سُوْرَةُ سَبَاٍ
Surah Saba (34) — Ayah 39
قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّى يَبْسُطُ ٱلرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِۦ وَيَقْدِرُ لَهُۥ ۚ وَمَآ أَنفَقْتُم مِّن شَىْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُۥ ۖ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ ٱلرَّٰزِقِينَ ﴿39﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Say: "Truly, my Lord enlarges the provision for whom He wills of His slaves, and (also) restricts (it) for him, and whatsoever you spend of anything (in Allâh’s Cause), He will replace it. And He is the Best of providers."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
قُلْ
qul
Say
إِنَّ
inna
Indeed
رَبِّى
rabbī
my Lord
يَبْسُطُ
yabsuṭu
extends
ٱلرِّزْقَ
l-riz'qa
the provision
لِمَن
liman
for whom
يَشَآءُ
yashāu
He wills
مِنْ
min
of
عِبَادِهِۦ
ʿibādihi
His slaves
وَيَقْدِرُ
wayaqdiru
and restricts
لَهُۥ ۚ
lahu
for him
وَمَآ
wamā
But what
أَنفَقْتُم
anfaqtum
you spend
مِّن
min
of
شَىْءٍۢ
shayin
anything
فَهُوَ
fahuwa
then He
يُخْلِفُهُۥ ۖ
yukh'lifuhu
will compensate it
وَهُوَ
wahuwa
and He
خَيْرُ
khayru
(is the) Best
ٱلرَّٰزِقِينَ
l-rāziqīna
(of) the Providers
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
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.
[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.
