Re: Retirement account and buying car
Here you say all these wonderful things, and then yet again, your conclusion is that Islam prefers the giving of money over saving it. Again, a conclusion that is not supported by the religious texts at all.
Lets be clear what the Quran says. I would say a more accurate statement would be "Islam prefers the donation of money or investment in the community of the money over HOARDING it only to examine its chamak when you're bored"
I think if I have 10 dollars in my pocket at the end of the day, and I have to choose what to do with the 10 dollars, I DO NOT think it would be unIslamic for me, as a young woman, to put the 10 dollars in the bank, to help maybe pay my next month's bill. I could just give the 10 dollars to someone on the street, but then what am I to do when I fall short in paying my bill next month? Is that not unwise of me to now become a burden on others by having to ask for a loan of 10 dollars tomorrow, when I could be smart today and save the 10?
This is why its an individual choice, and I would discourage you from making those sorts of blanket statements, because the term "saving money" means different things to different people. And there are plenty of contingencies. So some unwise bechara 18 year old testosterone pumped "Islam zindabad" emotional teenager might read this and start yelling at his parents for saving up funds for his college and demand they give it to the poor. Not a wise choice.
Believe it or not, there are people who get very carried away with this sort of principle that you're proposing. I know one gentlemen who refuses to save a penny for his family, has no job in fact, and spends his entire time in preaching, etc. He has squandered his entire inheritance on the preaching of Islam, and therefore, this has left his wife in charge of family finances - she dips into her own inheritance to pay for their bills and groceries. They're a very elderly couple. The husband has been trying to take her inheritance money to spend it all on a bunch of Qurans to hand out for free on the street, and his wife is adamant on not giving it to him, recognizing that his over-enthusiasm for Islamabad is going to land them in a charity home. I only fear for the couple that if they get too sick, then their financies wont be able to carry the cost of their illness, and then is it MORALLY CORRECT for them to be a burden on the American taxpaying community for their health expenses?
Peace Sister PyariCgudia
When a person saves a large amount of money it does not include the amount that is due for expenditure. The monthly out goings is easily calculated the money required to support those outgoings is not considered savings. My conclusion stands ... Islam does prefer the giving of money over saving it. Even if it means giving it away for good when you consider yourself to NEED it. Ayat of the Qur'an were revealed due to the sacrificial behaviour of the couple with children who made their children go to sleep hungry on account of a visitor to their household who was the guest of Muhammad (SAW). They gave up their rights and this act was beloved to Allah (SWT) ... I don't recommend this act for the wary or weak in body or faith. Putting oneself in to a state of ruin is wrong, which means that one is becoming a burden on the state. However, it should be the responsibility of the Muslims to support one another and provide of their own excess to one another, families first. In fact ... sons are responsible for their weak and elderly parents upkeep ... This is a fact according to Qur'an ... so this is a better investment that saving money for oneself ... by giving the tarbiya to ones son he will be giving him the ability to earn himself reward for following the injunctions in the Qur'an accurately.
If you have debts then you should settle them ... So your statements about the bank to settle a bill comes under this category. Keeping money to pay bills is not considered saving money, it is considered getting out of debt.
I know of another gentlement who refused to save a penny for his family ... he was Umar Ibn Al-Khattab who found out his wife was saving money over the course of some time and she made a sweet dish for him out of kindness ... He exclaimed that had he known she was doing that he would have reduced his salary because they were getting too much for them to be able to save up for something he considered a luxury. This was during his Caliphate ... (RA).