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أقَلَّ مِن الدَّين َتعِش حُرًّا
The less your debt, the freer you are. - Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
There are things for which we are forever indebted; the Mercy of Allah, the care of parents, the love of dear ones, the teachings of good teachers, the loyalty of true friends ... these humble us and inspire us to replicate what we receive through providing for others the blessings we receive.
Financial Traps of a Consumerist Age
We are living in an extremely materialistic age, where virtually have everything, yet really almost own nothing. We often buy what we do not need, with money we do not have, and this has a direct negative impact on our personal, family and spiritual life. We recall the saying of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who warned that on the Day of Reckoning, each one will have to account for at least four things of this life; and one of them is how did you earn your living and how did you spend your income?
- Over 70% of all marriages that end in divorce are due to financial problems.
- 75% of all Americans are THREE (3) paychecks away from bankruptcy.
- Of those Americans 1.5 million will file bankruptcy
- On average, when you buy something with a credit card, you pay 132% MORE THAN IF YOU USED CASH.
- Typical minimum monthly payments for a credit card are divided into 90% interest and only 10% to principal reduction. The principal amount on your credit card is what the product or service you bought cost you.
- Over 71% of all credit card accounts have only the minimum monthly payments being made by consumers. So, we stay in debt for a life time.
Danger of Credit Cards
Lot of people misunderstand and misuse credit cards, living to the limit of their paychecks. Some use their credit card as if it were an increase in salary rather than an increase in debt. The main cause of families to go into credit card debt is the fact that it is built on impulse and waste their money away. Many actually believe that credit gives them extra spending money.
Take Steps to be "Free"
It is said that the money/things you have gives you freedom, the money/things you pursue could enslave you.
You have to realize that
- debt is like slavery
أقَلَّ مِن الدَّين َتعِش حُرًّا
Lessen your debt, the freer you will be.
- you have to pay your debt eventually.
مَن استدان اموالى الناس يريد ادائها أدَّى اللهُ عنه
مَن استدان اموالى الناس يريد اِتلاسها أتلفهُ الله
If you intend to pay your debt, Allah will help you
If you do not intend to pay back your debt, you'll be ruined
Prioritize
Check income in relation to expenses, prioritize expenditure, never should the outflow be greater than the income. The Prophet prayed ...
اللهم اِنِّي أعوذُبِكَ من الكفر و الدّين
O Allah! I seek refuge in you from Kufr (spiritual bankruptcy) and Dayn (economic bankruptcy)
اللهم انا نعوذ بك من الهَم و الحُزن و العَجز و الكَسَل
و البُخل و الجُبن و ضَلَع ِ الدين و غلبة الرجال
O Allah! We seek refuge in Thee from anxiety, grief, incapacity, laziness, stinginess, cowardice; from the burden of debt and from the domination of people.
By: Br. Sadullah Khan
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