Allah bestows upon us His gifts and His providence. He bestows upon us His mercy and His blessings and He provides for our needs in every way.
Allah says: “Our Lord! Cause not our hearts to stray after You have guided us, and bestow upon us mercy from Your presence. Truly, You are the Bestower.” [Sūrah Āl `Imrān: 8]
“Or do they have the treasures of the mercy of your Lord, the Mighty, the Bestower?” [Sūrah Sād: 9]
“(Solomon) said: My Lord! Forgive me and bestow on me a kingdom such as shall not belong to anyone after me. Lo! You are the Bestower.” [Sūrah Sād: 35]
Allah says: “Lo! Allah! He is the Provider, the Possessor of Unyielding Strength.” [Sūrah al-Dhāriyāt: 58]
Allah is referred to as “the Best of Providers” in five places in the Qur’an. For example: “The recompense of your Lord is best, and He is the Best of Providers.” [Sūrah al-Mu’minūn: 72]
Though people provide for one another, Allah is the Provider of them all. This is because He is the creator of all sustenance and of all people and of the various means by which sustenance reaches them.
Allah provides two kinds of sustenance to His creatures:
1. General sustenance: This is the sustenance Allah provides for everyone, whether they are righteous or wicked and whether they believe in Him or not. Allah says: “There is not a beast on Earth but its sustenance depends on Allah.” [Sūrah Hūd: 6]
How many living creatures are there on Earth, not just on land, but also in the ocean depths? How many more must there be spread throughout the universe? Allah provides for them all, arranging for the means of their sustenance in ways we can apprehend and ways we cannot even imagine.
Abraham (peace be upon him) beseeched Allah with the following words: “My Lord, make it a secure town and provide its people with fruits, such of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day.” Allah replied: “And whoever disbelieves, I will grant him enjoyment for a short while, then I will drive him to the chastisement of the Fire; and it is an evil destination.” [Sūrah al-Baqarah: 126]
When Abraham appealed to his Lord to provide for the believing inhabitants of Mecca, Allah replied that His worldly sustenance He provides for all people.
We find this idea reinforced by another verse of the Qur’an: “Is someone to whom We have made a goodly promise, and who is going to attain it comparable to someone to whom We have given the good things of this life, but who, on the Day of Judgment will be brought to task?” [Sūrah al-Qasas: 61]
2. Special sustenance: This Allah provides to His choicest servants. It is the providence of faith. The one who received it is to be inclined to the worship of one’s Lord, to know Him, and to obey Him, and to thereby attain His pleasure.
Allah has placed in the hearts of the believers the faith, contentment, and spiritual awareness, all of which is but a prelude for the reward they will receive in the Hereafter. This spiritual sustenance is also what Allah revealed to humanity in the Qur’an and by way of His Messengers.a
Allah says: “Our Lord! Cause not our hearts to stray after You have guided us, and bestow upon us mercy from Your presence. Truly, You are the Bestower.” [Sūrah Āl `Imrān: 8]
“Or do they have the treasures of the mercy of your Lord, the Mighty, the Bestower?” [Sūrah Sād: 9]
“(Solomon) said: My Lord! Forgive me and bestow on me a kingdom such as shall not belong to anyone after me. Lo! You are the Bestower.” [Sūrah Sād: 35]
Allah says: “Lo! Allah! He is the Provider, the Possessor of Unyielding Strength.” [Sūrah al-Dhāriyāt: 58]
Allah is referred to as “the Best of Providers” in five places in the Qur’an. For example: “The recompense of your Lord is best, and He is the Best of Providers.” [Sūrah al-Mu’minūn: 72]
Though people provide for one another, Allah is the Provider of them all. This is because He is the creator of all sustenance and of all people and of the various means by which sustenance reaches them.
Allah provides two kinds of sustenance to His creatures:
1. General sustenance: This is the sustenance Allah provides for everyone, whether they are righteous or wicked and whether they believe in Him or not. Allah says: “There is not a beast on Earth but its sustenance depends on Allah.” [Sūrah Hūd: 6]
How many living creatures are there on Earth, not just on land, but also in the ocean depths? How many more must there be spread throughout the universe? Allah provides for them all, arranging for the means of their sustenance in ways we can apprehend and ways we cannot even imagine.
Abraham (peace be upon him) beseeched Allah with the following words: “My Lord, make it a secure town and provide its people with fruits, such of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day.” Allah replied: “And whoever disbelieves, I will grant him enjoyment for a short while, then I will drive him to the chastisement of the Fire; and it is an evil destination.” [Sūrah al-Baqarah: 126]
When Abraham appealed to his Lord to provide for the believing inhabitants of Mecca, Allah replied that His worldly sustenance He provides for all people.
We find this idea reinforced by another verse of the Qur’an: “Is someone to whom We have made a goodly promise, and who is going to attain it comparable to someone to whom We have given the good things of this life, but who, on the Day of Judgment will be brought to task?” [Sūrah al-Qasas: 61]
2. Special sustenance: This Allah provides to His choicest servants. It is the providence of faith. The one who received it is to be inclined to the worship of one’s Lord, to know Him, and to obey Him, and to thereby attain His pleasure.
Allah has placed in the hearts of the believers the faith, contentment, and spiritual awareness, all of which is but a prelude for the reward they will receive in the Hereafter. This spiritual sustenance is also what Allah revealed to humanity in the Qur’an and by way of His Messengers.a
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