How should a Muslim earn a living?
Al-Ghazali wrote a full book on the etiquette of earning — who to deal with, what to avoid, and how to keep the hand that takes from becoming the hand that deceives.
10 passages from 8 books in the library
Al-Ghazali devoted a full book of the Iḥyāʾ to the etiquette of earning, holding that lawful work is preferable and that even those occupied with religious duties should still earn rather than depend on others. He cites the report that 'if the inhabitants of Paradise were to trade, they would trade in cloth,' honoring honest commerce as the way of many of the pious predecessors. Yet he warns that earning must not become an idol: the harder struggle, he notes, is overcoming the craving for fame and status, and one must keep the giving hand from becoming the deceiving one.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 8 books by Ibn Battuta and Imam al-Ghazali — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
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"The city's currency is made from copper and tin, not used elsewhere, with livelihood reliant on trade."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
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"If religious duties prevent them from earning, they should still earn, as earning is preferable."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
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"trade, they would trade in currency exchange. Many of the pious predecessors engaged in various"
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"The hadith stating, if the inhabitants of paradise were to trade, they would trade in textiles,"
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"of paradise were to trade, they would trade in cloth, and if the inhabitants of hell were to"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Allah the Exalted and the trade of the hereafter, becoming among those whom neither trade nor"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
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"said, Overcoming the desire for fame and work is harder than the work itself. Ibn al-Mubarak"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
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"you not work? They replied, Who can work after what you have told us? He responded, How many"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"asked, What about the work of the body? He replied, What is that? The scholar said, Earning"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"and actions and does not engage in internal contemplation, as earning a livelihood prevents"
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