Allah Loves Obscurity & Financial Independence

There is a beautiful narration in Sahih Muslim that is not well known. Yet when I first came across it, I immediately realized this is life goals. The first time I discovered this hadith was in the book “Allah Loves” by Dr. Omar Suleiman. This book highlights the qualities that Allah loves from various Quranic verses and hadiths. This was the one hadith in the book that stood out to me because I had read it before. I recall sitting and reflecting on this hadith for a long time, as I found it profound and relatable.

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah loves the slave who is pious, independent, and unknown.” (Sahih Muslim 2965)

This hadith summarizes three important qualities that are beloved to Allah. The first quality is the most obvious, taqwa (piety) but the other two surprised me, financial independence and obscurity. Before explaining the importance of these three qualities, we can gain some insight from the reason for narration of this hadith. The reason for narration is actually mentioned briefly in the narration, in Arabic, even though it is missing in most translations.

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Reason for Narration

This hadith was narrated by Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas to his son Amir and is actually a conversation between Sa’d and his son Umar. Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas was from the highest-ranking companions. He was one of the earliest Muslims, one of the blessed ten, the commander who conquered Persia, and one of the six chosen by Umar to select a successor between them. Despite his great accomplishments, when the civil war broke out, Sa’d disappeared from society. He was one of the few who took the position of neutrality, refusing the fight any Muslims by siding with others. As the civil war raged on, Sa’d’s son Umar went in search of him.

Umar Ibn Sa’d was a very different person from his father. While Sa’d was a righteous and legendary companion who refused to fight any Muslims, his son Umar took the opposite stance. Umar was a firm supporter of the Umayyads and became a general under them. Eventually, many years after his father’s death, he would be one of the generals responsible for the tragedy of Karbala. The tragedy of Karbala sparked the second civil war. This narration takes place many decades before that, during the first civil war. Even then, the tension between father and son is obvious in this narration, narrated by Umar’s brother, Amir. Here is the full narration which gives the narration a lot of context.

 حَدَّثَنِي عَامِرُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، قَالَ كَانَ سَعْدُ بْنُ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ فِي إِبِلِهِ فَجَاءَهُ ابْنُهُ عُمَرُ فَلَمَّا رَآهُ سَعْدٌ قَالَ أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شَرِّ هَذَا الرَّاكِبِ فَنَزَلَ فَقَالَ لَهُ أَنَزَلْتَ فِي إِبِلِكَ وَغَنَمِكَ وَتَرَكْتَ النَّاسَ يَتَنَازَعُونَ الْمُلْكَ بَيْنَهُمْ فَضَرَبَ سَعْدٌ فِي صَدْرِهِ فَقَالَ اسْكُتْ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏ “‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْعَبْدَ التَّقِيَّ الْغَنِيَّ الْخَفِيَّ

Amir Ibn Sa’d narrates that Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas was with his camels, when his son Umar approached him. When Sa’d saw him, he said, “I seek Allah’s refuge from this evil rider!”

Umar descended and said, “You are busy with your camels and your sheep while people fight over the kingdom!”

Sa’d hit him in the chest and said, “Be quiet! I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say that Allah loves the servant who is pious, independent, and unknown.” (Sahih Muslim 2965)

This beautiful narration about the qualities of the beloved of Allah, recorded in the chapter of zuhd (asceticism) in Sahih Muslim is actually part of a heated exchange between a righteous father and his rebellious son during one of the most intense and confusing periods of Muslim history.

The purpose of narrating this hadith in this incident was to demonstrate to his son why he chose business (tending to his flock) over politics. Sa’d strived to embody the three qualities in this narration. Staying away from shedding the blood of Muslims was part of his striving for piety. Tending to his camels and sheep was part of his striving for financial independence, which he achieved. Avoiding politics at a time when he could have easily claimed Caliphate was part of striving for obscurity, even though he was already well known. Through these details, we gain a practical example of how to implement this hadith.

Striving For Piety

The first quality that this hadith describes is taqwa. Taqwa is a deep term that has been translated as Fear of Allah, Piety, and God-Consciousness. It carries all these meanings, as taqwa is the quality of being aware of God, fearing His Punishment, and striving to please Him. This is the most important quality that every Muslim must strive for. Taqwa is the most beloved quality to Allah, it is the quality of His Friends (awliya), and it is the key to the higher levels of Paradise. Without taqwa, the other qualities are not worth much. If we strive for anything, it must be taqwa.

Striving for taqwa is not easy. Every soul has within it a desire to do evil. The type of sin that a soul is inclined to differs from person to person, but every soul has its struggles. The test of life is to fight our inner demons every day, by building our taqwa. We build our taqwa by first establishing the obligations. Once we are firm on the obligations, we can reach higher levels of taqwa by adding more optional acts of worship to our daily schedule. This process of building taqwa is summarized beautiful in the following Hadith al-Qudsi.

