Surah Saba (34) — Ayah 39

(Ayah 39) ➊ {قُلْ اِنَّ رَبِّيْ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَّشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهٖ وَ يَقْدِرُ لَهٗ :} The reason for repeating these words is that the purpose is different in both places. In the first verse, the purpose is to refute the words of the disbelievers, and here the purpose is to encourage the believers to spend. In addition, here {’’ يَقْدِرُ ‘‘} is added with {’’ لَهٗ ‘‘}, meaning Allah expands the provision for whomever He wills among His servants, and He restricts the provision for whomever He wills. Therefore, if someone withholds and does not spend in the way of Allah thinking that spending will decrease his provision, then this is his mistake; the restriction or expansion of provision is not related to his miserliness or generosity, but to the will of Allah. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him): [ أَنْفِقْ بِلاَلُ! وَلاَ تَخْشَ مِنْ ذِي الْعَرْشِ إِقْلَالًا] [ سلسلۃ الأحادیث الصحیحۃ: 160/6، ح : ۲۶۶۱۔ مسند البزار : 204/4، ح : ۱۳۶۶ ] "Bilal! Spend and do not fear poverty from the Owner of the Throne."

➋ { ’’ يَقْدِرُ لَهٗ ‘‘} (He restricts it for him) Instead of {’’عَلَيْهِ‘‘}, the use of {’’ لَهٗ ‘‘} means that Allah restricts the provision of a believer for his own benefit, because being content with what Allah has given and being pleased with it is a great blessing, and the reckoning in it is also less. Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَ رُزِقَ كَفَافًا وَ قَنَّعَهُ اللّٰهُ بِمَا آتَاهُ ] [ مسلم، الزکاۃ، باب في الکفاف والقناعۃ : ۱۰۵۴ ] "Indeed, successful is the one who accepted Islam, was given provision sufficient for his needs, and Allah made him content with what He gave him."

➌ {وَ مَاۤ اَنْفَقْتُمْ مِّنْ شَيْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهٗ :} That is, whatever you spend in the way of Allah, according to His command, whether more or less, Allah will grant you more in its place in this world, and as for the reward in the Hereafter, no one can estimate it. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَا مِنْ يَوْمٍ يُصْبِحُ الْعِبَادُ فِيْهِ إِلَّا مَلَكَانِ يَنْزِلَانِ فَيَقُوْلُ أَحَدُهُمَا اللّٰهُمَّ أَعْطِ مُنْفِقًا خَلَفًا، وَ يَقُوْلُ الْآخَرُ اللّٰهُمَّ أَعْطِ مُمْسِكًا تَلَفًا ] [ بخاري، الزکاۃ، باب قول اللّٰہ تعالٰی : «فأما من أعطی …» : ۱۴۴۲ ] "Every day when the servants wake up, two angels descend. One of them says: O Allah! Give more to the one who spends, and the other says: O Allah! Destroy the wealth of the one who withholds." Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, said: [ يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ! أَنْفِقْ أُنْفِقْ عَلَيْكَ، وَ قَالَ يَمِيْنُ اللّٰهِ مَلْأَی سَحَّاءُ لَا يَغِيْضُهَا شَيْءٌ، اللَّيْلَ وَ النَّهَارَ ] [ مسلم، الزکاۃ، باب الحث علی النفقۃ… : ۹۹۳۔ بخاري : ۴۶۸۴ ] "O son of Adam! Spend, I will spend on you." And he said: "Allah's right hand is full, pouring generously, and never diminishes by spending, day and night." Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَا نَقَصَتْ صَدَقَةٌ مِنْ مَّالٍ وَ مَا زَادَ اللّٰهُ عَبْدًا بِعَفْوٍ إِلَّا عِزًّا وَمَا تَوَاضَعَ أَحَدٌ لِلّٰهِ إِلَّا رَفَعَهُ اللّٰهُ ] [ مسلم، البر و الصلۃ، باب استحباب العفو والتواضع : ۲۵۸۸ ] "Charity does not decrease wealth, and Allah increases the honor of a servant who forgives, and no one humbles himself for Allah except that Allah raises him."

