Naseehah of Sayyiduna Abu Darda (Allah is Pleased with Him) : A person came to him seeking some advice. He replied: “Eat only what is pure and wholesome. Earn only what is pure and wholesome. Permit only the pure and wholesome into your home. Beg of Allah to provide you with sustenance one day after the other. When you get up in the morning, consider yourself to be among the dead, as if you have already joined them.”

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (Allah is Pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Look at those who stand at a lower level than you but do not look at those who stand at a higher level than you, for that is better-suited so you do not devalue Allah’s favours upon you.” [Saheeh Muslim, hadith #2963] Note The beloved Prophet ﷺ advised his followers to appreciate whatever materialistic possessions they may have and not to be occupied in looking at the lifestyle of the rich and famous or just anyone that may have a higher standard of living. This can lead to greed and jealousy. The more worldy possessions a person has, the longer and stringent the accounting will be on Accountability Day. He advised his followers to look at the less-fortunate so that a person can be grateful for Allah’s blessings. The less-fortunate will enter Jannah before the wealthy

Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas (Allah is Pleased with him) said, “Certainly, righteous deeds brings: 1. brightness upon the face, 2. divine light (nur) in the heart, 3. an increase of sustenance (rizq), 4. strength in the body, and 5. love in the hearts of the creation. Indeed, evil deeds: 1. wipe out the brightness from the face, 2. creates darkness in the heart, 3. weakness in the body, 4. a decline in sustenance, and 5. dislike in the hearts of the creation.”

Naseehah of Sayyiduna Abu Darda (Allah is Pleased with Him) “Your ears are twice your mouth. You have two ears and one mouth so that you may listen more than talk.” One day he said to his wife: “When you see me angry, you must do things to make me happy. When I see you angry, I will do things to make you happy.” “The wealthy eat and we also eat. They drink and we drink. They wear and we also wear. They have extra possessions which they look at. We also join them in looking at their possessions. But they will have to give account for their possessions while we will be absolved of it.”

Naseehah from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (Allah is Pleased with him) “O servants of Allah! One either experiences affluence or poverty and I am not worried about which of the two I am tested with. If it is affluence, it at least gives me an opportunity to show kindness to the poor. If it is poverty, I get an opportunity to exercise patience.” “The person who is greedy will only get what was destined for him. The person who receives good should know that it is Allah who gave him.”

Imam Ghazali (May Allah have Mercy upon him) writes: O reader remember well, that the key to all good-fortune is to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in all matters, be it his movements, actions, method of eating, sleeping or talking. In doing so we would be truly following the Prophet ﷺ. I do not say that it is essential only to follow him as far as his method of worship is concerned, as there is no justification for abandoning his blessed example in all other matters.”

“To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills. He grants females to whom He wills, and grants males to whom He wills. Or He combines for them couples, both males and females, and makes whom He wills barren. Surely, He is All-Knowing, Very-Powerful.” [Surah Al-Shura, v. 49, 50] In the commentary of this verse, Ulama have written that Allah has mentioned girls before boys. Therefore it is a blessing for new parents if the first child is a baby girl

Many people are worried about their financial situation. The question that gets asked is: How can we acquire barakah in our rizq (sustenance)? Imam Bukhari (May Allah have Mercy upon him) has answered this question in his hadith book. In his famous hadith collection, he has titled a chapter with the heading: بَابُ مَنْ أَحَبَّ الْبَسْطَ فِي الرِّزْقِ Trans: Chapter - Whoever likes an increase in sustenance. Under this chapter he has written only one hadith. Here it is: Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (Allah is Pleased with him) reports that I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying, “Whoever desires an expansion in his sustenance (rizq) and age, should keep good relations with his relatives