Wealth, a topic of great interest at the moment due to the recession and credit-crunch, is something that has troubled the children of Adam from the very beginning of creation. Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The son of Adam (i.e. man) grows old and so also two desires grow old with him; love for wealth and a wish for a long life.” [Bukhari : Book 8 : Volume 76 : Hadith 430] The question of how much wealth and property one owns, or how many of the luxuries and pleasures of the world one enjoys, have preoccupied the thoughts of each and everyone of us at one point or another in our lives. Wealth has been the cause of wars, the cause of suicide, the cause of marriages, and divorces, amongst many others. But what exactly is wealth?