Tafseer of The Winnowing Winds · Adh-Dhaariyat · 51:58
Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the firm possessor of strength.
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 exalted word: إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ ("Indeed, Allah is the Provider, the Possessor of strength, the Steadfast" — (58)).
The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: indeed, Allah is the Provider for His creation, who guarantees their sustenance, the Possessor of strength, the Steadfast (al-matīn).
The Qurʾān reciters differed over the reading of His word المَتِين . Most of the reciters of the cities, with the exception of Yaḥyā ibn Waththāb and al-Aʿmaš, read it ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ in the nominative (rafʿ), with the meaning: the Possessor of strength, the Strong One. They thus made al-matīn an adjectival qualifier of "dhū" (Possessor) and related it to the description of Allah thereby. Yaḥyā and al-Aʿmaš read المَتِين in the genitive (khafḍ), and thus made it an adjectival qualifier of "al-quwwa" (the strength). The one who read it in the genitive deemed this permissible and made it a qualifier of al-quwwa — even though al-quwwa is feminine and al-matīn is in form masculine — because he understood al-quwwa according to [the expression] "qawiya al-ḥabl" (the rope has become strong) (2) and the firmly twisted thing: that which is braided. It is as though, according to this understanding, he said: the Possessor of the strong rope. Al-Farrāʾ mentioned that some of the Arabs recited to him:
"For every age I have worn garments of fine linen, and the adorned [garment] al-yumna." (3)
He thus made al-muʿaṣṣab ("adorned") a qualifier of al-yumna, even though it is feminine in form, because al-yumna is a kind and type of the garments, and he related it to that.
The correct reading therein, according to us, is ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ in the nominative, as being among the attributes of Allah, whose praise is exalted, on account of the consensus of the authoritative proof (al-ḥujja) among the reciters concerning it, and because, had it been a qualifier of al-quwwa, making it feminine would have been more fitting — even though there is a ground for making it masculine.
In agreement with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ , he said: the Strong One.
