وَيَرزُقهُ مِن حَيثُ لا يَحتَسِبُ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّل عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسبُهُ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بالِغُ أَمرِهِ ۚ قَد جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيءٍ قَدرًا
And provide for him from whence he does not reckon. And whoever puts his trust in Allah, He will suffice him. Indeed, Allah carries through His command. Certainly Allah has set a measure for everything.
EXEGESIS
Yaḥtasib (reckon) and ḥasb both come from the same root of ḥ-s-b. Ḥisāb literally means to utilise numbers, in other words, to count something. Even in English, the expression ‘I didn’t count on it’ is utilised to express consideration and deliberation. So lā yaḥtasib means in a way that one did not count on or take into account.
Ḥasb (sufficient), is used to refer to something being enough, such as Allah is sufficient (ḥasb) for us (3:173), or Let hell suffice them (58:8), meaning God will suffice the believer in all the good things that he may wish or the happiness that he wishes to achieve.
The link between the two words yaḥtasib and ḥasb is rather obvious; the provision of God is always sufficient for His servants. There is also a link with the usage of ḥasb here and verse 8 that talks about God taking the defiant disbelievers into account (ḥisāb). There is a juxtaposition of two contrasting accountings; while the disbelievers are dealt with a severe account (verse 8), the one who relies on God can be sure that He will suffice him in all good things, including, of course, an easy accounting (see 84:8).
Amr (command), was also discussed in verse 1. In this verse it has the meaning of His measured decree (tadbīr), meaning that whatever God decrees will come to pass.
Qadr (measure) in this verse means that God has, with His power, determined that everything should have a specific allotment, neither exceeding that nor falling short of it. It is the command of God that decrees how and when everything should occur, and nothing happens but by His leave and decree, hence everything has a specific measure.
We may finally note the usage of enjambment, as the sentence continues from the previous verse directly. We should also note that the previous verse also ended with a slightly aberrant rhyme scheme. Whereas the other verses in the surah end with an un-vocalised consonant followed by a consonant vocalised by the ā sound (specifically rā, except for the last two verses, which we shall discuss later), the previous verse ended with a vocalised consonant followed by ja, namely makhraja. This, of course, rolls smoother from the tongue and causes the pause at the end of the verse to be less abrupt, as an un-vocalised consonant near the end of the word is much heavier of a pause. This all of course plays in nicely to the enjambment.
EXPOSITION
This verse can be considered the climax of the surah; in other words, the main theme of the surah is really highlighted here.
Enjambment is utilised here to leave the reader in anticipation of what is to come. Even though the last statement of the previous verse is an independent thought (And whoever is wary of Allah, He shall make a way out for him), it is complemented by the following statement, so there is a payoff to the anticipation and we are informed of another additional blessing given to the God-wary. This second blessing is a worldly benefit, namely that God will provide for him from whence he does not reckon.
As the context is about divorce, we understand that the husband should not worry about the money he spends on the divorce in order to provide for his ex-wife but should know that abiding by God’s command will bring an increase in provision in ways that he could not have guessed or foreseen.
This is where God-wariness (taqwā) and reliance on God (tawakkul), go hand-in-hand. The one who relies on God, by depending on His mercy and trusting in His wisdom, will come to see that He will suffice him. When God promises to suffice someone, that person should have no worries.
It is interesting to note that in both marriage and divorce, the promise of provision is made by God. God encourages the unmarried to seek marriage, even if they are not wealthy, promising them that If they are poor, Allah will enrich them out of His grace (24:32), probably because both are situations in which financial worries are common.
This is of course the central theme of the surah; if one seeks to fulfil their religious and moral obligations to God, and submits to the legislative command of God, God will decree bounty for them in His cosmological command. As will be shown in the following section, reliance on God does not mean praying for provision to fall from the sky, but rather it means to submit to God’s decree, to obey His commands, having faith, and trusting that God will look after one’s affairs and bring about the best outcome. It is, in essence, an act of submission, because whether one submits or not, Indeed Allah carries through His command.
There is nothing that can bar God from fulfilling his command, because Allah judges, and there is none who may repeal His judgement (13:41). When human beings perceive that they seemingly affect outcomes of things and that they overcome difficulties through certain means, it is only insofar as these means return to the power of God. Man is capable of performing actions only so far as God allows. When God decrees that something happens, it will certainly happen; His command, when He wills something, is to say to it ‘Be’ and it is (36:81). Hence, the only path to true success is to submit to God’s command and have faith and trust that it will bring about the best outcome. This is the meaning of true submission and reliance.
