Romance Is Rizq... But So Is Everything Else | Allah’s Names | Dr. Omar Suleiman | Ep. 21

The Provider Who Gives Without Measure

Every time Zakaria would enter upon Maryam, he would find that she already had her food. And it wasn't ordinary. It was fruits out of season and things she had no business having.

So he finally asks her one day, and she said:

It is from Allah. Verily, He provides to whom He wills without any measure. As we just finished speaking about Al-Hasib, who accounts for every Adam on the Day of Judgment.

Imagine if he accounted for every breath that we take in this world. We'd all be ruined. But the accountant himself is generous with his good.

A Du'a Rooted in Gratitude

So what does Zakaria alayhis salaam do? He doesn't go to the corner and make du'a, citing the miracle of Maryam as the pretext for what he's about to ask. He thanks Allah for all the blessings He's already provided him with:

My Lord, I have never been disappointed in calling you.

Because the way that Allah provides for us in the most ordinary sense of the word is already a miracle. And he didn't want his blessing of a child just for the sake of a child. He wanted his rizq, his child, to be a rizq for the deen.

So it wasn't the blessing itself he was seeking, but the rizq, the pleasure of Allah. When you ask Allah for money or position or whatever it is that you're going to ask, ask Him to give you something to please Him with, not just to please yourself. Because rizq isn't just some sort of a paycheck.

A Relationship with Ar-Razzaq

It's a relationship to Allah's name, الرزاق, the provider. Hatim ibn al-Asam, rahimahu Allah, he says:

I saw everyone around me doubting their rizq. And I trusted Allah because I read that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wrote:

There is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision.

And I realized that I'm one of those creatures. So I stopped preoccupying myself with what my Lord has already guaranteed for me.

Two Streams of Provision

But how does Allah send it? The difference isn't in the effort. It's in the heart behind the effort. So you work like it depends on you, but you rest like it's already written. The scholars mentioned that rizq arrives through two streams.

First, by your sa'i, your striving. You polish the resume, you apply yourself, you show up, you work hard, and the paycheck comes. Second is rizq by surprise. مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ From places you would have never imagined. Both of them are from ar-Razzaq.

So you take the means on your own, but you trust ar-Razzaq to either bless those very means or to send you something from somewhere that you never expected.

And the Prophet ﷺ said that if you were to trust Allah as He should be trusted:

(Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2344)

He would provide for you just as He provides for the birds. They leave hungry in the morning, and they return full in the evening. But notice, the birds fly to their provision.

So trust Allah with the sky, but you still have to fly. Because what Allah sends you from the heavens always has a purpose.

Provision as Invitation

In fact, sometimes ar-Razzaq will provide to a sinner as a means of inviting them back to Him. The Prophet ﷺ said that there was once a man who went out at night, and he decided that tonight I'm going to give sadaqah. So he went out secretly, and he handed that money to someone, and then he left. And then in the morning he heard the people saying, that last night someone gave charity to a thief.

He said, اللهم لك الحمد, a thief? So the next night he goes out, and he does the same. And then in the morning he wakes up, and the people are laughing again. And they say, someone gave money last night to a rich man.

And he said, اللهم لك الحمد, a rich man? So the third night he goes out again in the secrecy of the night, and he gives his sadaqah. And the next morning the people are mocking, and they say, last night someone gave charity to a zaniyah, to an adulteress. And he said, اللهم لك الحمد, سارق غني زانية.

I gave charity to a thief, a rich man, and an adulteress. So that night he sees a dream. And it's said to him that as for that thief, perhaps he will give up stealing because of your charity.

And as for the adulteress, perhaps she will give up her adultery. And as for the wealthy man, perhaps he will learn and spend from what Allah has given him. Ar-Razzaq didn't just teach them about charity. He taught them about himself. That they don't need to sin to survive.

