Tafseer of The Groups · Az-Zumar · 39:52
Do they not know that Allah extends provision for whom He wills and restricts [it]? Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His word, the Exalted: أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَقْدِرُ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ (52) ("Do they not then know that Allah extends provision for whom He wills and restricts it? Indeed, in that are signs for a people who believe") (52).
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Do these people — from whom We removed their distress, and who then said 'it has only been given to us on the basis of knowledge that we possess' — not know, O Muḥammad, that prosperity and adversity, ease and hardship, and trial lie in the hand of Allah, and of none other than Him? He extends the provision for whom He wills and makes it abundant for him, and He restricts it for whom He wills among His servants and makes it scarce for him. And that is among the proofs of Allah toward His servants, so that they may draw a lesson from it and take heed, and so that they may know that hope and fear must be directed toward Him, and not toward the gods and the [false] rivals. ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَاتٍ ) ("Indeed, in that are signs"). He says: Indeed, in Allah's extending of provision for whom He wills, and His restricting it for whom He wills, there are signs, that is to say: indications and tokens ( لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ ) ("for a people who believe"), that is to say: those who affirm the truth and acknowledge it when they clearly perceive it and know its reality — namely, that the One who does that is Allah, and none other than Him.
