Rizq (Sustenance) is from Allah - Dr Ahsan Hanif

Rizq (Sustenance) is from Allah

The Prophet ﷺ said that if you were to truly have reliance and trust upon Allah, just as the bird trusts upon Allah, then Allah would provide for you just as He provides for that bird. The bird leaves in the morning on an empty stomach, but it returns in the evening and it is on a full stomach. If you had that type of reliance on Allah, that type of tawakkul in Allah, if you turn to Allah before anything and everything else, then you would find the provision and the rizq that Allah has decreed for you.

Unifying Allah in His beautiful names and His lofty attributes — that Allah alone is Al-Razzaq, the Provider. Allah alone is Al-Kareem, the Most Generous. Allah alone is Al-Jawad, the One who gives everything without any fear of poverty. He gives by day and He gives by night.

Now all of this is well known to us. I haven't mentioned anything new or groundbreaking. All of us know this. But the problem is that it is within our minds just a theory and a concept. We haven't applied it practically within our lives. We don't see its application or its implementation in our daily routine. And that's why now, for the vast majority of us, we have fear and we're worried that we might lose our job. That our business might not do very well. That our benefits may be cut. That this issue or that issue may affect our finances. And we've become attached to these materialistic issues, forgetting that we should return back to Allah.

That it is an issue of aqeedah. That Allah is the One who controls our provision and not anyone or anything else. And so we need to realign our thinking. We need to set our priorities straight. We need to connect this issue back to our aqeedah, back to Allah.

Allah's Provision is Infinite

From the issues that we need to know about concerning this issue of rizq is that it is Allah who controls all provision. And He has enough provision to provide for me and to provide for you. Allah can provide for everyone. And there's not a limited budget or a limited amount that is within the treasures of Allah that it will run out if I take more or you take more. Allah is sufficient for everyone.

As is mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari under the authority of Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ said concerning our Lord:

That Allah's hand is full, and Him spending does not diminish what He has in His kingdom and dominion. He is سَحَّاءُ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ — the One who gives generously without any fear of poverty by day and by night. And then the Prophet ﷺ said: "Do you not see what Allah has already spent since the time He first created the heavens and the earth?"

Allah provides for me. Allah has provided for me from the moment I was born. And He provided for you from the moment you were born. And He provided for our parents before us and their parents before them. And all of the billions of people that are living, and all of the billions that have lived since the time of Adam. And He continues to do so. And it doesn't diminish anything from His kingdom or His dominion.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2577 — Hadith Qudsi)

Allah says in the hadith al-Qudsi: all of you together were to come upon a single plain, and each one of you was to ask of Allah, and Allah gave each one of you that which you requested — then that will not diminish anything from the kingdom of Allah, except as when you go to the ocean and you place a needle within the ocean and you draw it back, how much does the ocean diminish from that single needle?

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, let us apply this hadith in our lives. Today when you go home, fill up a sink with water, take a glass or a tub of water, show this to yourself and your family and your children — take the tip of a pencil or a needle, place it within that small tub of water, take it out and see how much of that water will diminish. And then apply that example on a vast ocean — the Pacific or the Atlantic, or another ocean across the world. That is the dominion of Allah.

So why then are we afraid that this person may take away from our rizq, or that person may withdraw or withhold something from our provision, or our income may be depleted because of this reason or that reason? Allah says in the Qur'an in Surah al-Mulk:

Are these people able to provide for you, give you your rizq, if Allah withholds rizq from you? If Allah decrees that there is no rizq for you, then it doesn't matter if all of the universe came together to provide. And if Allah decrees that there is rizq for you, then likewise the whole universe can do nothing to take that away from you.

Rizq is Distributed by Allah's Infinite Wisdom

From the essential points of our aqeedah when it comes to this issue of rizq is that we know and we acknowledge, and we have iman in the issue, that the rizq that Allah has distributed amongst us is distributed with His infinite wisdom and mercy. Allah gives rizq, and it's not based upon your lineage or your family name. It's not based upon your qualifications. It's not based upon the color of your skin, or the language that you speak, or the nationality that you hold. It's not based on any of those issues. But it is Allah who decrees and distributes rizq as He pleases.

It is Allah who has given some of you preference over others when it comes to rizq. It is Allah who decides. Not you, not your father, not your boss, not your parents, no one. It is Allah who decrees this.

