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Does Islam want Muslims to be rich or poor in general?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Islam wants Muslims to be pious, whether they are rich or poor. It does not demand that a Muslim strive for wealth, nor does it command poverty; rather, it obliges them to obey Allah in both states. Islam is not the religion of the poor or the rich, but rather it is a religion for everyone, and it distinguishes among its followers based on faith and good deeds. Scholars have differed as to which is better: the patient poor person or the grateful rich person? The most preponderant opinion is that the best of them is the one who is most pious towards Allah Almighty. The rich person who is distracted by their wealth from obeying Allah, and the poor person who neglects to strive and relies on people or neglects those they are responsible for, both are blameworthy.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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