Ar-Razzāq (The All-Provider)
You become hungry and thirsty and then your hunger and thirst are quenched; you become needy and then your needs are fulfilled; you suffer sleeplessness, and then you are able to sleep; you get sick and you then recover; debts are repaid; sustenance becomes abundant; prisoners get released; and darkness goes away,
{...But perhaps Allah will bring conquest or a decision from Him...}
[Surat al-Mā’idah: 52]
If needs, grave matters, and distressful issues, debts, and financial difficulties come to you from all directions, you have to turn to the All-Provider, Who removes grief and anguish and answers the supplication of the distressed.
Get close to the All-Provider and ponder this name, which brings a sense of tranquility and reassurance.
{Indeed, it is Allah Who is the All-Provider, the Possessor of Power, the Strong}
[Surat adh-Dhāriyāt: 58]
Our Lord is the All-Provider. He undertakes to provide for His servants, sustains the creation, and encompasses all in His sustenance and mercy. He does not discriminate in this regard between believers and allies and disbelievers and enemies. In fact, He sends sustenance to the weak and the strong alike, and He sends it to the embryo in its mother’s womb, the bird in its nest, the snake in its
burrow, and the fish in the sea.
{And how many a creature carries not its [own] provision. Allah provides for it and for you. And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.}
[Surat al-‘Ankabūt: 60]
This name occurs in the Qur’an once in the singular form and five times in the plural form.
“Ar-Razzāq” comes in a superlative form so as to reassure us and make us know that He is a generous Lord and thus our hearts get attached to Him.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
“A man became needy and he got out to the wilderness. Thereupon, his wife said: ‘O Allah, provide for us so that we can make dough and bread.’ When he returned, he found the bowl full of dough, something was being roasted in the furnace, and the hand mill was operating. He asked: ‘Where has this come from?’ She replied: ‘From the provision of Allah.’ He swept what was around the hand mill. Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said:‘If he had left it, it would have continued to revolve -or grind -till the Day of Judgment.’”
[Narrated by Al-Tabarāni in Al-Mu‘jam Al-Awsat; Sahīh (authentic)]
