بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Mankind today tend to worry all the time about the things in our possession. Allah reminds us in the Qur’an that these are not ours, but He has purchased it from us in return for paradise.
“Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise.” 9:111
This demonstrates Allah’s favour upon us; He provided us with these blessings and accepted it as a price from His faithful servant. What this means is that we spend our lives and our wealth in His path. We restrict what our lives in the dunya could be to please Him and spend our earnings for good in the name of Allah.
We misinterpret the idea of rizq in the way that many of us assume that it is merely within our own efforts. Sure, we as Muslims believe that everything comes from Allah, but do our attitudes to life prove the opposite? This has lead us to prioritise our work and other commitments above the commitments to Allah’s work.
Understanding how rizq truly works will lead one to realise that while seeking out rizq is important, it should not be of such importance that it involves spending the greatest time, energy and focus on to the exclusion of other obligations and duties. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Say, [O Muhammad], ‘If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and jihad in His cause, then wait until Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.'” 9:24
Allah mentions the obligations we have in this world but also lets us know the consequences of putting them before Him and his messenger (ﷺ).
The most fundamental aspect is that we as Muslims internalise that rizq all comes from Allah. It is from one of His beautiful names “Al-Razaaq” – The Provider, The Supplier. Every penny we make, every breath we take, the time we have on earth, every relationship we have is given by Allah.
“Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the firm possessor of strength.” 51:58
Allah ascribes the power of provision to Him alone and also encourages us partake in what He has provided for us, but reminds us to keep our duty to Him:
“And eat of what Allah has provided for you [which is] lawful and good. And fear Allah, in whom you are believers.” 5:88
He connect the two subjects to warn us not allow the partaking in provision to transgress His other commands. Allah also connects taqwa (consciousness of Allah) with rizq:
And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent.” 65:3
This means that although we may think that we know where our salaries are coming from every month, there are times when we were provided at a time of need from a source we could not have imagined. Whether this was money or other provisions; it could be something as simple as food when we were hungry.
However, it is not only the people with taqwa are given their rizq. We see disbelievers and Muslims that are astray from us, many of which are seemingly very successful in their lives. We must understand that Allah provides for all His creation. From the humans to the animals to the plants and everything in between; everything has its share in the world.
“And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision, and He knows its place of dwelling and place of storage. All is in a clear register.” 11:6
The difference between the rizq to people with true taqwa and the people without is the baraka of Allah (the attachment of divine goodness) – which is a separate topic we shall discuss in the future if Allah wills. One thing to mention from this is the warning of Allah in the Qur’an:
“So when they forgot that by which they had been reminded, We opened to them the doors of every [good] thing until, when they rejoiced in that which they were given, We seized them suddenly, and they were [then] in despair.” 6:44
If all people start chasing is worldly provision, money, fame etc. then those doors will be opened by Allah. Every blessing of the world would be made abundant for these people such as wealth, children and all kinds of provision. Once everything is given to them and they are delighted/boastful of what they have earned, Allah will take them from the dunya.
What will our provisions do for us when the angel of death comes?
No matter how much we may feel that our provisions are from our own efforts, they are not. This is not to say however, that we should abandon our worldly duties and everything will fall into our laps as we do nothing. Rather we must plan our lives in the best way possible in seeking our rizq with fulfilling our other commitments to Allah and His messenger (ﷺ), and have firm belief in Al-Razzaq to provide for us.
A Muslim must always rely upon Allah – this pillar of belief gives the believer the strength to overcome difficulties. Someone with the correct understanding that his provision is from Allah will trust fully in Allah to provide for him especially when times are difficult.
“Allah extends provision for whom He wills and restricts [it]. And they rejoice in the worldly life, while the worldly life is not, compared to the Hereafter, except [brief] enjoyment.” 13:26
A common question that is usually asked is:
If rizq is from Allah then how does one interpret the provisions taken by let’s say, a thief? Someone steals something from someone else or someone obtains their wealth through haram means e.g. won the lottery?
We must first understand that no provision has been taken away from anyone except that Allah willed so. That person who stole, is only stealing from their own rizq – they would have been given equal to that item they stole in another way, in a halal manner; they are not playing with Allah’s system in any way.
Not only is there no baraka in what they stole but that person they stole from will be claiming back on the day of judgement in the form of good deeds. So if something is stolen from us out of greed, we should think of it as savings for our afterlife or simply as a way of forgiveness from Allah if we look past it.
The same applies to those who earn through prohibited methods. Had they not gone through the haram path, Allah would have given the same provision in a better way – remember, He provides us from places we do not expect.
Let us remember, our rizq is a test. Sometimes we may see our wealth dropping but that itself is a blessing from Allah. It could be an opportunity for us to come closer to Him through our actions – if we only see it that way.
Furthermore, nobody can take your decreed rizq from you. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“And in the heaven is your provision and whatever you are promised.” 51:22
Our provisions are with Allah not with the people around us and He will give whatever he wills without question.
“…Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account.” 3:37
Allah knows best.