10 Tips to Bring Barakah in Your Life And Wealth

The general meaning of the word Barakah is “increase or productivity” in something. It could be in terms of betterment or easiness in someone`s living matters, or could also be taken in the context of enhancement in prosperity. This boost is not something one time rise in something, rather it could be achieving supplementary with little effort, usage of time or resources etc. The spiritual interpretation of this terminology is the attainment of the holy righteousness and sense of divine contentment with whatever one has, which is not observable, rather it becomes the essential part of one`s personality. The one who is having such quality is called Mubarak (the one who receives blessings from God).

In the present era of materialism, almost everyone is complaining about shortage of one thing or another, e.g. some people grumble over their income and say in a manner of protest that they cannot understand why their earnings are not sufficient enough to fulfill family needs properly. For some people, it could also be a state of anxiety at heart and not being able to benefit from prayers to Allah because of lack of concrete devotion. The solutions to all such problems lie in living life according to the way of Allah and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Following are 10 ways, which are within the boundaries of Islamic instructions, to get Barakah in one`s wealth, and life in general.

1. Consciousness of Allah SWT

The lack of realization of the Exalted Lord`s presence and memory are some of the prime causes of being short of sufficient wealth and happiness. That is that reason why true believers never complain about any kind of scarcity, rather it is the habit of those who have weak faith. Allah Almighty Himself congratulates His staunch disciples in the Holy Quran as:

“……. And whoever fears Allah – He will make for him a way out. And will provide for him from where he does not expect. [Quran, 65: 2-3]

It means that the Gracious God has promised the ones who have piety, about granting them from His unlimited blessings, and once one develops that connection with Him, there is no doubt that good things obtained from His Source will never diminish.

2. Reliance on One God

Issues like missing mental and sacred happiness are common nowadays, everyone is looking for help somewhere, some visit psychologists, while others go to so called spiritual helpers, forgetting the fact that the Final Provider is only the Creator of the universe, and that is the sign of a weak faith.

“…. And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent.” [Quran, 65: 3]

So, to complete our belief in the Almighty, we should always depend on Him for gaining His (Allah) bounties and get productivity in all things, as He Himself directs us in above Ayah about it, and the word “Sufficient” points toward the fact that Allah`s Help is enough for realizing all desires and wishes of anyone.

3. Thanking Allah for all blessings

Seeking constant assistance and rewards of the Most Beneficent through His remembrance and dependence is no doubt necessary for us to be eligible for His blessings, but it is also highly imperative to be grateful to the Great Lord for all His past and present good things, as the Almighty address us in the Sacred Book as:

“And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.” [Quran, 14: 7]

It is evident from above Quranic verse that the one who feels gratified in front of Allah for all of His perks, the Exalted will enhance His procurements for it, and not being able to appreciate Him for what He has granted a person in its life, it will result in penalty, which could well be in terms of scarcity of things and peace in one`s life or the eventual misery in the hereafter.

4. Requesting God`s pardon

Increase in one`s sins and wrongdoings can also result in shortage of wealth and spiritual help in worldly stuff, as it leads to weakening of the link with the Almighty. One can get help from prayers and asking Allah for forgiveness of its transgression from the right path, which would ease every matter and bring calm in one`s life according to the following saying of the Apostle (PBUH) of Allah:

“If anyone continually asks pardon, Allah will appoint for him a way out of every distress, and a relief from every anxiety, and will provide for him from where he did not reckon.” (Abu Dawud)

So, calling for clemency on past crimes does not only result in serenity in life issues, but also brings about Barakah from sources which we cannot even think of.

5. Reading the Holy Quran

The great significance of the Divine Manuscipt is apparent from the verity that it became the cause of transforming lives of the savage Arabs, who used to be worst enemies of one another. It gave them well balanced information about both secular and religious themes, and the same illiterate Arabs ruled the world afterwards. It shows that understanding and reading the Al-Quran improved their lives altogether and caused them to gain productivity in all walks of life. It contains certain Surahs and Verses which remind us of matters like blessings of Allah, His mercy and remembrance, faith and reliance in One God, and thankfulness to Him and many other useful methods, which are all basis for attaining Barakah in life.

