Humans are the best creatures in creation. The Creator wants humans to express gratitude to Allah for this characteristic of theirs. Allah wants humans to be independent of anyone except Allah. Humans should have self-respect. Allah is the provider of sustenance to all living beings, including humans. However, He says, ‘We have honored the children of Adam.’ (Surah Bani Israel, verse 70) It is not pleasing to Allah that humans refrain from seeking their livelihood and turn to others, thinking that Allah will provide sustenance. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) himself did business for his livelihood.
From Hazrat Adam (AS) to the Messenger (SAW), all 124,000 or 224,000 prophets and messengers worked for a living. Prophet Zakariya (AS) used to work as a carpenter to provide for his family. Companion Abdur Rahman Awf ibn Malik said, "We were seven, eight or nine in the court of the Messenger (SAW).
The Holy Prophet said, "Will you not take the oath of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah? We have just taken the oath of allegiance at Aqabah." So I said, "O Messenger of Allah! We have taken the oath of allegiance to you." The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said again, "Will you not take the oath of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah?" We then extended our hands and said, "O Messenger of Allah! We have taken the oath of allegiance to you. Now what oath shall we take again?" The Holy Prophet said, "Take an oath to this effect - that you will worship Allah alone and associate no one with Him. You will pray five times a day and obey the leader." Then the Holy Prophet said something secret in a low voice, and that you will not ask people for anything. The Companion said, "I saw some of them, even if their stick fell, they would not ask others to give it to them." (Riyaz Salihin, Muslim) A person reaches out to others only when he fails to fulfill his own needs. Reaching out to others does not do justice to self-respect. Sawban (RA) said, “Once the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, ‘Who will take responsibility for me in such a way that he will not ask people for it, and I will take responsibility for Paradise for him?’ I said, ‘I will.’ (From then on, Sawban (RA) did not ask anyone for anything.)” (Riyaz Salehin)
An example of the importance given to human dignity in Islam is a hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Narrated by Sahl ibn Saad, Hazrat Jibreel (peace be upon him) said to the Prophet (peace be upon him), ‘The dignity of a believer lies in his nightly Tahajjud prayers and his honor lies in his not being dependent on people.’ (Musdatrake Hakim) The Prophet (peace be upon him) urged his followers to be self-reliant. He discouraged begging. He urged them to turn their begging hands into working hands. Narrated by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him); he said, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘It is not permissible to beg except for three people: 1. A person who is in dire need 2. A person who is in debt and 3. A person who is obligated to pay a painful blood money (dyat)’ (Abu Dawud in Mishkat). A man from the Ansar came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and begged for alms. He asked him, "Do you have anything in your house?" He said, "I have an expensive blanket, part of which I put on my body and the other part I spread out, and a wooden cup from which we drink water." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Bring both of these things to me." When he brought them, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) took the blanket and the cup in his hand and said, "Is anyone willing to buy these two things?" A man said, "I am willing to buy them for one dirham." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said two or three times, "Who can give more than one dirham?" A man stood up and said, "I am willing to give two dirhams."
The Messenger of Allah (ï·º) gave him the two dirhams. He gave them to the Ansar man and said, "Go and buy food with one dirham and feed your family. And buy an axe with the other and bring it to me." The Ansar man bought the axe and brought it to the Messenger of Allah (ï·º). He put a wooden handle on it with his own hand and said, "Go and cut wood and sell it." The man went and cut wood as the Messenger of Allah (ï·º) had told him. After 15 days, he came to the Messenger of Allah (ï·º) and he had 10 dirhams. He bought some of it for clothes and some for food. The Messenger of Allah (ï·º) said to him, "(Earning through hard work) is better for you than asking for help from others, because the shameful mark of begging will be a scar on the face on the Day of Resurrection." (Abu Dawud, Musnad Ahmad and Ibn Majah). The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself worked hard for his livelihood. He advised the believers to earn their living through lawful means so that they would not be dependent on others. We should all follow his example.