"Allah does not look at your appearance or your possessions; but He looks at your heart and your deeds."
Whether a person is rich or poor it doesn’t matter, your heart and your actions are the important things in the sight of Allah. Also the Prophet (s.a.w) mentioned in his last sermon about the equality of everyone in Islam he talked about that nobody has superiority over other except by piety and good action.
So therefore rich people should not exist so that all wealth in the world can be shared and divided out equally otherwise there’s jealousy, and hatred which is not a good thing.
Some Muslims also argue that the Prophet (s.a.w) said: “The faithful are like one man: if his eyes suffer, the whole body suffers.” Meaning that if there are poor people out there in the world who are suffering because they have no means of living, then as part of humanity the rich Muslims should feel compelled to share their wealth out of guilt and sympathy. If they cannot do that then their hearts are cold, as anyone should feel guilty and should feel that it is not nice for me not to share the wealth owned. If someone near you has nothing whilst you yourself are spending your wealth extravagantly shouldn’t there be some shame upon oneself.
However some Muslims would disagree with the statement, arguing that it’s not about being rich it’s about what you spend the wealth on. It is a test for the rich that they suppress the temptation of spending the wealth on idle things also to share the wealth they possess, and it is a test for the poor to have patience and suppress any ill-feelings for the rich. If we use this wealth to help others then we will be rewarded, but if we don’t then we may be punished. We will be judged and accounted for how we spent our wealth so it is best we spend it properly and to help others using this wealth.
The Prophet (p.b.u.h) has said: “For every nation and Ummah there is a temptation/test, and the test for my Ummah is wealth.”
Some Muslims state that Zakah is given by people who can afford to give it and if there were no rich people then who would give Zakah to help the poor
The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Indeed, an ignorant man who is generous is dearer to God than a worshipper who is miserly."
How would the poor survive without Zakah, similarly if there are no poor then who to give Zakah, how should Zakah, this obligatory act be fulfilled.
Other people state that it is not fair that when you work to earn money then why should a person have to share that money when it is all their effort, what is the point of earning it. If you earn this wealth it is only right that you should be able to keep it. It’s not a fault of the rich that there are poor people, they didn’t cause it. The rich work hard to earn their money and they deserve it, they work so they keep and spend it on themselves not on someone who’s poor, can’t work.
Wealth isn’t a bad thing it can also be used to help others even if you are rich, having wealth doesn’t necessarily mean that you always spend it on useless things it can be spent in the right way for a good cause as well, being rich is actually a good thing. If you are rich then you have the means to help so many other people, many of the rich tend to give a lot in charity and they always donate a lot of money to charities for emergency aids in things like natural disasters. E.g. Talhah Ibn Ubaidullah who was a companion of the Prophet (s.a.w) was well-known for helping people who had debt problems, heads of families’ experiencing hardship and widows. As-Saib ibn Zayd a friend of Talhah, said: “I accompanied Talhah ibn Ubaidullah on journeys and I have stayed with him at home and I have not found anyone who was more generous with money, with clothes, and with food than Talhah.”
This tells us that rich people can spend their wealth on good things which prove useful to the poor, and things which would help them, so no rich would mean no helpers or generous donators.
My opinion is that there is nothing wrong with there being rich people in the world because it does not say anywhere in the Quran or Hadith that it is Haraam (unlawful) to be rich, rather it says in the Quran: “And Allah has favored some of you above others in provision” (16:71). Allah has made some people rich and some poor, Allah has a plan for everyone, and whatever happens to a person is destined by Allah so we can’t say it’s a bad thing to be rich. The Quran has not forbidden being rich so why should there be no rich. If it hasn’t been forbidden by Allah then it’s lawful so there can be any disagreements in that.