The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah said, “I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a friend of Mine. And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing optional acts of worship till I love him, so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him, and if he asks My protection, I will protect him; and I do not hesitate to do anything as I hesitate to take the soul of the believer, for he hates death, and I hate to disappoint him.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6502)

Financial Independence

The second quality listed in this hadith is ghina (independence). This may be the most surprising quality on this list as too many Muslims today associate poverty with piety, and wealth with sin. Yet many of the greatest Muslims, including Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas and most of the Blessed Ten, were wealthy. Wealth, in itself, is not sinful. It is how we use that that defines us. A person can be both righteous and wealthy, and there is in fact a lot of good in seeking halal wealth.

Based on the hadith “Wealth is not in having many possessions. Rather, true wealth is the richness of the soul.” (Sahih Muslim 1051) Imam al-Nawawi offers an alternative explanation of ghina in this hadith and says it refers to contentment. (Sharh Sahih Muslim, p. 5793) Nonetheless, he accepts that both interpretations are plausible. The interpretation of financial independence makes more sense in light of the reason for narration and the life of Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas. It is estimated that when Sa’d passed away, he left behind a fortune worth around 250’000 dirhams (roughly $1 million dollars).

Seeking financial independence does not contradict piety. In fact, it is often a path to piety. Ibn al-Qayyim in his explanation of zuhd discusses that many pious companions, and later scholars like Ibn Mubarak and Sufyan al-Thawri were wealthy. He then quotes Sufyan al-Thawri as saying, “if it was not for this wealth, those men of power would wipe us out.” (Madarij al-Salikin, p. 217) This shows that wealth can be a means of piety when it is in the right hands, earned well and spent properly.

There are many hadiths that encourage financial independence. A recommended daily supplication is “O Allah, suffice me with what You have allowed instead of what You have forbidden, and make me independent of all others besides You.” (Hisn al-Muslim 136) and part of the recommended morning and evening prayers is “O Allah, I seek refuge in You from disbelief and poverty” (Hisn al-Muslim 82) Furthermore, the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever seek independence, Allah will make him independent.” (al-Nasa’i 2595)

Al-Mawardi, in his famous work, Adab al-Dunya wa al-Din, gives a detailed discussion on zuhd and financial independence. He explains that both are needed for happiness and contentment. He warns against the trials of poverty, but also the temptations that come from having too much wealth. He advises us to seek the middle path, to have enough to be independent from others and ward off the dangers of poverty, but not so much that it becomes a temptation. (I am currently teaching an in-depth class on this book here)

The Islamic understanding of financial independence has no set definition. There is no specific figure for financial independence, as it is something that differs across time and place. It simply means to strive to have enough that you do not need to worry about money and bills anymore. This amount may be a lot more today compared to a thousand years ago, and the exact amount will differ from person to person. My advice is to figure out how much you need to live a dignified life, set your financial goals accordingly, and strive for that amount.

Obscurity

The final quality mentioned in the hadith is to be hidden, unknown or obscure. We live in a time when it is very easy to become famous, and this individualistic culture encourages people to seek fame through any means possible. Many people today degrade themselves and their families in their pursuit of a viral moment or fifteen minutes of fame. In the process, they lose their dignity and their relationship with the Creator.

In Islam, seeking fame is a type of riya (showing off) which is a major sin.  A Muslim should never seek fame, power, or authority. If Allah destines these things for someone, they will find him and become a test for him, but they should never be sought out. Just as seeking fame is a sin, seeking to be unknown is a good deed that is beloved to Allah. This means that a believer focuses on the pleasure of Allah and does not care whether he is popular or not. His life has a single focus, His relationship with His Creator.

If fame chases a righteous man, he runs away from it and tries his best to avoid it. Even if he is unable to do so, he will be rewarded for his efforts. Just as Sa’d retreated to his estate to avoid the spotlight during the civil war, the true seeker of the Most High will run away from the spotlight of the celebrity culture and seek out purer means of teaching and preserving the religion. A righteous individual will hate fame, consider it a test from Allah, and seek solitude away from the spotlight.

Summary

In this beautiful hadith, we learn three qualities that are beloved to Allah. We must make these qualities goals that we strive for. Every Muslim must strive to be righteous; this is our primary priority. But it is also blessed to seek out financial independence, so that you are not reliant on others or forced into compromising situations. Finally, the believer strives to avoid the spotlight, focusing instead on a life that is pleasing to Allah. It is in these three beautiful qualities that we find inner peace and contentment. Like Sa’d among his camels during a time or turmoil, we too can live a beautiful life, even when the rest of the world has gone mad.

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