➍ { وَ هُوَ خَيْرُ الرّٰزِقِيْنَ:} Because all other givers give from what He has given, He alone is the One who gives everything from Himself.

39. 1. So He sometimes gives abundant wealth to a disbeliever as well, but for what reason? As an exception, and sometimes He keeps a believer in straitened circumstances, for what reason? For the increase of his reward and recompense. Therefore, abundance of wealth is not a sign of His pleasure, nor is its scarcity a sign of His displeasure. This repetition is for emphasis.

39. 2. The meaning of "Ikhlaaf" is to give recompense and reward; this recompense is possible in this world as well, and in the Hereafter it is certain. In a Hadith Qudsi, Allah Almighty says: "Spend, I will spend on you." So you spend, I will spend on you.

39. 3. Because when a servant gives something to someone, his giving is only by Allah's ability, facilitation, and decree. In reality, the giver is not his provider. Just as a father is called his provider for his children, or a king is called the sustainer of his army, although the rich and the poor, children and elders, all are actually provided for by Allah Almighty, who is the Creator of all. Therefore, when a person gives something to someone from the wealth given by Allah, he is only using that wealth which Allah Himself has given him.

39. Say, "Indeed, my Lord enlarges provision for whom He wills among His servants and restricts it for whom He wills [59]. And whatever you spend, He will replace it [60], and He is the best of providers [61]."

[59] That is, abundance of sustenance is neither a criterion of Allah’s pleasure nor of a person’s own success. Rather, sustenance is related only to the Divine will, in which many of His own wisdoms are inherent. Sometimes He gives more sustenance to the wrongdoers, thereby making them deserving of severe punishment. And sometimes He puts His obedient servants through poverty and hunger, thereby raising their ranks even higher. Wealth, in itself, is a fleeting shadow. Sometimes a person has a lot of it, and then it is taken away from him. So, when there is no stability or permanence in wealth and riches themselves, how can they be considered the standard of good and evil?

[60]
Sustenance Increases by Spending in the Way of Allah:

In this sentence, there is great good news for those who give charity and alms, and a reality has been stated which has been experienced by people time and again, and that is: whatever a person spends in the way of Allah and for the pleasure of Allah with sincerity of intention, Allah gives him in return as much or even more than what he spent. By what means He gives it, a material explanation can be presented. However, both our experience and our intuition confirm this, and the following hadiths also support and affirm this point:

1. The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah the Exalted says: “O son of Adam! Spend (on others), I will spend on you.” [بخاري۔ كتاب الزكوة۔ باب الصدقة فيها۔]
2. Hazrat Asma bint Abi Bakr ؓ once came to the Prophet ﷺ, and he instructed her not to keep money clutched in her palm, otherwise Allah will also withhold your sustenance. Rather, give charity as much as you can. [بخاري۔ كتاب الزكوة۔ باب الصدقه فيما استطاع]
3. Hazrat Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: There is no day that passes over the servants in which two angels do not descend in the morning. One of them prays, “O Allah! Give a substitute to the one who spends,” and the other prays, “O Allah! Destroy the wealth of the miser.” [بخاري۔ كتاب الزكوة۔ باب قوله فاما من اعطيٰ واتقي]
4. Hazrat Anas ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever likes that his sustenance be expanded and his life be prolonged, let him maintain good relations with his relatives.” [بخاری۔ کتاب البیوع۔ باب من احب السبط فی الرزق]

[61] There are many attributes of Allah the Exalted that are also found in human beings. For example, the true Provider is Allah the Exalted, but every person provides sustenance to his children. An employer becomes a means of providing sustenance to his employees. In such a case, some further distinguishing attribute will be used for Allah. Thus, if a human can be a provider for someone, then Allah is Khayr al-Raziqeen, that is, He is the one who provides sustenance to all and provides the best sustenance. Similarly, Allah is the Creator of everything, but humans also create and invent. In this sense, a human can be called an inventor and creator, but the best of creators is Allah the Exalted alone.