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How can we reconcile the Prophet's supplication, "O Allah, provide sustenance for the family of Muhammad," with his storing up a year's worth of provisions?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Praying for sustenance to be "sustenance" (qut) means seeking bare sufficiency, i.e., what is enough to meet one's needs without extravagance, while avoiding the humiliation of asking others. This is what the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, strived for. He would save a year's worth of provisions for his family and spend anything extra. Bare sufficiency (kafaf) is adequacy without excess or deficiency; it is what suffices for needs and wards off necessities without leading to a life of luxury. Allah combined for His Prophet states of poverty, wealth, and bare sufficiency, and his state settled on bare sufficiency because of the safety it offers from oppressive wealth and painful poverty. This is evidence for preferring bare sufficiency and that it is among the best of states. True wealth is the richness of the soul, for wealth is not about an abundance of possessions, but rather, true wealth is the richness of the soul.

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

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