Rizq - Part 1

AUTHOR:
MAE

This is Part 1 of a 2 Part series.



I just had an insight today; it’s not really anything new per say, but what has changed is the depth of my understanding of it.
 
We have all heard growing up in the Muslim world that Rizq ( loosely interpreted as your income/livelihood/food) comes from Allah SWT. We all understand this, accept it, repeat it and often have faced instances of astonishment of say: how we thought one food was for one individual, but the “name” on those grains actually belonged to another. We have marvelled at this and many more such miracles of Allah SWT when it comes to Rizq. But we still often fail to understand and accept that Rizq and work are not connected.

It is often seen that our “work” is the primary source through which Allah SWT provides Rizq, but that does not mean that that is the only avenue; and that this means is necessary to get Rizq. No, not at all. This is where we are often misguided and confused, often without even knowing and realising that we are so.

For example: sometimes we get things that we needed or wanted as a gift from someone, or we go to someone’s house and we eat a meal with them, or someone surprises us with a box of chocolates or sometimes we get more for our money - like in a sale. These are all examples of where Allah SWT is providing us our Rizq through avenues other than our “work”.
 
Just like Allah SWT has created one frequent avenue that He provides us offspring through, He has a route that He favours as an avenue for Rizq; but it is important to understand: neither offspring, nor Rizq are dependent on the route! One has a child not because of any physical actions of the human beings, but because Allah SWT Wills it AND that is it! There is no room for dispute, but only if we could see this, (to read more on this, read my "unbox your mind" article). Equally we get, and will continue to get the Rizq that we are meant to get, irrespective of what route(s) it may come from.
 
Now this is an understanding that I have held for some time, however, today the epiphany that came to me in regards to this was furthermore fascinating…
 


Often we think: we need more money, quite a normal widespread thought I’m sure; and often we think the remedy to this problem is, “earn” more through more work. So often as a family we think, if one spouse is working and we are getting X amount, then to get more, the second spouse should work. This will mean then the household income is X + Y taking the household income to now Z.
 
Simple maths right?
Or is it??
Now that is the question, and a question that is very powerful.
 
We think life is simple where X+Y= Z, so where X was not sufficient to meet our “needs” in a way where we had left over income to do “more” with, now having X+Y= Z, will now give us Y as an “extra” for the "more".
 
Logically one thinks this makes perfect sense. BUT, what we do not factor in is, that to allow Y to be, there is a cost as well! So Where X+Y=Z  may be giving us “more” income, originally x was the only out going we needed to meet when only X was the income. Now we have an added expense that has come due to Y, ‘y’. So now, our outgoing that we have to meet is no longer x, but rather x+y=z! SO what does that all mean in simple English?!

Well, simply put:
The net Rizq we have now is still the same as before, despite more physical money moving around.

The moral of the story: to increase one’s income maybe easy, but to increase one’s Rizq is a whole other matter; because as I said above, real Rizq and work are not actually connected.

One can increase the physical pennies coming into the household, but if your Rizq does not go up from Allah, those pennies will not “stay” with you. It is not how many people work in a household, it is not how much income one gets or not, because, real Rizq is not confined to money.
 
By having more members of the family work, all one is doing is splitting the actual house’s Rizq across the different people, not increasing it! THINK ABOUT THAT FOR MINUTE, DEEPLY!
 
Do you understand truly what that means? What that is saying?
 
You are still getting the same amount of Rizq, but working harder for it as a family! Therefore you end up not only paying for it through your own healths, but also the wellbeing of your whole family.
 
THINK ABOUT THAT!
 
By letting go of the guidance and practices that Allah SWT has set for us we are making ourselves diseased. Diseased in heart, mind, health and family. Allah guides us that the man should be the breadwinner in the house and the women should look after the next generation. But in the modern world, women feel that they should be given “equal” opportunity to be the breadwinner.

Now we must understand here the difference between “working” and being a “breadwinner”, they are two very different things! One is not necessarily a breadwinner just because they are working!


The difference is our understanding, or lack thereof, between working and being a breadwinner. They are not two of the same things.

You see the biggest difference between the two comes from what each means, one is a responsibility, the other is an act.
 
The problem is not with "work" itself or even having wealth or an income, the problem arises when the woman is put in a position where she has to chose between being mother to her children or working. Again I feel this is another concept that has been muddied and confused.
 
What does it actually mean to be a mother. What does it mean to be a mother to the children. It does not mean cooking, cleaning, feeding bathing etc.. No.

No, the most important “job” of a mother is to give Tarbiyat to the next generation.

