Tafseer of Consultation · Ash-Shura · 42:27
And if Allah had extended [excessively] provision for His servants, they would have committed tyranny throughout the earth. But He sends [it] down in an amount which He wills. Indeed He is, of His servants, Acquainted and Seeing.
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 the word of the Exalted: وَلَوْ بَسَطَ اللَّهُ الرِّزْقَ لِعِبَادِهِ لَبَغَوْا فِي الأَرْضِ وَلَكِنْ يُنَزِّلُ بِقَدَرٍ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّهُ بِعِبَادِهِ خَبِيرٌ بَصِيرٌ (27) ("And if Allah were to expand the provision for His servants, they would surely transgress upon the earth; but He sends down in measure what He wills. Indeed, He is, concerning His servants, well-acquainted, all-seeing" (27)).
It is mentioned that this verse was sent down on account of a group of needy people among the Muslims, who craved worldly abundance and wealth. So He, whose praise is exalted, said: and if Allah were to expand the provision for His servants, so that He would make it plentiful and abundant for them, they would surely transgress, and they would overstep the bound that Allah has set for them, toward that which He has not set for them in His lands, by venturing upon the earth into that which He has forbidden them. But He sends down their provision in a measure sufficient for them, that which He wills of it.
Mention of who said that:
Yūnus, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Abū Hāniʾ said: I heard ʿAmr ibn Ḥurayth and others say: this verse was sent down only concerning the people of the Ṣuffa: وَلَوْ بَسَطَ اللَّهُ الرِّزْقَ لِعِبَادِهِ لَبَغَوْا فِي الأَرْضِ وَلَكِنْ يُنَزِّلُ بِقَدَرٍ مَا يَشَاءُ ("And if Allah were to expand the provision for His servants, they would surely transgress upon the earth; but He sends down in measure what He wills"). That was because they said: "If only we had [wealth]," and so they craved.
Muḥammad ibn Sinān al-Qazzāz related to us, he said: Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Muqriʾ related to us, he said: Ḥaywa related to us, he said: Abū Hāniʾ informed me, that he heard ʿAmr ibn Ḥurayth say: this verse was sent down only — then he mentioned something similar.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَلَوْ بَسَطَ اللَّهُ الرِّزْقَ لِعِبَادِهِ لَبَغَوْا فِي الأَرْضِ ("And if Allah were to expand the provision for His servants, they would surely transgress upon the earth")... the verse. He said: it was said: the best provision is that which does not make you insolent and does not distract you.
And it was mentioned to us that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "The thing I most fear for my community is the flourishing of the worldly life and its abundance." Then someone said to him: "O Prophet of Allah, does good bring forth evil?" Then the Prophet ﷺ said: "And does good bring forth evil?" Thereupon Allah at that moment sent down [revelation] upon him — and it was such that when [revelation] was sent down upon him, he would fall into distress from it and his face would change color — until, when it had been lifted from the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, he said: "Does good bring forth evil?" — he said that three times — "Indeed, good brings forth only good," he said that three times. And he ﷺ was concise of speech. "But by Allah, never did a spring come but it caused death or caused sickness [through abundance]. As for a servant to whom Allah has given wealth and he spent it in the way of Allah which He has made obligatory and approved — that is a servant for whom good is intended, and for whom good is resolved. And as for a servant to whom Allah has given wealth and he spent it on his desires and pleasures, and deviated from the right of Allah upon him — that is a servant for whom evil is intended, and for whom evil is resolved."
And His word: إِنَّهُ بِعِبَادِهِ خَبِيرٌ بَصِيرٌ ("Indeed, He is, concerning His servants, well-acquainted, all-seeing"). The Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says: indeed Allah is, with respect to that which benefits and corrupts His servants — in wealth and poverty, abundance and scarcity, and other matters of their benefits and their harms — possessor of knowledge and awareness, all-seeing in His governance and His disposal of that in which their welfare lies.
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The footnotes:
(1) In [al-Lisān: k-r-b]: and in the narration: "when the revelation came to him, he fell into distress (kuriba) from it," that is: the distress (al-karb) afflicted him, so that he was distressed (makrūb).
