Living The Quran
From Issue: 639 [Read full issue]
Personal Effort
Al Isra (The Night Journey) - Chapter 17: Verse 30
"Surely your Lord God enlarges provision for whom He wills, and straitens it (for whom He wills). Indeed He is fully aware of His servants and sees them well."
It is not poverty or richness itself which is good; rather, it is the state of mind which has disciplined (and triumphed over) the carnal life. The surest way for a person to please God, therefore, is to understand that whatever God gives is given in order to perfect that person in the best way. Whatever people's circumstances, they should strive to fulfill their duties toward the Creator and the created.
Like everything else, provision for each person has been pre-determined by God, and no one can obtain more than the provision that has been determined for them, nor can anybody die without having consumed their provision. Every living being's basic provision - the least amount of provision sufficient for its survival - is guaranteed by God, provided that being depends on Him in all respects. The procurement of any extra provision that will be needed because of certain conditions, like habits, depends on personal effort.
God does not forbid working or exerting effort, nor does He want His servants to be content with their basic provision. Rather, He encourages the making of an effort and wills that His servants should earn in lawful ways to spend in God's cause for the cause of Islam, and for the good of people. One who earns lawfully, who is thankful, and who helps others is much better in sight of God than one who is content with the basic provisions. What God forbids is greed, earning in unlawful ways, pursuing one's own interests only, hoarding wealth, miserliness, and not helping the needy. He also forbids taking the worldly life as the goal for working and earning.
Compiled From:
"The Quran: Annotated Interpretation in Modern English" - Ali Unal, pp. 574-577