Various issues having to do with shirk, trust in Allah, and taking appropriate measures

Praise
be to Allah.

Firstly: 

If a person seeks worldly benefit through his righteous deeds
and the Hereafter never crosses his mind, his good deed is not valid and
will not be accepted from him, unless he intends to seek thereby the
Countenance of Allah. 

Imam Ahmad (20715) narrated that Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be
pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) said: “Give this ummah the glad tidings of glory, high status,
religious commitment, victory and establishment in the land. Whoever among
them does a deed of the Hereafter for worldly gain will have no share of the
Hereafter.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami‘
(2825). 

But if he does a righteous deed seeking thereby the good of
this world and the Hereafter, there is nothing wrong with that. 

Al-Qarraafi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

With regard to combined intentions, such as one who strives
to obey Allah by engaging in jihad and to acquire wealth from the booty,
that does not affect him and it is not haraam for him, according to
scholarly consensus, because Allah, may He be exalted, has granted him that
in this act of worship. 

The same applies to one who fasts in order to benefit his
physical health or to rid himself of some disease that may be treated by
fasting, and seeking medical benefit is his aim or part of his aim, and the
fasting (as an act of worship) is part of his intention too, and he fasted
with these objectives in mind; these objectives do not affect his fast;
rather the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) enjoined that
when he said: “O young men, whoever among you can afford it, let him get
married, and whoever cannot afford it should fast, for it will be a shield
for him.” 

Another example is renewing one’s wudoo’ with the intention
of cooling down or cleaning oneself. None of these aims include any kind of
veneration of people; rather this is a combination of benefits that have
nothing to do with veneration (of anything other than Allah), so they do not
have any adverse effect on acts of worship. 

Yes, there is no doubt that these objectives that may be
mixed with worship may detract from the reward, and if the act of worship is
free of these things then the reward will be greater. But to suggest that
there is sin in that, and that the act of worship is invalidated thereby, is
not right at all.

End quote from al-Furooq (4/429-430) 

See also the answer to question no. 84018 

So if a person prays for forgiveness with the intention of
seeking forgiveness and seeking provision, or he gives charity with the
intention of seeking healing, there is nothing wrong with that. 

Secondly: 

There is nothing wrong with a person seeking and wanting his
provision to be expanded, because this is seeking something that is
permissible. If he seeks that so that he may spend for the sake of Allah,
then seeking it is mustahabb (encouraged) and prescribed. That is in
contrast to the one who seeks that for the sake of accumulation and
increase, and out of eagerness for worldly gain and adornment, in which case
it is blameworthy to a degree commensurate with what that leads to of sin. 

Al-Bukhaari (6344) and Muslim (660) narrated that Anas (may
Allah be pleased with him) said: My mother said: O Messenger of Allah, your
servant Anas, pray to Allah for him. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: “O Allah, increase him in wealth and
children, and bless for him whatever You give him.” 

Thirdly: 

If a man says, “This is my wealth, I inherited it from my
grandfathers”, this is not shirk, because he has affirmed the shar‘i and
qadari means by which he acquired that wealth, namely inheritance, which is
something for which he will not be taken to task. 

But if a person says that by way of arrogance towards people
and conceit and boasting of being descended from forefathers who were
wealthy and had high status, then in this case it is blameworthy and is one
of the deeds of Jaahiliyyah. 

Please see the answer to question no.
127248

Fourthly: 

If someone says “Japan advanced because of hard work”, this
is not shirk if he believes that this happened by the will of Allah, because
that is what indeed happened, and that statement highlights the virtue of
hard work and perseverance. 

But if he believes that Japan achieved what it achieved by
means of its people’s genius and huge efforts, without acknowledging the
will of Allah, then he is a disbeliever in Allah. Undoubtedly any Muslim who
says such a thing would not intend this corrupt meaning; rather he would
intend the first meaning, and there is nothing wrong with that. 

See also the answers to questions no.
118262, 130499 and 34817

And Allah knows best.