Adh-Dhariyat · Makki · ayah 58 of 60

Adh-Dhariyat 51:58

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلرَّزَّاقُ ذُو ٱلْقُوَّةِ ٱلْمَتِينُ

“Indeed, it is Allāh who is the [continual] Provider,[1548] the firm possessor of strength.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah gives without ever taking back and is strong without ever needing help: a back that never bends, for every weight you lean on it.

A reflection

The only Provider who takes nothing back

Al-Razzāq is an intensive form: not simply 'one who provides', but the One who provides abundantly, constantly, to everyone. One classical commentator explained why the intensive was needed here. Many people provide, he observed. A man provides for his child. A king provides for his army. But the same man looks for provision from others, and the same king levies taxes from those he pays. Human providers give with one hand and take with the other.

Only the One who provides without limit can be free of seeking provision. That is why, the commentator said, the ayah does not merely say Allah provides. It says He is al-Razzāq, the Provider in the fullest sense, the One who never needs to take.

Picture a local businessman who sponsors a youth football team. He pays for the kit, the minibus, the pitch hire. Every shirt carries his company's logo across the chest. His son is always in the starting line-up. Nobody says it, but everyone understands. The giving came with a price.

Most human giving has some return built into it: gratitude, influence, a good name, a quiet sense of being above the one who receives. That is not always wicked. It is simply human. Our hands are never only open.

This is where pride is humbled. We like to think of ourselves as providers, for our families, our staff, our causes. The ayah gently reminds us that we are channels, and that even our giving is mixed with taking. There is only one Provider whose hand is open and never closes back.

A doubt may follow. Is Allah praising Himself because He wants our admiration? The ayah's context answers it. This sentence explains why He wants nothing from us (51:57). It is not a demand. It is the reason we owe Him nothing but worship, and the reason we need never fear asking Him.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.