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You’ve likely heard the saying, “Money talks.” Undoubtedly, money is the most sought-after thing for people worldwide. It makes perfect sense. Money is what we use to fulfill all our needs. Without it, we would be miserable. However, we don’t use the word money in Islamic terminology because money is very generic and sometimes carries negative connotations. In Islam, we say that Allah provides us with sustenance or rizq. This could be anything that sustains our lives, including our earnings and the money we make. In this article on Islam4u, we will look at the issue of money management and halal earnings during Ramadan of 2025.
Is Money Good or Bad?
Money is a double-edged sword. You can make and spend it lawfully or unlawfully. However, how it is earned is more important. If it is made halal, it is desirable and brings great rewards, so long as it is spent in a halal way. If you’re making a halal living but spending it in haram ways, you’re getting it wrong. Conversely, if you make money in a haram way and think you can spend it well, you’re fooling yourself. Money is good when it is both made and spent in the halal way. This is the whole idea of money management in Islam. For instance, buying food and clothing and fulfilling the basic needs of you and your family through the money you make in a halal way is both praiseworthy and rewarding. Helping those in need and orphans is an even better deed. Money by itself is not essential. How it’s made and spent matters. There are many good ways we can spend our money in Ramadan 2025, such as, inviting people to our houses for iftar, helping those who are needy, and making donations toward building mosques, schools, and hospitals.
Should We Seek More Money?
Money is a means for fulfilling one’s worldly needs and desires. We buy things we need, such as food, clothing, shelter, vehicles, and things that make life possible. If we make enough money to fulfill these needs, greediness for more is unacceptable. Some might say, “I want more and more money to help the poor, save lives, and build schools, hospitals, and mosques.” First, the question is, “How much money do you currently spend in these ways?” You might have a lot or a little money right now, but are you giving it to charity? If not, your desire for money is based on greed, not patronage.
We must give money to charity based on our current earnings. For some, it is less; for others, it is more. We shouldn’t wait to get rich and then start helping the poor. This is not what Allah demands from us. Allah says in the Quran:
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ
Allah does not task any soul beyond its capacity. Whatever [good] it earns is to its own benefit, and whatever [evil] it incurs is to its own harm.[1]
We are expected to help people according to our capacity. If you’re rich, you must help more; if you’re not so rich, you must help less. Your method of money management will always depend on your income and spending. Those who make more spend more, and those who make less spend less. Those who make less spend wisely to save money for the future, whereas those who are well-off may or may not have any savings.
Another issue is that Allah determines our sustenance. However, if we strive in the way of Allah to obtain it with a good intention, Allah will increase it. But, if we strive to make more money owing to greed or selfish desires, there is no guarantee that we will get rich unless we resort to unlawful ways. The point is that we should be content with however much Allah provides for us because we have done our best to acquire it. Allah determines the rest. If we are content, we won’t see money as an object of desire. We won’t overspend because we will know our limits. Life would be more enjoyable because we are content with what Allah has provided and do our best to make a living. Nevertheless, we must allocate a portion of our money to help the poor, the orphans, and those who need help for issues like marriage. It is also wise to save money for the future and not spend all of it every month. These are all money management methods
The goal of life is not to make as much money as possible. If that were the case, we wouldn’t have people with different jobs. Everyone would go after jobs that bring the most money. We wouldn’t have grocery sellers, technicians, engineers, doctors, businessmen, plumbers, construction workers, and janitors. These people don’t have the same salaries. People choose their jobs based on their abilities and knowledge of things. A person who has studied medicine becomes a doctor, not a technician. A person who owns a farm or buys fruit and vegetables from a farm and sells them in a grocery store becomes a grocery seller, not an online seller of electronic devices. Society wouldn’t function if this diversity in professions and jobs didn’t exist, and people just opted for ways to make the most money. What is important is the method of money management that each of these people adopt.
Remember, Allah is the one who gives barakah, which means blessing to one’s rizq and money. Money can be in large amounts but without blessing. On the contrary, a small amount of money can be very blessed and benefit the one who makes it and others; quality is more important than quantity.
