Some people see their Muslim brothers who have been stricken by calamities and disasters, and they do not move or feel motivated to help them, nor do they urge others to do that, on the grounds that what has happened is the will of Allaah and it is not right for us to help them when Allaah is punishing them! Some people, when they are told to do good to the poor and needy, they say, how can we do good to them when Allaah has willed this for them? Allaah has made them poor and you want to make them rich? Or they say, if Allaah wanted to, He could make them rich without our help. What is the Islamic view concerning such comments?

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Question

Some people see their Muslim brothers who have been stricken by calamities and disasters, and they do not move or feel motivated to help them, nor do they urge others to do that, on the grounds that what has happened is the will of Allaah and it is not right for us to help them when Allaah is punishing them! Some people, when they are told to do good to the poor and needy, they say, how can we do good to them when Allaah has willed this for them? Allaah has made them poor and you want to make them rich? Or they say, if Allaah wanted to, He could make them rich without our help. What is the Islamic view concerning such comments?

Answer

Praise be to Allah.These

and similar comments are undoubtedly false speech, which is indicative

of great ignorance or despicable negligence. The will of Allaah can

never be grounds for committing sin or neglecting obligatory duties.

Moreover,

Allaah has commanded us to help Muslims who are in dire straits and

to help the needy. He denounces those who fail to do this duty, as He

says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Nay!

But you treat not the orphans with kindness and generosity (i.e. you

neither treat them well, nor give them their exact right of inheritance)!

And

urge not one another on the feeding of Al-Miskeen (the poor)!

And

you devour the inheritance — all with greed.

And

you love wealth with much love”

[al-Fajr

89:17-20]

Not feeding the

poor is one of the causes of a person entering Hell. Allaah says (interpretation

of the meaning):

“

‘What has caused you to enter Hell?’

They

will say: “We were not of those who used to offer the Salaah (prayers),

Nor

we used to feed Al-Miskeen (the poor);

[al-Muddaththir

74:42-44]

Wealth belongs

to Allaah; if He willed, He could take it away from the person who says

these things. Would he, in that case, when he is in desperate need for

food, like to have said to him what he is saying to others?

This view is

seriously mistaken and is a great misguidance. The one who says this

is like those of whom Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning);

“And when it

is said to them: ‘Spend of that with which Allaah has provided you,’

those who disbelieve say to those who believe: ‘Shall we feed those

whom, if Allaah willed, He (Himself) would have fed? You are only in

a plain error’”

[Yaa-Seen

36:47]

Source: IslamQA (Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid)

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