A Person who does not fear Allah does not care where he earns his money or how he spends it; his only concern is to increase his bank balance, even if it is haraam and ill-gotten by means of theft, bribery, extortion, forgery, selling haraam things, ribaa (usury) consuming an orphan’s wealth, earnings from haraam work like fortune-telling, immorality or singing, stealing from the Muslim treasury of public property, taking people’s money by coercion or high-pressure sales tactics, begging when one is not in need, and others. Then he buys food, clothing and transportation with this ill-gotten money, builds or rents a house, furnishes it, and fills his stomach with haraam food. The Prophet (saas) said: “Any flesh that grows from ill-gotten gains is more deserving of being touched by Hell-fire.”
On the Day of Resurrection, every person will be asked how he earned their money and on what they spent it, and there will be doom and loss. Anyone who still has haraam money should hasten to get rid of it; if it is due to anyone else, then he should hasten to return it and ask for his forgiveness before there comes a Day on which dinars and dirhams will be of no avail, and all that will count will be good deeds and bad deeds.
Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 19/136; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’ 4495