Provision by Withholding

And for the believer, sometimes ar-Razzaq provides by withholding. Holding you from one thing only to grant you something better in the hereafter, or something different in this life. So he shuts a door because what's behind it would poison your heart. And all along you're watching him give to someone who seems horrible, and going, what is that about? But don't worry about what Allah's purpose of his provision is to somebody else. Think about what he's trying to tell you.

Beyond Material Provision

And before we go any further, you need to broaden your perspective and decouple rizq from money. When we say rizq, most of us immediately see nothing but numbers and financial freedom. But that's such a narrow reading of a generous Lord. Rizq is everything that benefits you. Your health is rizq. Your family and friends are rizq. Your time is rizq. And yes, romance is rizq.

And I know I probably shouldn't walk into that one again. But the Prophet ﷺ said about Khadijah radiya Allahu anha:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3815)

That verily her love was sustenance.

Spiritual Provision

And you'll notice Allah sometimes even allocates spiritual rizq the way he allocates material rizq. One person is a born imam. The other, a born humanitarian. One person can fast. The other can make Umrah. One person is prone to tahajjud as if they have an alarm clock in their heart. Another person's eyes shed tears the moment the Qur'an touches their ears.

Another person finds generosity so easy while someone else is a pro at sabr and just naturally unfazed by everything. Another person finds forgiveness to be effortless. All of that is rizq.

Imam Malik rahimahu Allah was urged by a man to leave off teaching and focus on worship. And he wrote back to him saying:

That verily Allah has distributed deeds just as he distributed provisions. Some are more open to prayer while others are more open to fasting. Some to charity. Some to striving for the sake of Allah. Some to spreading knowledge. And spreading knowledge is amongst the best of those doors. And Allah opened that door for me and I'm pleased with it. And I hope that we're both upon something good.

Meaning what Allah opened for you is your rizq. Don't belittle it because it isn't someone else's. And what Allah opened for me is good for me. Don't belittle it because it's not yours.

Ar-Razzaq: The Provider of Strength

Now pause with the name itself. Ar-Razzaq actually only appears once in the Qur'an. And the way that Allah introduces it removes every excuse to doubt Him:

That verily Allah is the provider, the possessor of strength, and the stable. Why pair rizq with strength and stability? Because your heart checks two things when it seeks a provider. Do they have enough to give? And will they keep giving? And Allah answers all of those questions in that same sentence.

When you think you achieved anything on your own, you are denying ar-Razzaq. And that's why after eating any morsel of food, you say:

All praises be to Allah who fed me and provided for me without any power or strength from me.

It's a reset button for you. Reminding yourself that you're not the source. You're the recipient.

Becoming Part of Allah's Provision

And how beautiful when Allah allows you to not only receive His rizq but to become part of it for someone else. And so you are invited and inspired to check in on a friend at the right moment or cover someone else's bill or feed a complete stranger all while knowing that you were never the provider, just a vehicle that Allah honored by letting you deliver the rizq He already decreed for someone else. And you're receiving a greater reward in return.

One of the salaf once saw a beggar at his door. And he said, مَرْحَبًا Welcome to the one who is so generous. He puts good deeds in our scales and He only takes from our world.

How amazing that Allah allows you to participate in His generosity. Remember how we spoke about how Allah forbids us from sharing in His kibriya in His glory and pride. But while He bars you from that, how amazing is it that Allah invites you to share in His karam in His generosity.

Al-Kareem: The Generous and Noble

And this opens to us the next door, the name Al-Kareem the generous and the noble. You see in the capacity of rizq ar-Razzaq gives you your share. Al-Kareem shows you how beautifully it's given.

He always gives you more than you could ask for and He adds dignity to the delivery by making you feel dignified and honored by His gift. Kareem means one who is generous in that He gives above what is due and it also means one who is noble in that He honors you beyond what you merit. When something is described as kareem that means it's noble in itself and that it's generous towards you.

And that's why it's called القرآن الكريم because how much has the Qur'an given to you but your Lord who sent it is even more kareem. He is Al-Kareem. He gives you before you ask and more than what you asked for and only in the most beautiful of ways.

