Is being poor closer to Allah? Sometimes I feel guilty for being comfortable and wonder if my wealth is a barrier.
Nearness to Allah is not measured by what a person owns. Poverty does not by itself bring anyone closer, and comfort does not by itself push anyone away. Allah says this plainly in a passage that came to a people who had begun to imagine that plenty in wealth and children was itself the proof of His pleasure.
“And it is not your wealth or your children that bring you nearer to Us in position, but only one who believes and does righteousness; for them there will be a double reward for what they did.”
Qur’an, Saba 34:37 · meaning
Notice what the ayah does. It does not say wealth pushes you away, nor that poverty pulls you close. It sets both aside, wealth and children alike, and points instead to the direction of the heart: faith, and righteous deeds. A man of means who believes and acts righteously is brought near by that faith and by those deeds, and the reward that is doubled is the reward of what he did, not of what he owned. The measure is the heart, not the ledger.
So where does wealth come in? It comes in as the field where such deeds are sown. The Prophet, peace be upon him, never looked down on the man of means who opens his hands in the way of Allah. He counted him as one of only two whose place may rightly be longed for.
“There is no envy except in two: a man whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it in the way of truth, and a man whom Allah has given wisdom, and he judges by it and teaches it.”
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Sahih al-Bukhari (1409) · meaning
Remember Sulaiman, peace be upon him, as well. His kingdom, his treasures and his splendour are mentioned in the Qur’an with honour, never with blame. Allah did not strip away his dominion; He adorned it. Had wealth in itself been distance, it would never have been placed in the hands of a Prophet. What stands in the way is never the treasury. It is always where the heart turns.
And the sharing out of provision is Allah’s own arrangement.
“And Allah has favoured some of you over others in provision.”
Qur’an, An-Nahl 16:71 · meaning
Your comfort, then, is a share Allah chose to place with you: a trust and an opportunity, not a fault to grieve over. The one given more is appointed a trustee over it, so that the abundance may flow on to those in need. Guilt over what Allah gave you accomplishes nothing. Gratitude and generosity do. Hold it with thanks, earn it lawfully, turn a portion of it toward the needy, and the very comfort you were worried about becomes a road toward Him.
One small step: Today, quietly give a small amount from your comfort to someone in need, and as you give, say in your heart, “Ya Allah, let this wealth carry me nearer to You.”