Al-Razzaaq – The One who Provides for the Entire Creation

On one occasion, during the time of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), a group of Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) from the tribe of Banu Al-Ash’ar traveled from Yemen to Madinah Munawwarah to perform hijrah.

After reaching the blessed city of Madinah Munawwarah, they found that the food which they had brought with them was finished. Since they now had nothing to eat, they decided to send one of the companions from their group to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to ask him to arrange some food for them.

The Sahaabi set out for the home of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), but as he reached the door of the home of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), he heard Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) reciting the following verse of the Quraan Majeed:

وَ مَا مِنۡ دَآبَّۃٍ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ اِلَّا عَلَی اللّٰہِ رِزۡقُہَا وَ یَعۡلَمُ مُسۡتَقَرَّہَا وَ مُسۡتَوۡدَعَہَا ؕ کُلٌّ فِیۡ کِتٰبٍ مُّبِیۡنٍ ﴿۶﴾

The meaning of this verse is that Allah Ta‘ala is the One who provides food and sustenance for every living creature.

When the Sahaabi heard this verse of the Quraan Majeed, he thought to himself, “What is the need to ask Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) for food when Allah Ta‘ala Himself has taken the responsibility to provide food for the entire creation?”

With this thought in his mind, he did not ask Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to provide food for his people. Instead, he turned away from the door and went back to his people.

On returning to his people, he addressed them saying, “O my friends! Be happy, because the help of Allah is soon coming to you!” When he said these words, his people thought that he had asked Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) for food, and Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said that he will soon send food for them, and that is why their companion was telling them to be happy.

A little while later, they saw two men coming towards them, carrying a large tray filled with meat and bread. The two men gave them all the food and left. These Sahaabah then sat down and enjoyed the food.

After they had eaten, they found that there was still some food remaining in the tray. Since they thought that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had sent the food for them, they felt that they should return the remaining food to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) so that he could use it as he pleased. Hence, they told two of their companions to take the food back to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).

Later on, when they all came to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), they thanked him for the food and said to him that they had not tasted food as delicious as the food that he had sent to them. When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) heard this, he was quite surprised and said to them, “I did not send any food to you.”

They then explained to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) that they had sent one of their companions to him to ask him to arrange some food for them, and when he came back, he told them that the help of Allah will soon come to them. This is why they thought that the food they had received had been sent by Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) himself.

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) then called the Sahaabi whom they had sent and asked him why he did not ask Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) for food for his people. He then told Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) what had happened.

After hearing the entire story, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) told them that the food they received was not sent by him, but rather it was sent to them directly from Allah Ta‘ala.

Lessons:

1. One of the special names of Allah Ta‘ala is Al-Razzaaq. The name Al-Razzaaq means “the One who Provides for the entire creation”. Everything that we have, whether it is food that we eat, something that we drink or the clothes that we wear – it is given to us by Allah Ta‘ala. We must always be grateful to Allah Ta‘ala for whatever He has given us and must make sure that we do not waste anything.
2. At times, we receive things from our parents, family people or friends as gifts. All these things are in actual fact the favors of Allah Ta‘ala which we enjoy, and Allah Ta‘ala has commanded us that we must be grateful to Him for giving us these favors, and we must also be grateful to those through whom Allah Ta‘ala gave us these favors, such as our parents. In the Qur’aan Majeed, Allah Ta‘ala informs us that if we are grateful to Him, then He will bless us with even more favours.