3. Be Moderate, Don’t be a Miser

Be Moderate
‘A penny saved is a penny earned’ is a well-known proverb which most probably originated in the 17th century. However, a thousand years earlier, our beloved Nabi (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) showed us how to manage our personal finances and encouraged moderation in spending and saving our resources.

Nabi (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) advised us to control our spending by means of which we may find our current salaries or income to be sufficient for our needs. Imbalance in spending may result in a cycle where one consumes more than required and then needs more income to feed his greed.

Nabi (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) is reported to have said:

الاقتصاد في النفقة نصف المعيشة،

Moderation in expenditure is half of livelihood. (Mishkaat)

Moderation and simplicity must be the rule. We should also not be concerned with keeping up appearances. It is more respectable and honourable, in this world and the hereafter, to leave the holiday and sit at home or ignore the Black Friday specials and sit with what we have, rather than try to pull along just to keep appearances, and feel the pinch at the end of the month to the extent that we have to borrow for necessities.

So where do we find the boundary that separates moderation and extravagance? This boundary will be different for everyone depending on your financial situation. If we are looking for accommodation in December and there is a hotel available with a cost of R15 000 for the week, for some families this might fall under the category of extravagance while for some it might not. It all depends on the lifestyle that a person lives and the income of a person.

Don’t be a Miser
With that being said, it is important that while we make an effort to be moderate we don’t reach an extreme where we become miserly.
The literal definition of miserliness is ‘an excessive desire to save money and the quality of being small or inadequate.’ A miser is a person who finds it extremely difficult to spend money, to the point that they willingly deny themselves basic comforts and necessities, in order to hoard money.

Allah has frowned on such behaviour as the person becomes enslaved by their greed for worldly possessions, and forgets to thank their Provider, or spend it in His way in order to achieve a reward in the form of Jannat.

We should not reach that level where the lives of our children and other family members become miserable due to our miserliness. If we have the means, with moderation, we should spend on ourselves and on others. Example, if there is a real need for a microwave and the process of warming everything up on the stove is too long then if we find a bargain on Black Friday, and we can afford it, go for it and buy it. Don’t save those few hundreds and make the lives of your family miserable.