what money really means and how to get rich_115

_{Christianity, and Islam the Quraysh felt money had "saved" it from the perils}

_{of nomadic life, cushioning its members from malnutrition and tribal violence,}

_{where they faced the possibility of extinction.}

_{Muhammad believed the new religion was going to tear the tribe apart}

_{morally and politically unless it could put another value at its center and overcome}

_{all the greed and egotism that its new wealth had brought.This was probably}

_{on his mind, Armstrong posits, when he sat in prayer on the summit of}

_{Mount Hira. He would have been praying, by the way, to al-Lah,"the God"—}

_{the same God as the one worshipped at the time by Christians and Jews.}

_{Suddenly, an angel appeared.}

_{took twenty-three years.}

_{The Koran comprises the verses as told to Muhammad by the angel}

_{Gabriel, who is also God's communicator in the Bible.}

_{Money, or the way you conduct yourself in business, isn't as big a part of}

_{the Koran as it is the Bible. Mostly, the Koran is a series of verses fashioned as}

_{metaphors to exemplify the way to heaven. Money, in the eyes of Islam, can't}

_{get you there.}

_{Money, says Dr. Hasnita "doesn't belong to you, but it's something that God}

_{has given to you and your neighbors. Some people will have more money and}

_{more wealth than others.We have designed a system to limit this and to limit}

_{the greed in a person.Through hard work and productivity, there's no reason}

_{you can't be wealthy. And that's not just about the money." She says in Islam}

_{you must contribute back to society in order to enlighten others (a principle}

_{of others."You need some form of currency to purchase goods and services.}

_{But that's not the point.We look at how you distribute your wealth."}

_{Sure, in strict religious countries there may not be the same type of value}

_{put on money like there is here in the United States. Money is viewed more}

_{as a responsibility in Islam. Every action is broken down like that; Allah governs.}

_{In the West, we really don't view money as a responsibility. Dr. Hasnita's}

_{job is to bridge the two worlds.}

_{She points out the rise in socially conscious and ethical investing. (One out}

_{of every $8 invested in the United States goes into an investment with a social}

_{or environmental concern. The total amount of assets under management in}

_{this category come to more than $2 trillion, the Social Investment Forum}

_{says.) She says there is a new consciousness awakening in the West, one more}

_{akin to the ways Muslims conduct themselves—responsibly.}

_{about every action you make imputes ethics into every decision, from the}

_{smallest to the largest.There is a direct connection there, and it makes you feel,}

_{of course, like you're not alone. I can understand the comfort in that. But at}

_{the same time, I can see the suffocation such strictness could bring.}

_{Freedom, in every manner, is the hallmark of Western culture. In the}

_{Islamic culture, you are only free when you are in heaven.}