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One of the things people often pray for is wealth, which is understandable. After all, wealth allows us to have freedom of time, which allows us to spend our time the way we want to spend it. We all therefore pray that Allah continues providing His sustenance for our families and ourselves.

A few months ago, I read a wonderful book on this subject written by Yasir Qadhi. It is titled "15 Ways to Increase Your Earnings." Because wealth—or sustenance—is something that we all pray for, I figured I had to share these 15 ideas with our community, especially as we aim to grow and achieve feats never before seen in Atlanta or the nation at large.

In order for our community to reach its full potential, we must become financially empowered. Qadhi is not the only Muslim intellectual to recognize this. I had the pleasure of hearing Nouman Ali Khan speak on entrepreneurship in Atlanta over a year ago. During his remarks, he said, "Everyone talks about politics but politics is old news. The real power is finance."

Indeed, it's important to put our finances in order if we truly want to achieve progress and growth in the Muslim community. Over the next few weeks, we will therefore—insha Allah—discuss 15 ways to increase our income through the Quran and Sunnah, as there is no better way to maximize our ability to create wealth.

Please note that you should not follow any particular order to increase your earnings. This is simply a list, not a ranking.

1. Taqwa of Allah

One of the primary ways to increase our rizq is through the taqwa of Allah. Taqwa involves being mindful of Allah in all situations—well, as many as we can. In other words, obeying His commandments and abstaining from His prohibitions while constantly remembering Him, fearing His punishment and hoping for His mercy.

Qur'an Proof:

Many verses in the Qur'an highlight the importance of taqwa, but I selected Surah  Al- A'raf, ayat 96, which states: "And if the people of the town had believed and had taqwa, certainly, we would have opened for them blessings from the heavens and the earth, but they rejected (the messenger). So we called them to task (with punishment) for what they used to earn."

Ibn Abbas explains the meaning of this verse as, "We would have increased our provisions to them and made every matter of theirs easy."

Indeed, the mentioning the sky and the heavens, this is clear if the people of the town had believed and had faith, Allah would have showered them with blessings from above, below and in between.

But Allah’s promise goes beyond providing the rain, vegetation, and livestock that often limit our thinking to material wealth. His promise included providing for both their worldly needs and the needs of the afterlife. Life could have undoubtedly been blessed for them because Allah always delivers on His promises.

If He would have so blessed those people described in the ayat had they believed and had taqwa, wouldn’t he do the same for us?

Be on the lookout as we will—insha Allah—soon discuss a second way to increase your earnings. In the meantime, remember our Creator as often as you can so that you may prosper.

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