It is easier for this group of people to chew on hard rocks...

It is easier for this group of people to chew on hard rocks than it would be to earn even one dirham from prohibited channels or to refrain from paying the obligatory (taxes) from that wealth and to not spend the money in the proper way, and until the time of their death, they hold on to this wealth.

Therefore, these are the people who, if He (Allah (SwT)) was to be very strict with (in their accountability), then they would be in torment, and if they were to be pardoned (by Him), then they would remain in a state of security. The third group are those who love to gather wealth - whether it is from the permissible or the impermissible. They love to withhold it in those areas where it is obligatory to spend.

If they spend their wealth, they do so through being extravagant and wasteful and if they withhold their wealth, then they do so through miserliness and hoarding (of their wealth).

Surely it is these whose hearts have been taken over by the transient world until the time when they enter into the hell fire due to their sins.”[^1] In this tradition, the Noble Prophet (S) has stated that, his nation would be divided into three groups in the transient world: There is one group who have no love for wealth and do not permit themselves to hoard it.

They are content with that amount of wealth which alleviates their hunger and covers their body while their wants (anything above and beyond this), are reserved for the next life. Thus, they come into the world with a light load and leave the world with a light load. These people have no grief or fear of the past or the future. The second group are those who love to collect wealth, however do so from the permissible means.

They use the wealth which they earn to strengthen the family bonds and in assisting their brothers in faith. They are vigilant when it comes to the poor and deal with them in the proper manner. It would be easier for this group of people to sink their teeth into a hard rock than to earn one dirham of wealth in a prohibited way. They pay all of their religious dues while the remainder of the wealth is kept with them.

If Allah (SwT) was to be strict with them in the accountability of their wealth, then they would be in torment, and if they are pardoned by Allah (SwT), then they will remain in a state of security.