And He pairs that karam with ghina with perfect independence:

Whoever is grateful, it's for himself. And whoever is ungrateful then verily my Lord is self-sufficient and generous.

True generosity belongs only to the one who needs nothing from you. People can give for praise or power. He gives because He is Al-Kareem.

And He gives you so much more than what nourishes your body. He gives you what nourishes your heart and your soul. الحمد لله الذي أكرمنا بالقرآن الحمد لله الذي أكرمنا بنبينا صلى الله عليه وسلم All praises be to Allah who honored us with this Qur'an. Who honored us with this Prophet. Who honored us with this religion. And He honored the child of Adam:

In more ways than we can count:

So O mankind what has deceived you concerning your Lord the Generous?

Al-Akram: The Most Generous

But there is one more graduation in this generosity. From kareem to akram from generous to the most generous. If Al-Kareem overwhelms you with what He gives and how He gives it Al-Akram just humbles you with why He gives purely because He loves to.

You know I remember being asked what's the first name that Allah revealed to the Prophet ﷺ. And obviously there is رَبِّكَ your Lord but specifically:

Read and your Lord is the most generous. When Allah first spoke to the Prophet ﷺ He could have begun with any name but He chose Al-Akram to let the Prophet ﷺ know that whatever He came looking for He was going to leave with more.

And the Prophet ﷺ went up there looking for inspiration and Allah sent him with more. The greatest revelation of all time. SubhanAllah, look how close these two verses are:

What has deluded you regarding your generous Lord and:

Read and your Lord is the most generous. Al-Kareem tells you that His nature is giving. Al-Akram tells you that no one's giving ever compares to Him.

And that's why when Jannah opens its gates beyond anything you ever imagined and you're surrounded by everyone who knows that no one is there because they're deserving, the last man to enter Jannah comes in. And because of how much Allah gives him he thinks Allah is mocking him because of how little he did. On the other hand you have the Shaheed who would want to come back to this world for one purpose and one purpose only. To die again and again for Allah because of what they witnessed of His karam, of His generosity.

Living with Ar-Razzaq, Al-Kareem, Al-Akram

So how do you live with Ar-Razzaq Al-Kareem Al-Akram? Remember you didn't negotiate for a heartbeat before Fajr and you don't swipe a card for the sun to rise. Straighten your theology of asbab, the means. Your job isn't the source. Your degree isn't the source. Your talents or smarts are not the source. They are asbab, means. And the asbab maker is Allah.

And because you know that ar-Razzaq has already guaranteed your sustenance you stop treating people as threats to your share. What Allah decreed will be and what passes by you was never going to come to you:

In the heaven is your provision and what you are promised. You start to instead be generous yourself and to give not from a place of scarcity but from a place of trust. And Allah will never let you out give Him.

So yes, sometimes His generosity looks like prevention rather than delivery. Sometimes ar-Razzaq provides safety by closing the same door that you begged Him to open. Sometimes Al-Kareem shields you by delaying what you thought you needed but would have chipped away at your dignity. And sometimes Al-Akram replaces what you lost with something so much better. But in all cases, with a beautiful opinion of Allah, you can finally start to unlock the best version of yourself.

Du'a to the Provider and the Generous

You provide for every creature in ways we cannot see. Feed my heart before my hands and let my trust in your sustenance outweigh my fear of the future. Provide for me in ways that bring me closer to you and never let what I earn make me forget who it's from.

You give beyond what I deserve and with a dignity too noble for me to live up to. Let your generosity flow through me as a reflection of how it flows from you. Make my giving noble and my gratitude constant. When you withhold, remind me that you are still giving, even if in ways I may not yet understand.

The most generous of those who give. Honor me with contentment in every decree. Make my share of this world enough and my portion of the next abundance. Let me live in gratitude for your generosity that I can never live up to and die with praise for a Lord who always gave more.