True Poverty is to Rely on Other than Allah

"Among the rules for commanding the good and forbidding the wrong is to depend less on others and eliminate desire for what they have, so as not to have to compromise one's principles. A story is told about one of the early Muslims who used to get meat each each day from the neighbourhood butcher for his cat. He noticed something blameworthy about the butcher, so he returned home and turned out the cat before returning to reprimand the man, who retorted, "From now on,I'm not going to give a thing for your cat", to which he replied,"I did not censure you til I gave up both the cat and any desire for what you have." And this is the fact of the matter. One cannot reprimand others as long as one is anxious for two things: the things that people give one, and their approval and praise of one."

-Imam al-Ghazali (May Allah have marcy on him)