lies. Therefore, he should ask his Lord from His bounty, take the lawful means, and have a good opinion of Allah.
If what he desires is delayed, he should not necessarily interpret this as deprivation or divine anger. Rather, he should say: Perhaps Allah has delayed it for a wisdom I do not know; perhaps its delay contains a good that I cannot see; perhaps this trial is a means of raising my rank; and perhaps relief is near.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“When a servant has a rank with Allah that he cannot reach through his deeds, Allah tests him in his body, wealth, or child until he reaches that rank which Allah had decreed for him.”
Narrated by Ahmad (22338) and Abu Dawud (3090), and authenticated by Al-Albani.
Allah Almighty says:
“And We will surely test you with something of fear, hunger, and a loss of wealth, lives, and fruits. But give good news to those who patiently endure—those who, when faced with a disaster, say, ‘Surely to Allah we belong and to Him we will all return.’ They are the ones who will receive Allah’s blessings and mercy. And it is they who are rightly guided.”
Al-Baqarah 2:155–157.
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
“Indeed, the greatness of the reward is proportional to the greatness of the trial. When Allah loves a people, He tests them. Whoever is content will receive contentment, and whoever is displeased will receive displeasure.”
Narrated by At-Tirmidhi (2396) and Ibn Majah (4031), and authenticated by Al-Albani.
Thus, poverty may be a door to patience and an elevation of one’s rank, just as wealth may be a door to gratitude and obedience. What matters is how the servant fulfills Allah’s rights in the condition Allah has decreed for him.
While remaining patient during a trial, a believer should not abandon supplication or assume that his circumstances will never change.
Allah says:
“So I said: ‘Ask your Lord for forgiveness, for He is indeed Most Forgiving. He will shower you with abundant rain, give you increase in wealth and children, and provide you with gardens and rivers.’”
Nuh 71:10–12.
And He says:
“Whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make a way out for them and provide for them from sources they could never imagine. And whoever puts their trust in Allah, He is sufficient for them. Surely Allah achieves His purpose. Allah has already set a measure for everything.”
At-Talaq 65:2–3.
Therefore, remain patient, have a good opinion of Allah, ask Him from His bounty, increase in seeking forgiveness, and do whatever lawful means you are able to undertake.
Allah Almighty is capable of combining wealth, children, guidance, and righteousness for His servant, so there is nothing wrong with asking Him for all of these blessings. However, Allah decrees for His servants whatever provisions and trials He wills according to His wisdom. Withholding or delaying some blessings may be better for a servant, just as granting them may be better for him.
A servant does not know the unseen. Therefore, he should not conclude that poverty is purely evil or that wealth is purely good. Rather, he should ask Allah for His bounty, be content with what He decrees, remain patient during trials, be grateful during blessings, and maintain a good opinion of his Lord.
We ask Allah to grant you from His bounty, open for you the doors of provision, bless you with guidance and righteous offspring, and grant you relief from every hardship and a way out of every distress.
And Allah knows best.