Rizq (provisions) means everything a
person makes use of, for example, the money he earns, the clothes he wears, the
roof over his head,
whether it is lawful or unlawful. The subject is of
paramount importance since it involves that area of activity in which most of us
spend the greatest time and energy. May be the reason you are doing your
particular degree at university is to get a job and make as much money as
possible.
If a man is asked what is the source
of his rizq he will probably reply from my job. However it is not possible to
say that a man is anonymous with his rizq. What a man earns may also contain his
wifes and his children's rizq. Working is not the cause of rizq, for example you
can work hard all day in your business and make no money, on the other hand you
could be sitting at home and inherit a million pounds or receive a gift from a
friend. Allah (swt) says:
"Who is the one who is going to
give you rizq if Allah with holds it from you" (TMQ Sura Mulk) Also
"If Allah tests a person and withholds his rizq he will say my Lord has humiliated me" Sura Fajr
And
"Allah has favoured some of you
over others with regards to rizq" 16:17
So it is evident from these ayah that
rizq is from Allah.
The amount of rizq you will have is
fixed before you are born. In a hadith Muhammed (SAW) said "The holy spirit
inspired in my soul that nobody will pass away until he accomplishes his livlihood (rizq), term of life (ajl), and destiny"
How you try to gain your rizk is up to
you, you may work for it or you may steal it. A man was caught stealing at the
time of Imam Abu Hanifa, and was brought to him. The Imam asked him why he had
stolen what Allah had already ordained for him? It could be argued though that
if your rizk is fixed and you cannot
change it, and it is ordained for you before you are born, what is the point of
working? The answer is that Allah has commanded you to be in a position to work
for your family, so you are in a position to get your rizk. Also if you stay at
home saying Allah will provide for you, How do you know
that Allah has ordained
rizq for you when you stay at home?
Rizk in this world is for both
believers and unbelievers, because it is a part of Allah's universal mercy. You
sometimes find that an unbeliever has more goods in this world then a believer.
That is because he takes his entire wage in this world and non in the next.
"Any who desire the life of this
world and its finery, we will give them in it a full payment for their actions.
They will not be deprived in it of their due. For those theri is nothing in the
next world but the fire. What they did in it will come to nothing. What they
were doing will prove worthless."
(11-15:16)
The good things of provision in the
next world are for the believers alone:-
"Say: Who has forbidden the fine
clothing of Allah and the good and wholesome kinds of provision he has brought
forth for his slaves? Say: On the day of rising they will be exclusively for
those who believe during the life of this world"
(7:32)
We must bear in mind that this world
is a trial. since this is the case man is subject to be tested by everything in
it. Testing can be in the form of rizq. You may feel that by taking out an
insurance policy (which is Haram) on your life you may feel that your future is
secure and their rizk is provided for. However, their is no security except in
Allah and no blessing except in lawful provision. It is only by weakness in
belief and lack of trust in Allah that man withers into the unlawful.
Allah says in a hadith Qudsi:
"Oh son of Adam! I created this
existence for your sake and I created you for my sake so do not busy yourself
with what is yours and be distracted from what you owe."
Many people busy themselves trying to
get what was s infact created for them any way. We are created to worship Allah,
And this is not simply in prayer, fasting and hajj, but in every action we do.
The correct understanding of rizk will
enable a Muslim to be at peace in this universe, so that if he is denied the
means of rizq or is afflicted by a catastrophe he is not lost and finished -
which is what happens when people get engrossed in the material world. Instead
the Muslim should strive to speak the truth and hold onto Islam, and work to
establish the Deen of Allah (Al-Khilafa). He should not fear for his job, or his
life, he should just fear facing Allah on the day of judgement having not
fulfilled his commands. In a hadith Muhamed (SAW) said:
"Let not the fear of people stop
anyone of you from saying what is true, or doing something important, because
what you sya or do will not keep you from your rizq, or keep you from your ajl
(life span)."