Al-barakah

Definition of "Al-barakah"

Lit: Blessings. Tech: God’s blessing or bounty in relation to one’s worldly pursuits. It refers to qualitative growth in one’s possessions. The notion refers to an invisible but concrete blessing resulting from a person’s conduct including, and most importantly, his economic behaviour. The concept maintains that righteous conduct will lead to returns higher than those expected from calculations based on material factors only. For example, the concept asserts that spending one’s wealth in the cause of Allah will not lead to diminution but to its expansion due to barakah. Such actions will, in fact, return to the giver some multiple of his original expenditure. The concept establishes a positive correlation between a person’s conduct and prosperity. It encourages Muslims to go beyond the minimum requirements of the shari‘ah in pleasing Allah. The converse of the concept holds as well. An unrighteous conduct, in earning, possessing or disposing of wealth, will rob the wealth of barakah.