signs, symptoms and cures of the spiritual diseases of the heart
Nurturing fear of poverty is tantamount to harboring a negative opinion about God.
Imam Mawlu̅d ties "fear of poverty" with a kindred illness whose carrier is called muda̅hin in Arabic; it is a person who uses his religion as a means of buttressing his worldly condition.
Muda̅hana is from the root of word duhun, which means, "to cover something up with paint or cosmetics." Shaykh Muhammad al-Yada̅lı̅ı̅ says that muda̅hana is when a man "gives up his religion in order to secure his wealth or his blood, sitting with the people of disobedience, keeping their company, praising their actions, and displaying pleasure at their condition without condemnation." In our modern context, muda̅hana may be applied to a conspiracy of silence when it comes to other people's transgressions and blatant deviations. It is turning one's eyes away from those who commit abominations for some worldly gain.
One of Satan's tactics is to keep people so occupied with fear of losing their wealth that this culminates in them desperately clinging to their money and depriving the needy—and themselves—of the goodness of giving for the sake of God. A person under the spell of irrational fear is more vulnerable to transgressing laws, even to the point of indulging in lewdness, for the purpose of gaining profit and wealth.
God is the Provider and source of all wealth and comfort. He has promised that those who believe in Him and expend on behalf of the indigent shall receive a far more valuable return than the measure of what they spend.
And whoever fears God, He will make for him a way out. And He will provide for him in a way he never expected. And whoever trusts in God, He is sufficient for him (QUR'AN, 65:2–3). The stipulations in receiving this provision are that one have true taqwa̅ (God consciousness) and nurture it so that it permits one to walk the earth with dignity.
The cure for fear of poverty is to have a good opinion of God, says the Imam. People who harbor good thoughts about their Provider deflect insidious whisperings about Him and the subtle provocations that create irrational fear. His dominion is never diminished in the least when He gives to His creation all that they need. And if someone else is given more, one should not harbor bad thoughts toward that person. Wholesome thoughts about God express themselves in one's contentment with what he or she has and not in stretching one's eyes toward the assets of others.
"Satan threatens you with poverty, and he commands you to immorality. But God promises you His forgiveness and bounty" (QUR'AN, 2:268)
"I've had thousands of problems in my life. Most of which never actually happened" (Mark Twain).
"Anxiety is half of aging" (The Prophet ﷺ)
"Righteousness will lengthen your life" (The Prophet ﷺ)
"We mend our livelihood with the cloth of our religion. In the end, nothing of the religion remains, and our worldly condition goes unmended" (Ibn Khaldu̅n, quoting a poet).
"I do not desire from [people] any provision, nor do I desire that they feed Me" (QUR'AN, 51:57).
"Contentment is a treasure that is never exhausted" (The Prophet ﷺ).