Poverty Is Not Piety in Islam: Qur’an 2:201, Provision, and the Neglect of Believing Women
BismiLLAH AlhamduliLLAH
Poverty Is Not Piety: A reflection on why financial neglect of believing women is oppression
Distinguished Worshippers of ALLAH,
In Sha ALLAH, I will never stop speaking about this.
I will keep speaking about believing men who use money as a weapon against believing women.
And I will keep speaking until this wickedness stops being dressed up as religion.
Over the years, we have raised funds — too many times — for women who needed medical treatment, food, rent, and basic human survival. These were not women without husbands. These were women whose husbands had money.
Let that sink in.
As I'm writing this, a lot of normal men can never even imagine a situation where they ate to their fill but their wife and children are starving.
But I'm telling you categorically even if you're not aware that there are a lot of practising Muslim men who are playing with the fire of ALLAH by depriving their families of sufficient and obligatory financial provisions.
These men are in debt.
They literally owe ALLAH what HE has bestowed on them as a provision to their families.
I am so surprised and confused by the nonchalant attitude of these men to this mighty transgressions. They are literally pretending that they aren't doing anything big.
SubhanaLLAH.
I'm even more appalled by believing women who are enduring these mighty injustice.
Somewhere along the line, Muslim women were lied to.
They were taught — repeatedly — that suffering is piety, that deprivation is virtue, that if they ask for sufficient financial care they are worldly, impatient, or lacking īmān.
That lie did not come from the Qur’ān.
Allah Himself teaches us to ask for goodness in this life and the next. Islam does not command women to rot in poverty so that men can feel righteous.
Anyone preaching otherwise is preaching against Qur’ān 2:201.
“Our Lord, grant us goodness in this world and goodness in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.”
(Qur’ān 2:201)“You Only Have to Provide Necessities” —
Decades of lectures have reduced a man’s obligation to a mockery.
This dangerous lie of “You only have to provide necessities” have left so many women:
- begging for hospital bills,
- shamed for wanting decent food,
- gaslit for demanding humane living conditions.
Meanwhile, their husbands drive cars, live comfortably, and call neglect “sabr”.
I have watched women of dignity wither — writhing in pain and poverty — while being told their suffering is a badge of faith.
This is not Islam.
This is religious abuse.
I Am Not Talking About Poor Men
Let me be very clear.
I have no problem with men who are poor but:
- striving,
- intending,
- deeply aware that providing is their obligation.
I have every problem with men who have money but no shame.
Men with wealth and zero sense of duty.
Men who speak religion fluently but practise responsibility poorly.
The Man Who Understood His Obligation
I will never forget a poor man who reacted with shock every single time he saw his family eating what he did not provide.
Not anger.
Not entitlement.
Concern.
He would ask how it came about. His wife would explain. And every time, he would pray in gratitude — thankful that his family was fed.
That man lived in a humble house, but his sense of duty towers over many rich men who have reduced provision to a theological loophole.
May peace be upon the father of U.
He is an exemplary man of faith.
Wealth Without Mercy Is Wickedness
The men I am speaking about pray.
They attend lectures.
They use religious language.
And yet they withhold mercy from their families.
They are not confused.
They are not ignorant.
They are wicked.
They have refused to take the matters of provision seriously.
And may Allah bring them fully into account — just as they have withheld mercy from those under their care.
Belief Does Not Cancel Accountability
Some believers will enter the Fire before Paradise.
That is the law of ALLAH.
That is the justice of The Most Merciful.
Faith is not a shield against consequence when one persists in oppression.
Think about it. We are strongly encouraged to take care of orphans that we have zero marital or blood ties to.
You're literally obligated to pay 2.5% of your wealth to strangers yearly (if you have certain types/levels of wealth).
So how severe do you think the obligation of providing for your family is?
Again, how compulsory do you think providing for the people who you have marital and blood ties with is?
The Owner of The World taught us to say:
“Our Lord, grant us goodness in this world and goodness in the Hereafter…”
Goodness in this world includes financial safety, medical care, dignity, and peace. Any man who denies this while invoking religion should fear the One whose name he misuses.
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The one who looks after a widow or a poor person is like a Mujahid (warrior) who fights for Allah's Cause, or like him who performs prayers all the night and fasts all the day." — Sahih al-Bukhari 5353, Sahih Muslim 2982
Brothers in Islam, if this is the reward of non-obligatory spending, what do you think the reward of obligatory spending is?
The great Imaam Bukhari basically put this Hadith under a chapter called:
Brothers in Islam,
Not providing for your family is oppression.
Providing for them with rudeness is transgression.
In the law of ALLAH, you aren't even allowed to be rude to strange beggars.
If you can't provide for your family with dignity avoid marriage and keep fasting.
May Almighty ALLAH bless you all greatly!
May ALLAH safeguard us from ظلم (oppression) — whether as victims or perpetrators.
And may HE never allow us to confuse cruelty with piety.
Āmīn.
Sincerely,
Your sister in Islam,
Hamidah
Author of Polygamy Ijma’a
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