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It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O people! Allah is pure and accepts only what is pure. Allah has commanded the ordinary believers with the same that He commanded the prophets and messengers, for He said: O messengers, eat of the pure things and do good deeds; and Allah said: O believers, eat of the pure things that We have provided you. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the man who undertakes a long journey, covered in dust, who raises his hands towards the sky and says: O Lord! O Lord! (that is, he supplicates imploringly), while his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing is unlawful, and his nourishment is unlawful — so how will his supplication be accepted!" (Muslim)

Allah has created human beings and animals, and has made their sustenance a duty binding upon Himself, as He states in the Glorious Qur'an:

{The provision of the creatures that move on the earth is Allah's responsibility alone.} (Hud)

Allah alone is providing sustenance to countless creatures according to their rank. Consider: in the morning the birds and animals set out from their nests and burrows towards the settlements and forests, and after searching all day for their sustenance they return in the evening with full bellies.

There is also a special wisdom of Allah in an abundance of provision. He tests by giving abundant provision — to see how His servant spends this wealth — and He tests also by a scarcity of provision — to see how firm the believing servant remains. Every person must strive to seek his sustenance according to his strength and capacity. Allah states in the Glorious Qur'an:

{Whatever a person attains is obtained through his striving and effort.} (Surah an-Najm)

Earning sustenance and seeking provision by lawful means is an obligation. Islam has greatly emphasised this. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said that "seeking lawful sustenance is an obligation after the (primary) obligation." (Bayhaqi)

Lawful sustenance has great excellence; the felicity of both religion and the world is hidden in it. The one who earns lawfully is beloved in everyone's eyes, and Allah too makes him dear; the worship he performs, He accepts it. A hadith states that whoever ate pure earnings, acted according to the Sunnah, and kept people safe from his harm (that is, no one was hurt by him) will enter Paradise (Tirmidhi).

Just as it is an obligation to seek lawful sustenance and to strive for it, likewise earning sustenance by unlawful means is very evil. To explain the evil of unlawful wealth, the above hadith alone is sufficient. There is another saying of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): the flesh that has been nourished by the unlawful will not enter Paradise; for it the Fire alone is fitting (Tirmidhi).

One should avoid unlawful sustenance. Those who consume the unlawful are, in the sight of Allah, shameless and without honour. On the Day of Resurrection they will be severely questioned. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that the world is green and sweet. Whoever earns lawful wealth and spends it in the proper place, Allah will reward him and admit him into Paradise; and whoever earns and spends by unlawful means, He will place him in a lowly place. And many people wrongfully devour the wealth of Allah and His Messenger; on the Day of Resurrection they will be in the Fire (Bayhaqi). In one narration it comes that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: prayer is not accepted without purity, and charity from unlawful wealth is not accepted (Tirmidhi).

A wise man has said: how astonishing is the person who, out of fear of illness, abstains from a lawful thing, yet out of fear of Hell does not refrain from the unlawful!