24- Does anyone other than Allah the Exalted also have the authority to give children and provision?
Whoever believes that anyone other than Allah the Exalted can give children, and has the authority to decrease or increase provision, is a greater polytheist than the polytheists of Arabia. For when the polytheists of Makkah were asked: Tell me, who gives provision in the earth and the heavens? Who brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living? Their answer was all the same: that it is Allah the Exalted alone who does these things. As for their taking the idols as their deities, they themselves would explain the reality of that, saying that these are a means, an intermediary and a channel to bring us closer to Allah the Exalted, as the saying of Allah the Exalted is:
قُلْ مَنْ يَرْزُقُكُمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَمَّنْ يَمْلِكُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَمَنْ يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَمَنْ يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ فَسَيَقُولُونَ اللَّهُ فَقُلْ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ
“Say: Who is it that provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Or who is the owner of hearing and sight? And who brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living? And who arranges every affair? They will surely say: ‘Allah.’ So say: Then do you not fear Him?”
And He said:
وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ فِي مَا هُمْ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي مَنْ هُوَ كَاذِبٌ كَفَّارٌ
“And those who have taken protectors besides Him (say): We do not worship them except that they may bring us closer to Allah, in nearness. Indeed, Allah will judge between them concerning that in which they differ. Indeed, Allah does not guide one who is a liar, a great disbeliever.”
Likewise, the Lord said:
أَمَّنْ هَذَا الَّذِي يَرْزُقُكُمْ إِنْ أَمْسَكَ رِزْقَهُ
“Or who is it that could provide for you if He withheld His provision?”
And this same point is also established in the hadith: that giving someone something and not giving it is the work of Allah the Exalted alone, as it is narrated from the scribe of Mughirah bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Mughirah bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote a letter to Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), in which he also mentioned this supplication, which the Prophet ﷺ used to recite after every obligatory prayer:
« لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ، وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ، اَللّٰهُمَّ لَا مَانِعَ لِمَا أَعْطَيْتَ، وَلَا مُعْطِيَ لِمَا مَنَعْتَ، وَلَا يَنْفَعُ ذَا الْجَدِّ مِنْكَ الْجَدُّ »
“There is no deity (worthy of worship) except Allah the Exalted; He is alone, He has no partner. The dominion of the entire universe is His, and all praise is due to Him alone, and He has power over everything. O Allah! No one can withhold what You choose to give, and no one can give what You choose not to give, and a person’s greatness cannot benefit him before You.”
It also happens at times that Allah gives someone children, and because of his supplication also grants him abundant provision, as in Surah Ibrahim, where Ibrahim (peace be upon him) supplicated to Allah the Exalted and Allah the Exalted accepted his supplication. Likewise, in Surah Maryam, Surah al-Anbiya and other surahs, the supplication of Zakariyya (peace be upon him) is mentioned, which Allah, Lord of the worlds, honoured with acceptance. Likewise, it is narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who says that the Prophet ﷺ was saying:
« مَنْ سَرَّهُ أَنْ يُّبْسَطَ لَهُ فِيْ رِزْقِهِ، وَيُنْسَأَ لَهُ فِيْ أَجَلِهِ، فَلْيَصِلْ رَحِمَهُ »
“Whoever likes that Allah the Exalted increase his provision and his lifespan should maintain ties of kinship.”
