Surah Az-Zumar (39) — Ayah 52

(Ayah 52) ➊ {اَوَ لَمْ يَعْلَمُوْۤا اَنَّ اللّٰهَ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ … :} In the previous verses, it has been stated that the cause of the present and former disbelievers being deceived is the wealth and other blessings granted to them. In their ignorance, they thought that the abundance of wealth and riches was the result of their own skill, capability, and intellect, and that it was proof of their being on the truth and of Allah being pleased with them. It is said that neither the expansion of sustenance depends on anyone’s intellect, wisdom, or skill, nor is its restriction due to a lack of intellect, wisdom, or skill, nor is its abundance or scarcity a sign of Allah’s pleasure or displeasure. Rather, it depends solely and only on Allah’s will; He expands the sustenance of whomever He wills, whether he is righteous or wicked, and restricts it whenever He wills, whether he is righteous or wicked, and no one knows the wisdom behind it except Him. If sustenance depended on intellect, wisdom, skill, or capability, then no scholar or intelligent person would ever face hardship in sustenance, nor would any ignorant or foolish person ever enjoy abundance of sustenance or other blessings.

➋ { اِنَّ فِيْ ذٰلِكَ لَاٰيٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يُّؤْمِنُوْنَ :} That is, in the expansion and restriction of sustenance, there are many signs for the believers, because only they benefit from it and take heed, for only they believe that the One who expands and restricts sustenance is Allah alone, and He makes this decision not based on someone being righteous or wicked, but according to His wisdom and mercy, for He knows the condition of His servants best. Sometimes He restricts the sustenance of His servant because if He were to expand it, the servant would become rebellious and defiant. Sometimes it is intended as a test, to see whether the servant is patient in poverty and hardship or complains against Allah and begins to curse Him. Sometimes He expands sustenance as a favor, as a reward, or to complete the argument against someone.

49.1. That is, in both the abundance and restriction of sustenance, there are signs of Allah’s oneness, meaning it becomes evident that only His command and authority prevail in the universe, only His planning is effective and operative. That is why He grants abundant sustenance to whomever He wills and subjects whomever He wills to poverty and hardship. No one can interfere in these decisions of His, which are based on His wisdom and will, nor can anyone alter them. However, these signs are only for the people of faith, because only they reflect upon them, benefit from them, and attain Allah’s forgiveness.

Do they not know that Allah expands provision for whom He wills and restricts it for whom He wills? Surely in this are signs [70] for people who believe.

[70]
Livelihood Depends on Divine Will:

By "signs" is meant that only the people of faith reflect upon the wisdom behind the increase and decrease of sustenance. Because the matter of acquiring sustenance is one that depends solely on Allah's will and wisdom. Livelihood does not depend on intellect, nor on knowledge, nor on ability and experience, nor on physical strength and capacity. All human beings desire, and strive with full effort, to acquire as much wealth and property as possible. However, only a few are well-off, while most are those who are distressed due to the constriction of sustenance. If livelihood depended on intellect, then fools would die of hunger. But we see that most intelligent people are in distress, while those devoid of intellect are playing with wealth and property. Similarly, often the upright and righteous people are in distress, while the oppressors and disobedient to Allah are given abundant sustenance. Therefore, to conclude from this that whoever has been given wealth and property, Allah is pleased with him, is absolutely wrong. The real truth is that the divine system for the distribution of sustenance is different, and its wisdoms are mentioned repeatedly in the Noble Quran.