Money Management in Ramadan 2025?
Ramadan is when Allah multiplies His blessings on His servants. For Muslims, Ramadan 2025 is a moment of abundant material and spiritual blessings. How we manage our money is important not just during Ramadan but also in all the other months. First of all, we should make sure our money is made in a halal way. We shouldn’t cheat people, overcharge them, or do anything unlawful. We should spend our money wisely. Spending too much for yourself and not enough for your family is reproached in Islam. One must first take care of one’s family. Helping the needy has always been emphasized in the Quran. This doesn’t mean we only give money to beggars on the street. No. Many people have low incomes and can hardly make ends meet, yet they retain their dignity and don’t ask money from people. We should prioritize helping these people because they try their best to provide for their families but can’t do so.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t try to find new ways to make more money so that they wouldn’t be reliant on others’ help. Even poor people need money management. Otherwise, they would lose everything.
Spending for the good of the Muslim nation is also crucial. If a mosque in your neighborhood is being built, or maybe it is already built but needs funds for its maintenance, your donations could bring immense rewards and blessings to your life. You shouldn’t waste your money buying things that don’t serve a good purpose. For instance, buying too many decorative objects like statues and vases to make your house look nicer is unnecessary. Islam is all about living a simple life. Purchasing such things is not advisable when the money can be spent on better things. The priorities must always be considered.
Lending Money to Friends and Family in Ramadan 2025: The Best Money Management Method
No matter how good one’s job is and how much money one makes, there are times when one needs a substantial amount of money to fulfill one’s needs. Allah in the Quran has said that when you give your brother and sister in faith an interest-free loan, it is like you’re lending money to Allah. This is known as qarḍ al-ḥasanah (قَرضُ الحَسَنَة). Allah has promised that He will multiply the sustenance of whoever does this. The amount of reward that is received from this act is unimaginable:
مَّن ذَا الَّذِي يُقْرِضُ اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا فَيُضَاعِفَهُ لَهُ أَضْعَافًا كَثِيرَةً ۚ وَاللَّهُ يَقْبِضُ وَيَبْسُطُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ ﴿٢٤٥﴾
Who is it that will lend Allah a good loan that He may multiply it for him severalfold? Allah tightens and expands [the means of life], and to Him you shall be brought back. (245)
مَّن ذَا الَّذِي يُقْرِضُ اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا فَيُضَاعِفَهُ لَهُ وَلَهُ أَجْرٌ كَرِيمٌ ﴿١١﴾
Who is it that will lend Allah a good loan, that He may multiply it for him and [that] there may be a noble reward for him? (11)[ii]
The good thing about qard al-hasanah is that you are not charged interest, and all your money is paid back. Furthermore, Allah has promised that He will multiply your sustenance and earnings through such an act. Of course, both the giver and receiver of the loan must have money management in mind so that neither party makes a loss.
Ramadan 2025 is the best time to uphold this Islamic tradition. If Allah has made you wealthy and capable, you can manifest Allah’s generosity by financially helping those in need. Someone wants to build a house, buy a car, or pay off their debts. If you help them, Allah will grant you His best rewards in this world and the next.
Conclusion
In Islam, money management is a critical issue. Money affects everything. We need it to survive and fulfill almost all of our needs. Islam highlights the importance of making and spending money in a halal way. Islam criticizes extravagance and wasteful money-spending. Being content with however much money you have and managing it in a way that you don’t run into financial trouble is one of the things Islam advocates. Of course, contentment does not mean laziness. A person who doesn’t work to make money and at the same time complains about Allah not giving him enough money is making a big mistake. Likewise, a person who is doing their best to make money and can manage their life with it but wants more money out of greed also has a wrong mentality. In Islam, the amount of money or quantity is not as important as the quality, meaning how it is made and spent.
[1] Quran 2:286 (Qarai).
[2] Quran 57:11 (Qarai).