And that's why it is Allah who, with His infinite wisdom, has decreed that there are some people in this community who may be extremely educated, extremely well-cultured, extremely well-mannered, are very very bright, yet they will have very little rizq. And yet there is someone else within this community who probably doesn't speak a word of English, probably just arrived from abroad, doesn't have any qualifications, but he will be extremely successful and wealthy. That is the decree of Allah. That is what Allah has decreed for us.

Rizq is Already Decreed Before Birth

From the issues of aqeedah that we have concerning this issue of rizq is that which Allah has already prescribed and decreed for you — it will come to you. It will come to you whether you like it or not. And that decree has finished. It was already written much before you were born. Allah already decreed this. So the only thing that is upon us then is to try our best, to go to the best of our abilities to try to attain that rizq.

In the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه, the Prophet ﷺ said:

When we were in the wombs of our mothers, for 40 days we were a drop of sperm. And then for 40 days we were like a blood clot. And then for 40 days we were like a lump of flesh. After 120 days had passed, Allah ordered the angel to come to us when we were still within the wombs of our mothers. The angel came and he was ordered to write four things concerning us: our lifespan, and our rizq, and our actions, and whether we would be from the successful or from the wretched. And then the angel blew into us our spirits. All of this was already done. Allah already decreed this.

So why then do we become jealous of our family members? Of our brothers and our neighbors and our friends and the people within our community? When we see that there are some people who are more affluent than us. People who have more money than us. People that Allah has favored more than us. Why do we become so upset? It's not them. It's not their fault. That is their rizq that Allah wrote for them. And likewise for us, is the rizq that Allah wrote for us.

And that's why the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 2144; classified as Sahih by al-Albani)

That indeed the Holy Spirit Jibreel ﷺ came to the Prophet ﷺ and inspired to him that there is not a single soul — not a single person — that will die until its lifespan has reached its full cycle and until that person takes all of the rizq that Allah had decreed for them. So therefore what do we do? فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَجْمِلُوا فِي الطَّلَبِ — Fear Allah and do things to the best of your ability. Try to the best of your ability to take from the rizq of Allah through halal means. But know that it is something which Allah has decreed.

Wealth is Not a Sign of Allah's Love or Displeasure

From the most important things that we need to know and acknowledge and realize from the issues of aqeedah concerning our rizq: just because someone has more rizq or more wealth or is more affluent, that is not necessarily a sign of the love of Allah. Does it mean that just because someone's rich or they're successful or they have money or they have more cars or houses, that Allah necessarily loves them? Just as it is not a sign that those people who don't have that money, don't have that wealth, that Allah necessarily dislikes or hates them. That is our aqeedah. That is what we believe. It is not a sign of Allah's love or Allah's hate that He gives from His rizq in this life.

Why? Because the dunya is for everyone. And if that reasoning was to be correct, then the disbelievers wouldn't have anything from the rizq of Allah. And the believers would have everything. But as the Prophet ﷺ said to us, this dunya and everything within it, in the sight of Allah, is only equal to the wing of a mosquito. It is worthless, insignificant in the sight of Allah.

And that's why the Prophet ﷺ would spend his time with the weak companions, with the poor companions. Those were the companions that he would share his meals with. Those were the companions that he would share his milk and his water with. Those were the companions that he would look after and he would seek out. The Prophet ﷺ said:

You will only gain success, you will only be victorious, and you will only gain the rizq of Allah through the weak members of your community.

This is something which we've lost now. When we as individuals, or as a community, or as a society, we now look down and frown upon the weak and the poor and the destitute — the orphans and the widows, the people who can no longer look after themselves, who are financially unable to look after their affairs. Whereas the Prophet ﷺ and his companions رضي الله عنهم, they would seek out these people.

Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله عنهما wouldn't break his fast unless there were poor people sitting in the same setting as him. And if there wasn't a poor person with him when he came to the time of breaking his fast, he would say to his family, "You eat," and he would take some food and he would go and seek them out to break his fast. That is how the companions رضي الله عنهم were. And that is why the Prophet ﷺ said: ابْغُونِي ضُعَفَاءَكُمْ — "Bring to me, show me your weak, show me your poor."

The Lesson of Qarun

And that's why in the Qur'an, Allah gave us the example of Qarun — a man whom Allah gave so much wealth, so much of the treasures of the dunya, that to even hold his treasures and the keys to his treasures, he would need الْعُصْبَةَ أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ — the strongest, most able-bodied men just to hold the keys to his treasure. But that thinking of his, that reasoning of his, that logic of his, led him to believe that all of that wealth meant that Allah was pleased with him. And so he became arrogant. And he said:

"All of this I have — it is because of me. My intelligence, my family, my efforts." So what did Allah do to him? What was the example that Allah made for him?