[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded. [Quran, 38: 29]

Hence, this is a Sanctified Volume and it serves as means of prompt about various issues, and pondering on its verses is also considered as a blessed deed.

6. Giving charity

Conducting contributions in the way of Allah SWT, be it helping the poor, spending for the cause of Jihad, or donating to the construction of a mosque etc. is said to be one of the best grounds for increasing one`s wealth beyond imagination. That is why Hazrat Uthman (R.A) after spending a lot for the Almighty, never had any decrease in his prosperity. The Holy Quran guides us in this matter as follows:

“Say, Indeed, my Lord extends provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts [it] for him. But whatever thing you spend [in His cause] – He will compensate it; and He is the best of providers.”

The above mentioned Ayah shows that using one`s resources for purposes which complete the criteria developed by the religion of Islam, whether it is for religious or secular cause, will eventually result in the superlative and everlasting returns from Allah.

7. Earning Halal income and sincerity in dealings

The true essence of Islamic conviction not only lies in having faith in Allah`s presence and giving testimony of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) being His last Prophet, but it also ties us to convey our devotion in our lives. It includes following Islamic instructions in every matter, such as speaking the truth, being honest, and avoiding what is forbidden etc. Unfortunately, today, most of us do not care much of the sources we are earning from, like multiplying money through taking interest from banks, which is actually forbidden in our religion. Since, Barakah comes from Allah, so building profits from correct foundations would only result in its attainment, and those from wrong ones would only lead towards despair.

Apart from having valid basis of income, one should also have honesty and integrity in carrying out business operations, and deal with all parties involved in transaction with great honesty.

“The buyer and the seller have the option of canceling or confirming the bargain unless they separate, and if they spoke the truth and made clear the defects of the goods, then they would be blessed in their bargain, and if they told lies and hid some facts, their bargain would be deprived of Allah’s blessings”.(Bukhari)

Hence, making money from any source must be according to the Sunnah of Prophet (PBUH), which is openness of matters concerned with it.

8. Starting every action with name of Allah

Although every one of us knows about the importance of saying “Bismillah” before starting any work, but majority say it only for the sake of just saying it and forget the real implication of it. The basic aim of doing so is admitting that God is the most Merciful, the most Beneficent, which entails that we have strong belief in Him that He will make our matters easy and sanctify us with completion of work in the best way. After having this conviction, we can accomplish tasks easily and well in time being under the protection and blessing of Allah SWT and avoiding satanic influence in our deeds.

9. Embracing unity in every matter

There is a great emphasis on harmony and unanimity in our religion. We can achieve our targets in lesser time through it. One of the prime examples of unity was seen in the battle of trench (Ghazwa Khandak) when the Prophet (PBUH) Himself took part in digging a ditch in front of Madina city, and showed by example about productivity and efficiency of conformity, as Muslims won that battle eventually from the powerful Makkans. Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) regarded unity as means of gaining Barakah as:

“Gather together to eat your food, and say Allah’s name over it (bismillah) and you will be blessed in it,” (Abu Dawud)

It means unification leads to more effective results and results in gaining increase in the output from every respect.

 10.  Avoiding extravagance

  One of the chief causes of not being able to live a satisfied life is having hunger for more and more materialistic gains, and being wasteful in spending resources. Limiting one`s wishes and desires for things can be helpful in gaining Barakah in matters, because the lesser the expectations are, the more things look worthwhile and valuable.

These are some of the many useful ways to achieve increase in wealth and other life matters like gaining heartily peace, accomplishment of tasks etc. which every Muslim should consider and act upon to make the most out of its life and gain Allah`s eventual Barakah.