Poverty & Disbelief

Link between Poverty & Kufr – it has been said:

إذا ذهب الفقر إلى بلد قال له الكفر خذني معك
“When POVERTY intends to travel to a country, DISBELIEF says: take me with you…”

Poverty is a big Fitnah

Poverty can lead to jealousy, theft, crime, immorality, prostitution, enmity, despair and even disbelief.

That’s why millions of people left their religions and converted to Christianity, when the Christian missionaries provided them poverty relief.

There are some narrations that support this:

1- It has been narrated with a weak chain that the Prophet said:
كاد الفقرُ أن يكون كُفْرًا
“Poverty is on the verge of Disbelief.”
[“Silsilah al-Da’ifah”, 4080 – ضعيف ].

2- It is also narrated with another weak chain that the Prophet made poverty equal to disbelief:
“‏ اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْكُفْرِ وَالْفَقْرِ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ وَيَعْدِلاَنِ قَالَ ‏”‏ نَعَمْ ‏”‏
“O God, I seek refuge with You from DISBELIEF AND POVERTY.”
A man said: “Are they equal?”
The Prophet said: “Yes.”
[“Al-Nasai”, 5485 – ضعيف ].
https://sunnah.com/nasai:5485

3- Those two weak narrations are strengthened by the following stronger Hadith:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْكُفْرِ وَالْفَقْرِ وَعَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ
“O God, I seek refuge with You from DISBELIEF AND POVERTY and the torment of the grave.”
[“Al-Nasai”, 5465 – حسن ].
https://sunnah.com/nasai:5465

4- Imam al-Munaawi says in ‘Faidh al-Qadir’, (2/171):
وقرن الفقر بالكفر لأنه قد يجر إليه
“And poverty was linked with disbelief, because it will drag the person to it.”

5- Badrudin al-‘Ayni Hanafi said in ‘Umdat al-Qari’, (23/5):
وربما يحمله على التلفظ بكلمات تؤديه إلى الكفر
“At times, poverty may trigger a person to speak words which lead to Kufr.”

6- There was a poor man, he was sitting outside with a loaf of bread in his hand. He saw some rich people walk past him. He threw the loaf of bread away, saying:
“Woe to my luck/destiny!”
These are statements of kufr, questioning God’s decree.

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As for those narrations that praise the poor, that was to console/comfort the poor, it was not meant to encourage poverty.

Finally: there are exception to this rule, because some people may become corrupted if God gives them money. God tests some people with poverty and some with wealth. Poverty and Wealth are not indications of someone’s closeness to God.

May God protect us against poverty and kufr ,
And may God reward those who work to alleviate poverty, Ameen