This is why this statement is followed by a final and critically important reminder that everything is known to God and everything happens by His will. His orders are not like that of a mortal sovereign who, even if he be just, could sometimes be mistaken out of ignorance and bring harm to his subjects unwilfully, rather Allah has set a measure for everything.
There is another meaning to the statement, certainly Allah has set a measure for everything. As the previous verses discussed the waiting period and keeping it accurately, here we are reminded that just as God has placed a specific measure for those things, He has done that with everything else in His creation as well.
Hence, the thematic interplay between the measure (qadr) of all things and the bounds (ḥudūd) of God’s laws – mentioned in the first verse of this surah – should not be lost on the careful reader. God’s cosmological command is always carried out, and even though a human being may choose to rebel against God’s legislative command, they will not bring harm to God or His plan, but rather only hurt themselves.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- From Ali ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘What did ʿUmar ibn Muslim do?’ To which Ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz replied: ‘May I be your ransom, he turned to worship and abandoned business.’ The Imam replied: ‘Woe to him, does he not know that the one who abandons pursuit will not be answered? Some of the companions of the Messenger of God (s) closed their doors and turned to worship when this verse was revealed: And whoever is wary of Allah, He shall make a way out for him, and provide for him from whence he does not reckon, saying “this is sufficient for us”. The news of this reached the Prophet (s) and he sent for them, and said: “What made you do what you did?” to which they replied: “O Messenger of God, we have been promised provision so we have turned to worship.” So he said to them: “The one who does that will not be answered. You are obligated to pursue.”’
Note: The narration is quite clear in that the philosophy of reliance on God is not simply awaiting divine intervention, but rather completing one’s effort while abandoning stress and worry. Regardless, Rāzī has used this verse to argue that it is ‘unnecessary to conduct financial effort (kasb) when seeking provision’. The flaw of this opinion is obvious in the light of this and other narrations, and other verses of the Quran.
- In another tradition it is mentioned that this verse was revealed about ʿAwf ibn Mālik, whose son was taken captive by an enemy tribe. When he informed the Prophet about his worries, the Prophet instructed him to rely on God and say the phrase ‘there is no might and no power except by God’. ʿAwf then did so and one day he was surprised by his son entering the door, who had used a moment that his captors were distracted to escape, even taking one of their camels with him in the process.
Note: It is highly unlikely that this verse was revealed on such an occasion since it has nothing to do with the context of the verses. It is more likely simply a good example of a manifestation of this part of the verse.
- From Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), that And provide for him from whence he does not reckon means God will ‘bless (yubārik) him in that which He has given’.
Note: This is a very important point to consider, as the quality that makes provision truly beneficial to a person is not its amount, but that it has blessing (barakah). A smaller provision that is accompanied by blessing, is always better than a large amount that ends up a trial (fitnah).
- From, Ismāʿīl al-Sakūnī, from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), though his fathers, that Imam Ali (a) said: ‘Whomever is given his sustenance by God without having taken a step with his foot towards it, or extended his hand, or spoken with his tongue, or wrapped himself tightly in his clothes, and has not striven towards it, he is of the ones regarding whom God – mighty and glorious – has said in His book: And whoever is wary of Allah, He shall make a way out for him, and provide for him from whence he does not reckon.’
- It is reported that ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān came to know that the sword of the Prophet was with Imam al-Sajjād (a), so he wrote to him asking for it, saying he needed it. The Imam refused to comply, so ʿAbd al-Malik wrote to him again, threatening him, saying he would cut off his provision from the government stipend of the public treasury. The Imam then answered him, saying: ‘Certainly God has guaranteed a way out for the God-wary from the things that they dislike, and provision from whence they did not count. And He – glorious be His remembrance – has said: Indeed Allah does not like any ingrate traitor [22:38], so consider: which of us is more akin to this verse?’
