“You are a combination of limitedness, weakness, need and poverty. With the eye of limitedness you look at His perfection, with your eye of poverty you witness His Richness and Mercy, with your weakness you acknowledge His Power and Might and through your needs you realise His variant blessings and bounties. Thus servant-hood is your exact nature.” [Bedezzaman Sayd Nusri]
The Lord is duty-bound to provide
The master always provides for his servants. Ata’illah said:
“Cling to the attributes of His Lordship and realise the attributes of your servanthood!” [Hikam|120]
Serve Allah as a servant and He will take care of you as a Lord. If a servant worked in the house of his master, where the master told him to stand at attention in order to serve. The master would not command service without also arranging for the servant to receive food, drink, clothing and shelter. No Master purchases a servant to look after himself, no, he purchases a servant to serve. Allah has ordered you to serve Him and in return He has promised to provide for you. In fact He will still provide for you even if you were to rebel, does He not provide for the disbelievers? Allah says in the Qur’an:
“There is no creature on Earth but Allah takes responsibility for its provision.” [Hud:11:6]
“And in the Heavens is your provision that which you are promised. By the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth, indeed this is the truth.” [Adh-Dhariat: 51:21-22]
Our provision is guaranteed
The provisions for all His creation are apportioned and is written in the Heavens i.e. sacred tablet, and our provision is not in our hands but it is with Allah alone. It can also refer to the sky where the provisions are brought forth – rain. Allah then swears by Himself as the Lord of the Heavens that you will get your provision and this is the truth. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) mentioned that our provision has been already apportioned before our existence and we will not die before we have received all that has been apportioned.
“O people, fear Allah and be moderate in seeking a living, for no soul will die until it has received all its provision, even if it is slow in coming. So fear Allah and be moderate in seeking provision; take that which is permissible and leave that which is forbidden.” [Ibn Majah]
Furthermore, there are numerous places where Allah repeats in Qur’an that He alone is the Creator and He is the Provider in order to remove our doubts. He is the One who has guaranteed our provision.
“How could it be that Allah Who creates you and prepares a place for you in the world before your very existence, would then neglect your provision once you come into existence?”
Allah intends to remove all anxiety from us and focus on Him alone, so He reminds us by saying “I have created Man and Jinn only to worship Me,” this is to say, “We will provide for you but you have to rise up in service while We undertake to sustain you with what We apportioned for you.” Ata’illah said:
“Your striving for what has already been guaranteed to you, and your remissness in what is demanded of you, are signs of the blurring of your inner sight [basira].” [Hikam|5]
So serve Allah as He has ordered, and you will find your every need taken care of, as for “whoever entrust to Allah their every need, surely Allah is sufficient for him”[At-Talaq:65:3]. And when you make your servitude to Allah sincere, you will find the creation subjugated to serve you in serving Him.
“Servitude is that you be His slave every moment, just as He is your Lord every moment.” [Dhul Nun al-Misri]
