إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَبْسُطُ ٱلرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيَقْدِرُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِۦ خَبِيرًۢا بَصِيرًا 30
Translations
Indeed, your Lord extends provision for whom He wills and restricts [it]. Indeed He is ever, concerning His servants, Aware and Seeing.
Transliteration
Inna rabbaka yabsutu ar-rizqa liman yasha'u wa yaqdur. Innahu kana bi-ibaadihi khabeeran baseerah.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah establishes that Allah alone controls the provision (rizq) granted to His servants—expanding it for whom He wills and restricting it for whom He wills—according to His perfect wisdom and divine plan. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir emphasize that this distribution of sustenance is not arbitrary but based on Allah's complete knowledge and observation of His servants' needs, circumstances, and spiritual states. The ayah concludes by affirming that Allah is both Khabir (All-Aware of hidden matters and intentions) and Basir (All-Seeing of apparent conditions), underscoring His comprehensive knowledge that renders His distribution of rizq perfectly just.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Al-Isra, a Meccan surah emphasizing divine attributes and wisdom during a period when early Muslims faced economic hardship and social oppression. The broader context of this surah addresses God's sovereignty and justice, with this particular verse serving to console believers that their material circumstances are divinely ordained and reflect divine wisdom rather than chance or injustice.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Provision is with Allah, and no one provides except Allah' (reported in various hadith collections). Additionally, in Surah Al-Qasas 28:82, the Quran relates the story of Qarun whose wealth was not a sign of divine favor, reinforcing the lesson that rizq distribution reflects divine wisdom, not human merit alone.
Themes
Key Lesson
Believers should trust that their provision—whether abundant or limited—is decreed by Allah with complete knowledge of what benefits them spiritually and materially, liberating them from envy, greed, and anxiety about sustenance. This ayah encourages contentment and reliance on Allah while promoting the understanding that material inequality reflects divine wisdom rather than divine favoritism or neglect.