- From Thawbān, that the Prophet said: ‘Certainly, a servant [of God] prohibits provision through sins that he commits, and nothing will change the decree except supplication, and nothing will increase the lifespan except acts of virtue.’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Tabatabai says that there is a deeper and wider meaning to this verse and the final statement of the previous one, more than just the matter of divorce. He argues that a believer who is God-wary in the true meaning of the word will only achieve that through knowledge of the names and attributes of God, which leads him to abandon sin, and to take care of his obligations purely for the sake of God. This necessitates that he does not want except what God wants, amalgamating his desire in God’s, and not doing anything except that it agrees with God’s will. This in turn will result in him not seeing himself as the owner of anything except that he sees God as its owner. This is the meaning of the guardianship (wilāyah) of God. It is at this point that God will save him from the confines of delusions and the prison of associating others with God, by attributing things to other than Him. To Tabatabai this is the true meaning of And whoever is wary of Allah, He shall make a way out for him, and provide for him from whence he does not reckon. The way out is thus an escape from false beliefs and unfounded notions.
As for the provision, the believer may have looked at it in a superficial way before, thinking it came from this or that source, unaware of the full picture. In this way, Tabatabai describes him as a person sitting by a campfire at night, only seeing a little bit, not aware of his actual surroundings and what is happening around him. God, however, is fully aware of all these things and is in full control of them all, and thus can bring provision to the believer from whence he does not reckon. More important than that though is the spiritual provision, which is the true provision since it is what truly sustains him and is unending, and is brought to the believer in a way that he is completely unaware of, as these matters are beyond his capability to perceive and comprehend.
So it is that the believer will come to not falsely rely on himself, thinking that he can provide for himself. He will understand that in reality these things are out of his control. Rather, he will come to rely on God, knowing that God is not like an ordinary actor, sometimes failing and sometimes succeeding, but rather that Allah carries through His command always, and that everything is encompassed by His decree, as Allah has set a measure for everything.
Certainly, such a steadfast faith is a lofty position and is what elevates a believer to the status of the close friends of God (awliyāʾ), and anyone in this position shall be given from God’s bounties, as Allah is the guardian (walī) of the God-wary (45:19).
Faḍl-Allāh criticises this interpretation as being overly mystical and philosophical, and that it represents a departure far from the apparent meaning of the verse and its central logic. According to him, the verse is not too dissimilar from other verses that, for example, promise the rewards of heaven or divine aid to those who believe and are God-wary. However, it may be said by counter-argument that Faḍl-Allāh is looking at the verse somewhat superficially.
Ṭanṭāwī says that the final sentence, Allah has set a measure for everything, is really an explanation of what has come before it, starting from And whoever is wary of Allah, He shall make a way out for him. Ṭanṭāwī says a reader of these statements and these rewards may think to himself that there is no way he can achieve those things, so God reminds him in the end that Allah has set a measure for everything; in other words, ‘do not become despaired, O man’.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
- The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
[1] Raghib, pp. 232-234.
[2] Mizan, 19/314.
[3] Tibyan, 10/33.
[4] Tibyan, 10/33.
[5] Another tool used to create the sense of continuation is the omission of the subject from the statement. In the other three statements in this verse, the subject – Allah – is repeated each time (And whoever puts his trust in Allah, He will suffice him. Indeed Allah carries through His command. Certainly Allah has set a measure for everything); this acts as an emphasis that it is all going back to Him, however, in this first statement the subject of God is only mentioned in the previous verse (And whoever is wary of Allah, He shall make a way out for him).
[6] Razi, 30/562. Tabatabai mentions that the provision could also be referring to a spouse (Mizan, 19/314).
[7] Mizan, 19/314.
[8] Tabrisi, 10/461; Tabari, 28/90-91.
[9] Remember the first verse of this surah: whoever transgresses the bounds of Allah certainly wrongs himself.
[10] Kafi, 5/84; Faqih, 3/192; Tahdhib, 6/323; Wasail, 17/28.
[11] Razi, 30/562. He also mentions the verse, And when the prayer is finished disperse through the land and seek Allah’s grace (62:10), saying that some have used it to argue that one should go out to seek provision. He then denies this, saying the verse is only stating that it is permissible to go out.
[12] See for example 19:25 and 94:7.
[13] Suyuti, 6/232-233; Thalabi, 9/336.
[14] Tabrisi, 10/461.
[15] Faqih, 3/166.
[16] Manaqib, 3/303; Nur, 5/357.
[17] Ahmad, 5/277; Ibn Majah, 2/1334; Tabarani, 2/100; Suyuti, 6/233.
[18] Mizan, 19/314-316.
[19] Fadlallah, 22/291-292.
[20] Tantawi, 14/450.
[21] Romans 8:28.
[22] Psalms 145:18-19.