What is Tarbiyat – now for those that do not know this word, loosely translated, Tarbiyat is giving guidance. Giving moral, social, spiritual, mental and emotional guidance/education. This is not something that is to be taken lightly. This is not something that can be done on the fly. This is not something that can or should be taken as a bolt on, an afterthought, a when we have time thing. It is something that needs to be purposeful, which requires presence of mind, clarity, commitment and time. This is the most important fundamental job of a mother’s role, not just for the household, but in and for society.

The biggest problem with the woman having to be or become a breadwinner is, that when she has to shoulder that responsibility, than she cannot shoulder this responsibility properly. We may have two shoulders, but at any one time they can only shoulder one thing properly.

This is not to say that this is impossible.

Of course it is possible to do both, I have a living example of this before my own eyes, but one must point out also, that those are rare cases where the mother has had to shoulder both responsibilities, and that these women that do shoulder both are not career driven, or feminine rights activists!

No, these women who have had to work, to be the breadwinner for the family, have worked for the sake of income; not for the sake of working. There is a big difference.

Women who work because they want to work are a different breed to those that have to work because they are the only one who can be a breadwinner for their family. The reason why I say this is because, those that want to work will prioritise their work in their outlook on life, they will make long term decisions based on their work and career, contrasting to those that work because they are having to be the breadwinner, they will make sacrifices in their field of work/"careers" for the sake of their family’s needs.

(DISCLAIMER: these are just generalised scenarios presented only to explain the points at hand, not concrete judgments passed on any individual. I do not hold any stereo types against people, I know everyone is unique and individual, and each person’s story, situation and personality is different. Please do not get held up on examples that I am only using to explain the bigger picture.)
 
Back to the difference between “working” and being a breadwinner. There is nothing wrong with women working and earning; what is not right (in normal situations) is this work transforming into being a breadwinner role (where it is not necessary). Because when that happens the other responsibility, her real responsibility, has to be side-lined. This then is what causes moral and social problems widespread in society and we find a society that is running on over drive trying to achieve something that they themselves do not even know is what.
 

​
Men are designed to be breadwinners, that is their God given role in life, literally! A man’s role is not to be the one to give Tarbiyat. They are not designed for this role. That is why you will find men, especially in the west, can do the household chores; but what they struggle to do is be a "mother" to the children; a true mother. Because as stated above, a mother’s real job is not to manage house logistics, but rather to nurture healthy human beings in its truest sense, something which comes from maternal: instincts, intuition, insights and sensitivity.
 
We need to use the right tool for the right jobs; men are given the role to protect and provide so that the mother can be free from concern for these things and give her time to raising the next generation properly. This is how Allah has created our partnership to be for the betterment of humanity. This is why, if a women wants to work there isn’t an issue as such, the issue arises when she takes on the masculine role of being a breadwinner, which induces a silent silencing of the maternal energy. The role of breadwinner has a masculine trait and brings forth characteristics that stir up masculine energy. When this is sought after by women this throws out the delicate balance of the yin and yang energy both in oneself, the family and society as a whole.

A woman who is “self-sufficient” does not need a man to be "a man" for her, instead needs just a person to be next to her. So the relationship goes from a man holding the wife (and family) in an invisible embrace as a human shield, to a man just holding the wife’s hand, as “equals”; the latter being a weaker link because the need of him is also weaker. As with anything weak, they cannot stand the test of time, thus we end up with broken homes, societies and humanity!
 
Allah’s system is perfect by design. Don’t fight it. Understand the wisdoms in it. Embrace the guidance, even if you do not understand it.
 
Women have been given a very important role by Allah, thus the Jannat (Heaven) under their feet! Do not compromise this role for a mirage. More does not equate to more. The husband has been given the responsibility to be the breadwinner, trust that whatever Rizq you are meant to have, need to have, you are getting it. The wife does not need to work for you to have more Rizq. If you are meant to have more Rizq, that Rizq will find you. Like the Angel of Death will find us no matter where we hide, our Rizq will find its way to us no matter upon which Mountain we may reside!
 
What we need to do to increase Rizq is not work more or try to earn more, but instead, give more, be more and live more. What does that mean. Give more in charity, this comes back to us Ten Fold, that is Allah Promise; and not just our money, but time, energy, love and knowledge. Be more grateful, truly grateful and thankful to Allah SWT for whatever HE has given us, is giving us and will give us. Most importantly, do not underestimate the power of Duas, both your personal duas, duas that others give you and duas that are recommended to read by our Prophet. These are the real ways that we can increase our Rizq. And remember Rizq is not confined to money or food. It is also how we are living our life. The more we actually live our life, truly live, the more comfort we will find in it, as we will no longer be fighting life, no longer be trying to achieve a mirage, we will finally be fully embracing and indulging in each moment of life and accept each moment and seeing each moment in its full glory.


​
Read Part 2 for the Conclusion of this Series... Click here to read part two.