Israf and tabdhir in the Qur'an — restraint as an act of worship
The Qur'an forbids israf (excess) and tabdhir (wasteful squandering), naming the squanderer as the brother of Shaytan. This lesson gathers those verses and the prophetic guidance on using only what is needed — for food, water and everyday resources.
Overview
What you will learn: the four Qur'anic verses that anchor the Islamic ethic against waste — Al-A'raf 7:31, Al-An'am 6:141, and Al-Isra 17:26-27; the difference between israf (excess) and tabdhir (squandering); a well-known prophetic teaching on not being extravagant even with water at the river's edge; and how this applies to food, water and everyday resources in a modern household and in charitable work.
Al-A'raf · 7:31
O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess.— Translation of the meaning by Sahih International
Translation source: The Qur'an — English translation of the meaning.
Al-An'am · 6:141
…and give its due [zakat] on the day of its harvest. And be not excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess.— Translation of the meaning by Sahih International
Translation source: The Qur'an — English translation of the meaning.
What this means
Al-A'raf 7:31 and Al-An'am 6:141 both close with the same clause: Allah does not love those who commit excess (israf). Ibn Kathir treats israf as crossing the line of what is genuinely needed — in food, drink, dress or spending — even when the thing being consumed is halal. The verses are not against enjoying good things; they are against consuming past the point of need in a way that harms the body, the household or the wider community.
Al-Isra · 17:26
And give the relative his right, and [also] the poor and the traveler, and do not spend wastefully.— Translation of the meaning by Sahih International
Translation source: The Qur'an — English translation of the meaning.
Al-Isra · 17:27
Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful.— Translation of the meaning by Sahih International
Translation source: The Qur'an — English translation of the meaning.
What this means
Al-Isra 17:26-27 raises the register. Tabdhir — wasteful, showy squandering — is not just discouraged; the squanderers are named the brothers of the devils. Al-Qurtubi's tafsir explains tabdhir as spending in the wrong place, in the wrong quantity, on the wrong purpose. The two categories, israf and tabdhir, together cover both quiet waste (leaving food to spoil, running taps too long) and public squandering (spending large sums to show off).
Sunan Ibn MajahBook: Book of Purification№ 425Grade not verifiedGraded by grading of this specific chain requires review
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by Sa'd while he was performing wudu and said: 'What is this extravagance, Sa'd?' He said: 'Is there extravagance in wudu?' He said: 'Yes, even if you are on the bank of a flowing river.'”
Context: Narrated in Sunan Ibn Majah in the Book of Purification. Widely cited in the fiqh literature on wudu as evidence that even abundant water does not permit israf. The specific grade of this exact chain requires editorial review; the ruling drawn from it (that israf in wudu is disliked even beside a river) is well-established in the Sunni fiqh tradition.
Source: Sunan Ibn Majah.
What this means
The narration about Sa'd performing wudu is one of the most-cited proof-texts for the Islamic ethic on water. The Prophet ﷺ does not say 'wait until water is scarce'; he says even on the bank of a flowing river, israf remains israf. In today's frame — with the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme reporting that hundreds of millions of people still lack safely managed drinking water — this teaching is more concretely relevant than ever, not less.
What this means
Practical shapes: cook and serve realistic portions; store and reuse leftovers; buy only what will actually be eaten; turn taps off during wudu, dishes and teeth-brushing; repair before replacing; give away, donate or resell what you no longer use rather than throwing it away; treat electricity, heating and printer paper as the shared resources they are; refuse packaging and single-use items where a reasonable alternative exists. In event and catering contexts, plan portions honestly and route surplus food to people who will eat it, not to the bin.
What this does not mean
This lesson does not mean asceticism for its own sake, refusing halal enjoyment, humiliating a host who has cooked generously, or claiming a religious ruling on secular environmental policy debates. The Qur'an in the same passage (Al-A'raf 7:32) explicitly rebukes those who forbid the adornment Allah has produced. The ethic is restraint within enjoyment, not the abolition of it.
How this shows up in Muslim Socials' work
Food work — where the live homepage records 14,000+ meals delivered in Bangladesh / South and Southeast Asia — and water work — 12 wells built in the Sahel / Northern Africa — both sit inside this Qur'anic ethic. The point of feeding the hungry and building wells is not to fund a spectacle of abundance; it is to move real resources to people who need them. Israf in our own homes and events is inconsistent with that mission. Online giving is not yet active and 501(c)(3) approval is pending.
Application today
This week, name one specific point of waste in your own household — a food, a resource, a purchasing habit — and change it. Do not announce the change; measure it against the Qur'anic clause: 'Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess.'
Reflection
What is one concrete point of israf or tabdhir in your own week — a food, a resource, a spending habit — that you can change quietly, for Allah's sake?
