Free Yourself

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, "Verily Allah says: O son of Adam, free yourself for my worship, I will (in turn) fill your chest with satisfaction and remove your poverty, and if you don't, I will fill your hands with distraction and will not remove your poverty." [Ahmad, Ibn Majah]

The explanation of this in Fayd ul Qadeer is: "Free yourself of your interests in order to worship Me and do not busy yourself in earning that which exceeds your needs and the needs of those under your care."

In other words, when a person has earned enough to fulfill his needs, the needs of those he is responsible for and whatever else is necessary, he should not busy himself in acquiring beyond that, but should busy himself in obedience to Allah (subhana wa ta'ala), otherwise he will be establishing his worldly life but destroying his Hereafter. Fayd al Qadeer, by al Manaawee, is a scholarly piece of work explaining al-Jaami as-Saghir by al-Haafidh as-Suyuti.

It is surprising to find people with large bank accounts running madly after this world and by so doing, placing upon themselves difficulties and hardships. If this extra effort were to go into seeking Allah's pleasure, it would be much more beneficial for them. This hadith warns us that if we act as though we do not have enough to meet our daily needs and we do not take time out to serve Allah’s Deen, then Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) will truly make poverty our condition. If, on the other hand, we don't forget Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) then He will not forget us either. We should thank Him for providing us with enough to meet our needs and spend our extra time and effort in seeking the Hereafter.