Relationships are more valuable than wealth

Allah, the Almighty, says in the first verse of Surah Al-Anfal:

“They ask you about the spoils of war. Say, ‘The decision regarding the spoils belongs to Allah and His Messenger. So fear Allah, settle your differences, and obey Allah and His Messenger if you are true believers.’”

(Surah Al-Anfal, verse 1)

The special beauty of this verse lies in the fact that the question was about Anfal, or wealth, but Allah instructed believers to set their relationships right.

What is the greatest wealth for a person?

The modern world teaches people to accumulate more money and increase their wealth. Islam, however, teaches us to preserve relationships, maintain family ties and spend our wealth to sustain love and affection.

Today, we have reached a point where many people are rich in wealth but poor in relationships.

Someone may own millions, yet have no father’s blessings in his life. Someone may have millions in the bank and own acres of land, while his elderly mother quietly sheds tears.

Think for a moment. A father who once held his child’s hand and taught him to walk may spend his old age waiting for that child. What value does that child’s wealth have then?

A mother may sacrifice her sleep and comfort to raise her child. If she is neglected in her old age, where is the meaning of that child’s success?

The truth is that wealth gives people financial comfort, but relationships give them happiness. Wealth can build a house, but love makes a family.

Wealth can buy a bed, but it cannot buy peaceful sleep. It can buy medicine, but it cannot buy a mother’s prayer.

So the question is: Is a person truly successful if he has millions but does not have his parents’ satisfaction? If he owns a large house but has no love from his brothers and sisters? If he possesses land deeds but has lost his family ties?

Islam teaches that a person’s greatest wealth is not his bank balance. His greatest wealth is his parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and the love they hold in their hearts for him.

Money can be lost and earned again. But when a father dies, he does not return. When a mother dies, no amount of wealth in the world can bring her back. When a brother is lost, even millions cannot buy another brother. When a sister is gone, no market in the world can provide a replacement.

That is why Islam teaches that relationships are more valuable than wealth. Wealth is temporary, while relationships are priceless. Wealth can be inherited, but relationships are among Allah’s special blessings.

No amount of money can buy a father

Let us consider a question. If the richest person in the world were told, “Give up all your wealth and your dead mother will be returned to you,” would he be able to do it?

No bank, state, court, technology or scientific achievement in the world can bring a mother back.

Then tell me: What was the real wealth—the money in the bank or the mother?

No amount of money can buy a mother. No amount of money can buy a father. No amount of money can buy a brother or a sister. It cannot buy an uncle or an aunt.

These are not commodities. They are blessings bestowed by Allah, and they have no market value.

Islam has given such importance to maintaining family ties, known as silat al-rahim, that the Quran and Hadith repeatedly instruct believers to preserve them. Maintaining family ties is connected with Allah’s mercy, while severing them is strongly condemned.

Consider two people.

The first owns 200 crore taka. He has a large business, extensive landholdings, multi-storey buildings and luxury cars. But he has no father, no mother, no brother and no sister.

On Eid, no one knocks on his door. When he falls ill, there is no one to place a hand on his head. There is no one to share his good news with. He lives alone.

The second person is an ordinary farmer. He has little money and a small house. But his mother is alive. His father is alive. His brother stands beside him. His sister prays for him. His mother waits for him on Eid morning. His father raises his hands in prayer for his son. His brother comes forward in times of danger. His sister cries when he is in pain.

Now ask: Who is truly rich—the person with money in the bank or the person who has people praying for him?

The answer from Islam is clear.

A person’s true strength does not lie in his wealth. It lies in his family, kinship and bonds of love.

The Quran instructs people to maintain family ties and warns that severing such ties can lead to social disorder.

Therefore, one can say that a person who has a mother is not poor. One who has a father is not destitute. One who has a brother is not alone. And one who has a sister has a heart that prays for him.

The remarkable message of Surah Al-Anfal

The Battle of Badr had ended. The Muslims had achieved one of the most glorious victories in their history. Then the question of the spoils of war arose.

The Companions asked: Whom do the spoils belong to? Who will receive how much? How will they be distributed?

Allah, the Almighty, responded:

“They ask you about the spoils of war. Say, ‘The decision regarding the spoils belongs to Allah and His Messenger. So fear Allah and settle your differences.’”

(Surah Al-Anfal, verse 1)

Think deeply about this. The question was about wealth, but Allah’s first response was not about wealth—it was about relationships.

The question was: Who will receive the wealth?

Allah said: Set your relationships right.

The question was: Who will get how much?

Allah said: Do not allow your hearts to be broken.

The question was: How will the wealth be distributed?

Allah said: Protect brotherhood.

It is as if Allah is declaring: You are busy calculating wealth, while I am concerned about the state of your relationships.

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Quranic duas for seeking greater sustenance and blessings

You are worried about possessions, while I am concerned about your hearts. You are looking at accumulated wealth, while I see broken relationships.

The greatest lesson of the first verse of Surah Al-Anfal is that if you lose wealth, you lose something. But if you lose relationships, you may lose everything.

Wealth can be earned again. But when a brother is gone, he cannot be bought back. When a sister is gone, she cannot be replaced. When a father dies, all the wealth in the world cannot bring him back. When a mother dies, all the gold and silver in the world cannot equal one of her prayers.

That is why the Quran’s first call is to relationships before wealth, hearts before calculations, brotherhood before rights, and family ties before possessions.

This is the remarkable lesson of Surah Al-Anfal. This is the civilisation taught by Islam—not a civilisation centred on wealth, but one centred on relationships.

The writer is a Mudarris at Jamia Rahmania Arabia and Principal of Madrasatul Quran Lilbanat.