Wealth and Financial Freedom

In the previous post I wrote about “Retire Young, Retire Rich”. I would like to thank Robert Kiyosaki for making me aware that I need to manage and control my personal finance. However I don’t really agree with his suggestion to start creating wealth by acquire “good debt” which means taking risk by acquiring loans to invest in properties. Muslims are encouraged to become rich but not through debt. Only rich Muslims can practice all the five pillars of Islam: Shahadah, Solah, Zakat, Sawm and Hajj. Zakat and Hajj can only be achieved by rich Muslim. In addition, Muslim is also strongly encouraged to give alms (sedekah). All Muslim, poor or rich can give sedekah, but a sincere rich Muslim is capable to give more and InsyaAllah, will get better reward. "The best alms is that which you give when you are rich, and you should start first to support your dependants." [Sahih Bukhari - Book 64, Number 269].   

As a Muslim, I practice zuhud, means shunning that which is haram and that which Allah hates; avoiding shows of luxury and overindulging in worldly pleasures; focusing on doing acts of worship; and making the best preparation for the Hereafter. I simply live within my mean. I never spend more money than I earn. I remember that my starting salary as a lecture 25 years ago was RM1300. Alhamdulillah, that amount was big enough for me to give some good amount to my parents every month without fail. I started saving 30% of my income through salary deduction into my Tabung Haji account right from the beginning. At that time, Tabung Haji annual return was good and that’s where my wealth creation started. Once the money tree bears fruits, I started investing in assets rather than liabilities to build a passive income from my investments. That is how I make money work for me. Alhamdulillah, now I am looking forward to enjoy my retirement as a woman of wealth not a wealthy woman.

“Do not earn wealth and lose people, for earning people is a way to earning wealth.” [Dr. Muhammad ‘Abd Al-Rahman Al-‘Afifi, Enjoy Your Life, Darussalam Publication, 2008].