Be Generous in Regard to Family Expenditure

Hadhrat Abu Mas'ud al-Babri (r) reported that the Prophet (saws) said "A man's spending on his family is a deed of charity"

[Bukhari]

Explanation : Islam, as a complete code of life , educates people that their entire life is Ibadah (worship, obedience, and service). Everything in a human life that is done according to Allah's and His Prophet's guidance is an act of Ibadah. No wonder that spending money on one's earning on one's family has been honored in Islam as an act of benevolence to be rewarded by Allah. Muslim men and women should be geneorus in regard to their family's expenditure within parameters set by Islam.

Islam encourages showing kindness and benevolence to one's family , and at the same time, Islam makes people care about their social responsibilities beyond their families. Muslims should be oblivious neither to the duties to their families nor to the duties to others in the society among relatives and non-relatives, among Muslims and non-Muslims. This narration, like many others , balances often-observed polarities in human life.

Islam is a balanced way of life. How wonderfully it engages a person in fulfilling one's responsibility as an earner in a family ! How thoughtfully it creates a sense of the ultimate relationship between people and God so that their interaction at the family level is within the divine framewoek.