Allah’s Promise of Provision and Reliance Upon Him
Discourse of His Eminence Pir Sahib, may Allah have mercy on him,
delivered on 31st January 1987
Discourse # 76
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
فَنِعۡمَ الۡمَوۡلٰی وَ نِعۡمَ النَّصِیۡرُ
رَبِِّ اشۡرَحۡ لِیۡ صَدۡرِیۡ وَیَسِّرۡ لِیۡۤ اَمۡرِیۡ وَ احۡلُلۡ عُقۡدَۃً مِّنۡ لِّسَانِیۡ یَفۡقَہُوۡاقَوۡلِیۡ
اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِ عَلٰی سَیّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍوَّعَلٰی اٰلِ سَیِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍوَّعَلٰی اَصْحَابِہٖ وَعَلٰی اَذْوَاجِہٖ اَجْمَعِیْنَ وَبَارِکْ وَسَلِمْ وَصَلِ عَلَیْہٖ
اَ لْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ
The Almighty Allah be praised that the Master of All Sovereignty once again granted us today the opportunity to gather in His remembrance and pleasure. Millions and billions of blessings and salutations upon the Leader of the Prophets, the Beloved of Allah, Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa, peace and blessings be upon him, through whom this grace has been granted.
Respected listeners! Allah Almighty has said in the Holy Qur’an:
وَمَا مِنْ دَاۗبَّةٍ فِي الْاَرْضِ اِلَّا عَلَي اللّٰهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَــقَرَّهَا وَمُسْـتَوْدَعَهَا ۭ كُلٌّ فِيْ كِتٰبٍ مُّبِيْنٍ
Translation.
And there is no living creature on the earth except that its provision is upon Allah Almighty, and He knows its dwelling place and its place of rest. Everything is recorded in a clear book.
Verse 6, Surah Hud.
Upon hearing and believing in this command of Allah Almighty, all of a person’s worries fade away. Only one concern remains: that the Lord who created him and bestowed everything upon him will one day call him to account for all these things. Therefore, he should be careful never to earn his displeasure and should live exactly as he wills. So that he is not ashamed in the Hereafter or subjected to the curse of eternal punishment. Yet human beings are so ungrateful and unwise that even while claiming to be Muslims and professing faith in the Qur’an, and despite knowing all this, they spend all their time worrying and striving, lawfully or unlawfully, to provide for themselves and their dependents. For those who truly believe in the Qur’anic verses, such a person’s entire effort is nothing but the futile attempt of a madman. Such a person is either insane, preoccupied and anxious over something that has already been guaranteed to him, or—God forbid—a hypocrite who claims with his tongue to believe in Allah and His Book, but in practice denies it. He neglects the time meant for the remembrance of Allah and spends his days and nights on that which Allah has already taken responsibility for.
When the people of the Ash’ari tribe migrated to Madinah, all their food and drink had run out. They sent one of their men to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to ask for provisions. When he reached the door, he heard the Prophet inside reciting the verse: “And there is no creature on earth except that its provision rests with Allah.” The man thought, “If Allah has taken responsibility for all creatures, surely we Ash’aris are not less in His sight; He’ll certainly provide for us.” So he went back without saying anything to the Prophet about their situation. He told his companions, “Rejoice! Allah’s help is on the way.” They assumed he must have spoken to the Prophet and received a promise, so they sat at ease. They had only just sat down when they saw two men bringing a large vessel filled with meat and bread. The men handed the food to the Ash’aris. They ate to their fill, yet still some remained. They thought it best to send what was left to the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, so he could distribute it. So, they gave it to two of their men and sent them to him. Later, all of them came into his presence and said, “O Messenger of Allah, the food you sent was plentiful, delicious, and excellent.” He replied, “I did not send any food.” They then recounted the entire story and said, “We had sent one of our men to you. When he came back, his reply made us think that you had sent the food.” Hearing this, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “It was not I who sent it, but the Most Holy One who has taken responsibility for the provision of every living creature.”
It is mentioned in some narrations that when Prophet Musa, peace be upon him, reached Mount Tur in search of fire, he was instead blessed with prophethood and messenger-ship. He was commanded to go and warn Pharaoh in Egypt. At that moment, he thought about his sick wife, whom he had left behind in the wilderness, and wondered who would care for her. To correct this thought, Allah Almighty commanded him to strike the rock before him with his staff. He obeyed, and the rock split open, revealing another rock inside. He was commanded to strike that one as well, and when he did, it split again, revealing yet another rock. He was told to strike again. When he did, a creature emerged from within, holding a green leaf in its mouth. Musa, peace be upon him, attained complete certainty. From there, he set out straight for Egypt, without even feeling the need to tell his wife that he had been commanded to go.
Respected audience, it is strange that, despite repeatedly saying our Master is Allah and the Qur’an is the truth, when the time for remembering Allah comes, we become worried about the provision of our family. How thoughtless is that, or how weak is our faith? These Awraad-e-Paak are the remembrance of Allah, Who is All-Powerful, who knows our dwellings and our needs. We should be concerned only with His remembrance. And at such a precious time, we should sacrifice everything and engage only in His remembrance, and extend our hands before Him, saying: O Lord of all the worlds, we are grateful that You have granted us the divine enablement and opportunity to remember You. Grant us Your blessings tomorrow as well. And now grant us steadfastness upon this Straight Path, as You bestowed upon Your trusting servants honor in both religious and worldly matters, and granted them devotion to, and love for, Yourself and Your Beloved Prophet (PBUH).
Let us begin.
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
The blessed Aurad-e-Naziriyah were recited, and supplication was made.
