Praise be to Allah.
Barakah is one of the blessings of Allah, may He be Exalted, and the blessings of Allah, may He be Exalted, can only be sought and maintained by means of four things:
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By obeying Allah, may He be Exalted, and obeying His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). That is achieved by doing what is enjoined and refraining from what is forbidden, and hastening to repent and seek forgiveness in the event of any shortcoming in doing what is obligatory or falling into anything that has been forbidden.
Allah, may He be Exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah , We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning.} [Al-A`raf 7:96]
Allah, may He be Exalted, says concerning the call of His Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) [to his people]:
{And [I] said, ‘Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers, and give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers.} [Nuh 71:10-12]
Allah, may He be Exalted, says concerning the call of His Prophethood (peace be upon him):
{And to `Ad [We sent] their brother Hud. He said, `O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. You are not but inventors [of falsehood]. O my people, I do not ask you for it any reward. My reward is only from the one who created me. Then will you not reason? And O my people, ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him. He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in showers and increase you in strength [added] to your strength. And do not turn away, [being] criminals.’} [Hud 11:50-52]
Allah, may He be Exalted, says regarding the People of the Book (interpretation of the meaning):
{And if only they upheld [the law of] the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to them from their Lord, they would have consumed [provision] from above them and from beneath their feet.} [Al-Ma’idah 5:66]
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One of the greatest deeds of piety by means of which Barakah may be sought is upholding the ties of kinship, and not cutting off those ties.
It was narrated that Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “Whoever would like his provision to be increased and his life to be extended, should uphold the ties of kinship.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 2067 and Muslim, 2557)
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Similarly, he should avoid prohibited matters in his interactions with people, such as cheating, usury and all other things that are forbidden.
Allah, may He be Exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{Allah destroys interest and gives increase for charities. And Allah does not like every sinning disbeliever.} [Al-Baqarah 2:276]
The commentator Shaykh Muhammad Al-Amin Ash-Shinqiti (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Allah destroys interest” – in this verse it is clearly stated that He destroys riba (usury, interest), meaning that He will remove it altogether from the possession of the one who engages in it, or He will deprive him of any Barakah in his wealth, so that he will not benefit from it, as was stated by Ibn Katheer and others. (End quote from Adwa’ Al-Bayan, 1/270).
It was narrated that Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The two parties to a transaction have the option (of cancelling it) until they part. If they are honest and disclose any defects, their transaction will be blessed, but if they lie and conceal defects the blessing will be erased.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 2079 and Muslim, 1532)
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Barakah may be sought by giving thanks to Allah, may He be Exalted, for His blessings. Allah, may He be Exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favour.]} [Ibrahim 14:7]
Gratitude may be expressed in one’s heart, in one’s words and in one’s actions.
Gratitude in the heart means acknowledging that these blessings are solely by the grace of Allah, may He be Exalted, and not turning in one’s heart to anyone other than Him, as the disbelieving people of the Jahiliyyah did by attributing blessings to someone other than the Creator, may He be glorified and Exalted, as Allah, may He be Exalted, describes them (interpretation of the meaning):
{They recognize the favour of Allah; then they deny it. And most of them are disbelievers.} [An-Nahl 16:83]
Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“They recognize the favour of Allah; then they deny it” means: they acknowledge that it is Allah, may He be Exalted, Who has granted this to them and bestowed it upon them, yet despite that they deny this fact and worship others alongside Him, and they attribute His help and provision to someone other than Him.” (End quote from Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 4/592)
Gratitude in one’s words means attributing these blessings to the Creator, may He be glorified and Exalted, praising Him, may He be Exalted, for these blessings, and not boasting of one’s smartness, intelligence, strength and so on, for all of these are blessings from Allah, may He be Exalted.
Expressing gratitude in one’s actions means not using these blessings to do things that Allah, may He be Exalted, has forbidden.
Part of expressing gratitude in one’s actions is showing kindness to others, as Allah, may He be Exalted, has shown kindness to you, for showing kindness to others is a way to attain more of Allah’s kindness. Allah, may He be Exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{Is the reward for good [anything] but good?} [Ar-Rahman 55:60]
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Following Islamic etiquette when using any of these blessings, such as saying Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim (in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) when eating, drinking, entering the house, and so on.
It was narrated from Jabir ibn `Abdullah that he heard the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “When a man enters his house, and mentions Allah, when he enters and when he eats, the devil says: `You have no place to stay and no dinner.’ But if he enters and does not mention Allah when he enters, the devil says, `You have found a place to stay.’ And if he does not mention Allah when he eats, he says: `You have found a place to stay and dinner.’” (Narrated by Muslim, 2018)
That also includes eating together and not eating separately; not being wasteful with food and drink, and so on; and spending according to need, without being extravagant or miserly.
Allah, may He be Exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{And give the relative his right, and [also] the poor and the traveller, and do not spend wastefully. Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful. And if you [must] turn away from the needy awaiting mercy from your Lord which you expect, then speak to them a gentle word. And do not make your hand [as] chained to your neck or extend it completely and [thereby] become blamed and insolvent.} [Al-Isra’ 17:26-29]
The Muslim should be keen to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and what he taught his Ummah of manners and etiquette when dealing with people, with one’s family and with one’s wealth.
One of the most beneficial books concerning this matter, and one of the easiest to understand is Riyadh As-Salihin by Imam An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him).
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Protecting oneself by means of the Du`as and Dhikrs narrated in the Sunnah.
The Muslim should regularly recite the Adhkar for the morning and the evening, the Adhkar before going to sleep, and all kinds of Adhkar as prescribed in Islamic teachings.
One of the most beneficial books for learning the Adhkar and Du`as prescribed in the Sunnah, by means of which the Muslim may protect himself, his family and his wealth, is Hisn Al-Muslim min Adhkar Al-Kitab was-Sunnah by Shaykh Sa`id ibn `Ali ibn Wahb Al-Qahtani. [Available in English under the title Fortress of the Muslim: Invocations from the Quran & Sunnah].
To sum up, the Muslim may seek Barakah by means of Taqwa (piety, fearing Allah), which means refraining from that which is forbidden and doing as much as he can of that which is enjoined, and by repenting and seeking forgiveness, and by following the example of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in all his affairs.
For more details, please see the following answers: 10083, 100105.
And Allah knows best.
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