Surah Ash-Shura (42) — Ayah 27

(Ayah 27) ➊ { وَ لَوْ بَسَطَ اللّٰهُ الرِّزْقَ لِعِبَادِهٖ لَبَغَوْا فِي الْاَرْضِ:} This is an answer to a question that may arise here: when Allah accepts the supplication of those who believe and do righteous deeds very quickly, these people also pray for abundance in provision, so why do they still face constriction in provision? In the early days of Islam, the believers faced great hardship in provision, especially when the disbelievers boycotted all interaction and trade with them. The answer given is that it is not so that whatever provision they ask for is given to them in full; rather, Allah sends down their provision according to a measure and as much as He wills, in accordance with their best interests. If He were to expand their provision according to their demands, they would surely become rebellious in the land, because generally, when a person becomes wealthy, he forgets Allah, as He said: « كَلَّاۤ اِنَّ الْاِنْسَانَ لَيَطْغٰۤى (6) اَنْ رَّاٰهُ اسْتَغْنٰى» [ العلق : 7،6 ] “No! Indeed, man surely transgresses. Because he sees himself as self-sufficient.” And abundance of wealth incites him to oppress others. Look at the case of Qarun and Pharaoh! If they did not have so much wealth, they would not have been destroyed in such a way. Therefore, it is better for the believers that their provision is not made too abundant, even though they will fully realize its goodness later, that is, on the Day of Resurrection. Besides this, there is another benefit for the believer in the scarcity of wealth: he remains free for righteous deeds and does not become heedless of preparing for the Hereafter by being overly occupied in earning the world, as mentioned in the hadith: When Abu Ubaidah (may Allah be pleased with him) brought the jizya wealth from Bahrain, the Ansar joined the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for the morning prayer and then sat before him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled at them and said: [ أَظُنُّكُمْ قَدْ سَمِعْتُمْ أَنَّ أَبَا عُبَيْدَةَ قَدْ جَاءَ بِشَيْءٍ؟ قَالُوْا أَجَلْ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ ! قَالَ فَأَبْشِرُوْا وَأَمِّلُوْا مَا يَسُرُّكُمْ، فَوَاللّٰهِ ! لاَ الْفَقْرَ أَخْشٰی عَلَيْكُمْ، وَلٰكِنْ أَخْشٰی عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ تُبْسَطَ عَلَيْكُمُ الدُّنْيَا كَمَا بُسِطَتْ عَلٰی مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ ، فَتَنَافَسُوْهَا كَمَا تَنَافَسُوْهَا وَتُهْلِكَكُمْ كَمَا أَهْلَكَتْهُمْ ] [بخاري، الجزیۃ والموادعۃ، باب الجزیۃ والموادعۃ مع أھل الذمۃ والحرب : ۳۱۵۸ ] “I think you have heard that Abu Ubaidah has brought something?” They said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allah!” He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Then rejoice and hope for what will please you. By Allah! I do not fear poverty for you, but I fear that the world will be expanded for you as it was expanded for those before you, and you will compete with one another for it as they competed, and it will destroy you as it destroyed them.”

➋ {’’ وَ لَوْ بَسَطَ اللّٰهُ الرِّزْقَ لِعِبَادِهٖ لَبَغَوْا فِي الْاَرْضِ ‘‘} In this, Allah has also reminded the Muslims of His favor: that if He willed, even knowing that they would become rebellious in the land, He could have expanded their provision, just as He expanded Pharaoh’s provision despite knowing this. If he had not been given the kingdom of Egypt, he would never have claimed divinity. Therefore, constriction in provision is also a blessing for the people of faith, for which they are obliged to be grateful.

➌ The words of the verse {’’ وَ لَوْ بَسَطَ اللّٰهُ الرِّزْقَ لِعِبَادِهٖ ‘‘} are general for both believers and disbelievers. In this, Allah has also mentioned His creative planning: in this world, Allah has not kept the provision of believers and disbelievers equal; some have more, some have less, so that people remain dependent on each other and can benefit from one another. (See Zukhruf: 32) Similarly, He has not given anyone provision beyond a certain limit, otherwise people would become rebellious and corrupt in the land due to excessive wealth. As for those who cause corruption in the land due to abundance of provision, their corruption is nothing compared to the corruption they would cause if they were given wealth according to their own wishes. Now, if anyone causes corruption in the land, it cannot exceed a certain limit. No matter how great a rebel someone is, everyone is forced to remain within their limits.

➍ { وَ لٰكِنْ يُّنَزِّلُ بِقَدَرٍ مَّا يَشَآءُ:} For details, see the exegesis of Surah Al-Hijr (21), Ar-Ra’d (8), and Surah Al-Qamar (49).

➎ { اِنَّهٗ بِعِبَادِهٖ خَبِيْرٌۢ بَصِيْرٌ:} For details, see the exegesis of Surah Bani Isra’il, verse (30).

27. 1. That is, if Allah were to grant everyone the means of sustenance equally and beyond their needs and necessities, the result would be that no one would accept the subordination of another; every person would surpass the other in evil, corruption, and enmity, which would fill the earth with corruption.

27. And if Allah were to grant abundant provision to all His servants, they would surely transgress on the earth [41]. But He sends down in due measure as He wills. Surely, He is All-Aware of His servants, All-Seeing.

[41]
Allah’s Wisdom in the Increase and Decrease of Sustenance:

A brief example from the Punjabi language fully clarifies the meaning of this verse. The example is: "Raj aaon te kad aaon," meaning that the habit of an ordinary worldly person is that if Allah grants him prosperity, he does not care for anyone, not even Allah, and adopts the path of rebellion. This was exactly the situation of the chiefs of Quraysh, who were more prosperous than the rural Arab tribes, and this very prosperity had corrupted their minds. And in this verse, it is stated that if Allah were to grant abundant sustenance to all people, it would not diminish His treasures in the least. But people, intoxicated by wealth, would create chaos everywhere and make life unbearable for one another. Therefore, Allah provides sustenance to each person according to His estimation and wisdom, so that people do not lose self-control and the system of the world continues to function properly. The rich remain dependent on the poor for work, and the poor on the rich.