We caused the earth to swallow him up and everything that he possessed and owned.

Spending in the Way of Allah Increases Rizq

From the issues of aqeedah that we have concerning our rizq is that one of the ways that we increase in our rizq, one of the ways that Allah blesses what we already have from our rizq, is that we spend in the way of Allah. As the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2588)

Wealth has never decreased because of giving in charity. And Allah says in the Qur'an:

That which you give from your wealth to other people so that it may increase and multiply in the sight of Allah — it does not multiply or increase. Yes, it may increase for you in the dunya, but in the sight of Allah, it has no significance. But that which you give of zakah, of charity for the sake of Allah, then that is what multiplies in the sight of Allah. That is what will increase. That is what Allah will bless for us and our families.

Second Khutbah

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, when we understand some of these issues that I've mentioned concerning this central issue of rizq — when we understand that rizq is an issue of aqeedah and tawheed, it is part of the belief system that we have, part of the way that our iman is in Allah — when we know and we acknowledge and we understand that rizq is something which Allah distributes with infinite wisdom and mercy, and we understand that it has already been legislated for us and that which was prescribed for us will come to us sooner or later, and when we understand that rizq isn't necessarily a sign that Allah loves you or dislikes you, and we understand how we increase and gain blessings in our rizq — when we understand some of these central issues, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, then we can begin to acknowledge and appreciate why Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه would come and he would give all of his wealth for the sake of Allah, not leaving anything behind for himself or for his family except the love of Allah and the love of his Prophet ﷺ.

When we understand these concepts, we realize and we know why Umar رضي الله عنه came and he gave half of his wealth in charity. When we understand these issues, we begin to appreciate why Uthman رضي الله عنه would give hundreds upon hundreds of camels and horses in the way of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3701; classified as Hasan by al-Tirmidhi)

"Nothing can harm Uthman after today" — because of the sadaqah that he gave. We begin to appreciate the way that the companions رضي الله عنهم وأرضاهم looked at rizq — their concept of rizq, the way that they dealt with this issue of money and wealth and rizq. And this is something which we need to have as well.

The Story of Imam al-Baghawi

Imam al-Baghawi رحمه الله تعالى was one of the famous scholars of tafsir. And when he finished penning and writing his work of tafsir, he didn't have any money to publish the book to spread it amongst the people. And he had spent so much time writing this book that he wanted people to benefit from it, to spread this knowledge. So he heard about a ruler in a far distant land that would give money for these types of projects, for da'wah, for spreading the religion of Allah. So Imam al-Baghawi embarked on a ship and he made his way towards that land.

That ship every so often would dock and people would embark and disembark. So on one of those ports, a man came on and he began to speak to Imam al-Baghawi. And when he realized who he was talking to, he said, "Are you the same Imam al-Baghawi, the one who wrote a famous work of tafsir?" He replied yes. The man asked him, "So what are you doing on this ship?" And Imam al-Baghawi said that he had written this work but people couldn't benefit from it, so he wanted to go and seek help from this man — ask him for some money, some financial help, so that he could help him.

So the man replied and he said, "O Imam, within your work of tafsir, in Surah al-Fatihah — the most oft-recited surah of the Qur'an — when you came across the verse of Allah, the fourth verse of Surah al-Fatihah:"

"You, O Allah, alone do we worship, and You, O Allah, alone do we seek any help or assistance from" — what was the tafsir of that verse?

So Imam al-Baghawi began to narrate from memory what he mentioned in his tafsir. And as he was narrating to the man, he realized why the man chose that verse — what the man was trying to tell him. That he shouldn't need to go to this person and that person. Allah has decreed his rizq for him. Before doing anything else, he should have first returned to Allah.

So Imam al-Baghawi, at the next port, disembarked and he went home. He didn't go to that ruler. And after some weeks or some months, that ruler had heard about Imam al-Baghawi and his work of tafsir, so he sent him enough money to publish his book.

Conclusion: Correcting Our Aqeedah on Rizq

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, when it comes to this issue of rizq, this doesn't mean that we don't work. It doesn't mean that we don't open businesses. It doesn't mean that we don't try our best. The point and the purpose of this khutbah was that before we do any of that, before we take any of those steps, the first step that we should have is our aqeedah — to correct our belief when it comes to this issue of rizq. To return to Allah. To have that trust in Allah, that reliance upon Allah. To seek this rizq from Allah and Allah alone, before anything and everything else.