Wealth
Ali Banat on letting go of the dunya
He had the cars, the watches and the money. Then he let them go.
Ali Banat had the life people chase
The cars. The watches. The money. Before his diagnosis Ali Banat had what so many people spend their whole lives chasing. “As you can see in this life we had the cars, we had the money, we had everything,” he said (SBS News, 1 June 2018).
His possessions included a Ferrari convertible, a diamond bracelet and dozens of pairs of designer sunglasses and shoes (The National, 1 June 2018), and bracelets that cost around $60,000 (Gifted With Cancer, OnePath Network, 2015).
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And he let it go
“I got rid of my cars, I got rid of my watches, even my clothes,” he said. He took his clothes overseas and gave them to people who needed them (The National and SBS News, 1 June 2018). His aim was to leave this world with nothing of it in his hands:
I wanted to try to leave this world without anything.
What this world really is
The Quran describes the life of this world as amusement, diversion and adornment, like rain whose crops please the farmers before they dry up and crumble (Quran 57:20):
ٱعۡلَمُوٓاْ أَنَّمَا ٱلۡحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنۡيَا لَعِبٞ وَلَهۡوٞ وَزِينَةٞ وَتَفَاخُرُۢ بَيۡنَكُمۡ وَتَكَاثُرٞ فِي ٱلۡأَمۡوَٰلِ وَٱلۡأَوۡلَٰدِۖ كَمَثَلِ غَيۡثٍ أَعۡجَبَ ٱلۡكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُۥ ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَىٰهُ مُصۡفَرّٗا ثُمَّ يَكُونُ حُطَٰمٗاۖ وَفِي ٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ عَذَابٞ شَدِيدٞ وَمَغۡفِرَةٞ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرِضۡوَٰنٞۚ وَمَا ٱلۡحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنۡيَآ إِلَّا مَتَٰعُ ٱلۡغُرُورِ ٢٠
iʿ'lamū annamā l-ḥayatu l-dun'yā laʿibun walahwun wazīnatun watafākhurun baynakum watakāthurun fī l-amwāli wal-awlādi kamathali ghaythin aʿjaba l-kufāra nabātuhu thumma yahīju fatarāhu muṣ'farran thumma yakūnu ḥuṭāman wafī l-ākhirati ʿadhābun shadīdun wamaghfiratun mina l-lahi wariḍ'wānun wamā l-ḥayatu l-dun'yā illā matāʿu l-ghurūri
Know that the life of this world is but amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one another and competition in increase of wealth and children - like the example of a rain whose [resulting] plant growth pleases the tillers; then it dries and you see it turned yellow; then it becomes [scattered] debris. And in the Hereafter is severe punishment and forgiveness from Allāh and approval. And what is the worldly life except the enjoyment of delusion.
Wealth is a trust, not the goal
Wealth itself is not blamed. The Quran calls wealth and children the adornment of this life, and says the good deeds that endure are better with your Lord (Quran 18:46).\n\nAli Banat learned it all at once. One day, he warned, “you will realize all this stuff doesn’t benefit you”. And at the end: “Even your money, is not going to be there for you” (Gifted With Cancer, OnePath Network, 2015).
ٱلۡمَالُ وَٱلۡبَنُونَ زِينَةُ ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَاۖ وَٱلۡبَٰقِيَٰتُ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتُ خَيۡرٌ عِندَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَابٗا وَخَيۡرٌ أَمَلٗا ٤٦
al-mālu wal-banūna zīnatu l-ḥayati l-dun'yā wal-bāqiyātu l-ṣāliḥātu khayrun ʿinda rabbika thawāban wakhayrun amalan
Wealth and children are [but] adornment of the worldly life. But the enduring good deeds are better to your Lord for reward and better for [one's] hope.
Giving what you love
He did not give away what he no longer wanted. He gave the very things this world prizes most, and the Quran ties righteousness to exactly that kind of giving (Quran 3:92):
لَن تَنَالُواْ ٱلۡبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنفِقُواْ مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَۚ وَمَا تُنفِقُواْ مِن شَيۡءٖ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِهِۦ عَلِيمٞ ٩٢
lan tanālū l-bira ḥattā tunfiqū mimmā tuḥibbūna wamā tunfiqū min shayin fa-inna l-laha bihi ʿalīmun
Never will you attain the good [reward] until you spend [in the way of Allāh] from that which you love. And whatever you spend - indeed, Allāh is Knowing of it.
You do not have to give everything
Islam does not ask everyone to give away all they own. The Prophet ﷺ said the best charity is given while you still have enough for yourself, starting with those you support (Sahih al-Bukhari 1426), and he said that charity does not decrease wealth (Sahih Muslim 2588).\n\nAli Banat’s path was his own. The lesson for the rest of us: hold this world in your hands, not in your heart.
Letting go, starting today
- Give something regularly, even if it is small. The deeds Allah loves most are the ones done regularly, even if they are small (Sahih al-Bukhari 6464).
- Give something you love, not only what is left over (Quran 3:92).
- Give some of it in secret. The Prophet ﷺ praised the one who gives so quietly that the left hand does not know what the right has given (Sahih al-Bukhari 1423).
- Build something that outlasts you: a mosque, a stream of water, knowledge that others benefit from (Sunan Ibn Majah 242).
- Count what you do not need, and let one thing go this week.
Ways to begin
For a simple way to give a little every day, see our sister site dailysadaqah.com. For charity that keeps giving long after you, givesadaqahjariyah.com explains how it works.