The Provider is the Lord
When Prophet Musa (Moses) and his brother Aaron went to the Pharaoh of
Egypt, conveying God’s message, Moses told Pharaoh: We are your Lord’s
messenger to ask you to free the people of Israel, so that they may come with
us (20:49). Pharaoh asked Moses: “So who is your Lord, O Moses? He said: Our
Lord is He Who gave to everything its (peculiar) nature, and then guided it” (20:49-50).
The egoism and the arrogance of many rulers or responsible often make
them forget the real Lord of the worlds. The Pharaoh of Egypt was a pattern of
that:
“And Pharaoh said: O (members of the) Council, I do not know of any god for you
other than me..” (28:38). Pharaoh
proudly pointed to the rivers, saying that all those rivers were of his
dominion, and did not think that the whole country was a bounty of God: “And
Pharaoh proclaimed among his people: O my people, does not the dominion over
Egypt belong to me, and these rivers flowing beneath me? Do you not perceive?” (43:51).
The real Lord is the Almighty, Who created the whole universe, and takes
care of everything. The real Lord is He who gave every creation its peculiar nature, then guided it and has created
all that is in the universe for the use of mankind. He then has forbidden
mankind to claim that there is any power that could rival God: “..
So whoever hopes to encounter his Lord, let him do righteous work and not
ascribe unto anyone or anything a share in the worship of his Lord” (18:110).
God has guided every creation to act, or to produce something for the
benefit of the other. This is how God governs the universe. Each being will do
that naturally, except human being and Jinn, who are under trial. They are
given the option to do the job properly or not, and then they will be repaid
for their actions.
The Act we are demanded to do
What is expected from human being is THE ACT OF GIVING. God has given
him/her the faculty of doing, earning, producing and giving: if they do their
duty properly with the intention of doing it for the cause of God alone, they will
be victorious. However, if they do it for any other cause, it means they have
ascribed a share in the worship of God to someone or something aside God.
God has stated in the Qur’an that in confronting this worldly trial,
human beings can be very different: those who have good intention to do the job
properly, to give and to produce nice things for the society will succeed, and there
are others who are egoists, niggardly and neglect God’s guidance: “Assuredly
your efforts are diverse: as for him who gives (to others) and is conscious of
God, and affirms the ultimate good, We shall make easy the path towards
ultimate ease. But as for him who is niggardly, and thinks that he is
self-sufficient, and denies the ultimate good, We shall surely ease his way to
hardship, and his wealth (in this world) shall not avail him when he perished” (92:4-11).
So it is for each person to choose his destiny; he who wants God to ease
his way to the best destiny should make the effort of following the right
guidance. And he who does not care about God’s guidance is worth to be
neglected by Him:
“..
then whoever follows My guidance shall not go astray, neither shall he be
miserable; but whoever disregards My remembrance, his shall be a straitened
life, and on the Day of Resurrection We shall bring him to the assembly, blind.
He shall say: My Lord, why you raised me up blind, whereas (on earth) I was
endowed with sight? God will say: Thus it is: there came to you Our messages,
but you went oblivious of them, and so you shall be today consigned to
oblivion!” (20:123-126).
God is the Creator, the Provider of sustenance for all creation. He is
completely independent, and all creation depends on Him, He is the Lord of all
might, and His Power is eternal: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind
except that they may worship Me (= taking My guidance as their way of life). I
do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me. Indeed it
is God who is the Provider, the Lord of all Might, the steadfast forever” (51:36-38).
The Provider’s Plan
Now, let us ponder on how God, the Provider distributes the provision to
human beings. In fact God does not provide his bounty as the recipients wish,
but according to a definite Plan of His: “Whoever desires the hasty world, We hasten
for him therein whatever We will, for whom We please. Then We appoint for him
Hell, to which he will be exposed, condemned, and rejected. And whoever desires
the Hereafter and strives for it with the necessary efforts being a believer –
for such their effort will find favour. Each We supply to these and to those
from your Lord’s bounty. And your Lord’s
bounty is not confined” (17:18-20).
We could grasp the Provider’s Plan for human being as follows:
For those who deny God’s guidance, and follow only their own whims and
desire the hasty world, the Provider will give each a portion, depending on his
effort but also according to what God pleases, so to be in accordance with His
whole Plan. And for those who follow God’s guidance and desire good life in the
Hereafter, the Provider will give each of them a portion, depending on his
effort, but also depending on his enterprise in giving and providing for the
needy, because indeed, this is one of the most important parts of the test that
was given to him during this worldly life. Then he will get multiple rewards in
the Hereafter:
“The
parable of those who expend their wealth in the way of God is that of a grain
out of which grow seven ears, in every ear a hundred grains: for God grants manifold
increase unto whom He wills; and God is Embracing, Knowing. Those who expend
their wealth for the sake of God and do not mar their spending by stressing
their own benevolence and hurting (the feelings of the needy) shall have their
reward with their Lord, and no fear shall befall them, neither shall they
grieve!” (2:261-262).
The act of giving, which is demanded
by God (the Provider) is ultimately not for His benefit, but from human beings to
their fellow men and for other creatures too, in certain circumstances. And what
is to be given is not only material, but can also be embodied in good action or
behaviour. Prophet Muhammad (peace and
God’s blessings be upon him) said: “Every
good action is a charity; and among the good action is when you meet your
fellow-man with a smiling face; also when you pour water from your bucket into
the bowl of your fellow-man” (Narrated by Jabir
and recorded by Tirmidhi in his Collection of Hadith).
The Rights of the Needy
In the time of the Prophet, some people asked him: what should they
expend? The answer came directly from God in a revelation, saying: “And
they asked you what they should expend, say: Whatever you can spare. So God
makes clear His signs to you that you might reflect” (2:219).
In general we can say that the surplus on the possession of the wealthy
people is a due share for the needy. The Qur’an indicates that the faithful
Muslims are those in whose wealth (in case they are wealthy of course) there is
a specified right for the needy: “and in whose possessions there is a due
share, acknowledged (by them) for such as ask (for help) and such as are deprived”
(70:24-25).
So whatever we spend to relieve the needy should be for those who are
really in need whether they are good or bad, on the right path or not, Muslims
or otherwise: “It is not for you to make people follow the right path since it is God
(alone) who guides whom He wills. And whatever good you expend is for your own
good, provided that you spend only out of longing for God’s countenance for
whatever you may spend will be repaid unto you in full, and you shall not be
wronged” (2:272).
However, the closest to you, such as relatives or neighbours in need of
help, are the ones who have the priority to receive it. Furthermore, the Qur’an indicates that restraining oneself in his
rage, forgiving a person who insults him/her and doing virtuous deeds are among
the demanded acts of giving (see: Qur’an, 3:133-134).
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