"If God Were to Increase the Provision to His Servants, They Would Transgress on Earth" (Quran 42:27)

Published in September 7, 2017

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

1- We have received this email message: (... Dear Sir, ... God says in the Quran: "If God were to increase the provision to His servants, they would transgress on earth; but He sends down in precise measure whatever He wills. Surely, regarding His servants, He is Expert and Observant." (42:27) ... I tend to think that the rule within this verse has some exceptions; e.g., Bill Gates donates millions for charity (for the sake of the poor and the ill) and he does not transgress on Earth. Of course, there are so many billionaires in the West that donate billions for charity without committing transgressions or injustices. Thus, some examples from actual life may be exceptions to the rule in 42:27, right? ... What do you think? ... Thank you for your time ...).

2- This is our reply:

Firstly:

1- In the verse 42:27, God does NOT talk about all human beings; rather, this verse is about the pious servants of the Dominant Lord, God, who believe in the Last Day and work hard to earn the right to enter into Paradise. The servants of the Dominant Lord are described in the Quranic Chapter 25 in this way: "The servants of the Dominant are those who walk the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, "Peace."" (25:63). Thus, because they believe in the Hereafter, they are humble and forgive those who insult them, and they worship God in piety as they fear Hell: "And those who pass the night prostrating themselves to their Lord and standing up. And those who say, ''Our Lord, avert from us the suffering of Hell, for its suffering is continuous. It is indeed a miserable residence and destination."" (25:64-66). They spend moderately in general and donate money for God's sake: "And those who, when they spend, are neither wasteful nor stingy, but choose a middle course between that." (25:67). Those servants of the Dominant have no other gods/deities alongside with our Lord God and never commit murder nor fornication, and those among them who commit these sins and die without repentance will enter into Hell: "And those who do not implore besides God any other god, and do not kill the soul which God has made sacred-except in the pursuit of justice-and do not commit adultery. Whoever does that will face penalties. The punishment will be doubled for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will dwell therein in humiliation forever. Except for those who repent, and believe, and do good deeds. These-God will replace their bad deeds with good deeds. God is ever Forgiving and Merciful. Whoever repents and acts righteously-has inclined towards God with repentance." (25:68-71). God calls His servants to repent, as we read in these verses: "Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves: do not despair of God's mercy, for God forgives all sins. He is indeed the Forgiver, the Clement." And turn to your Lord, and submit to Him, before the retribution comes upon you. Then you will not be helped. And follow the best of what was revealed to you from your Lord, before the punishment comes upon you suddenly, while you are unaware." (39:53-55).  The description of the servants of the Dominant Lord continue in the Quranic Chapter 35 in the following verses about how they never commit perjury and ponder deeply on the Quran and they will enter into Paradise because of their monotheistic faith and good deeds: "And those who do not bear false witness; and when they come across indecencies, they pass by with dignity. And those who, when reminded of the revelations of their Lord, do not fall before them deaf and blind. And those who say, "Our Lord, grant us delight in our spouses and our children, and make us a good example for the righteous." Those will be awarded the Chamber for their patience, and will be greeted therein with greetings and peace. Abiding therein forever-it is an excellent residence and destination. Say, "What are you to my Lord without your prayers? You have denied the Truth, and the inevitable will happen."" (25:72-76).

2- The Servants of the Dominant Lord are the ones intended by the word ''servants'' in this verse: "If God were to increase the provision to His servants, they would transgress on earth..." (42:27).

Secondly:

1- Hence, the servants of the Dominant Lord Allah in general are those who seek the Hereafter by good deeds and monotheistic faith/belief devoted to only to God.

2- All humanity is divided into two types: (1) those servants of the Dominant Lord who seek to enter into Paradise with the winners and perform good deeds and acts of worship based on their belief in the One God and in the Last Day, and (2) those who seek only to get possessions of this transient world and think of their worldly life all the time and never think about their final destination and everlasting dwelling in the Hereafter. 

3- Regarding  the topic of God's provision to human beings who seek the Hereafter Paradise and work for earning it and to those other human beings who seek only this transient world possessions and never seek or work for the Hereafter, we quote the following verses: "Whoever desires the fleeting life, We expedite for him what We decide to give him, to whomever We desire. Then We consign him to Hell, where he will roast, condemned and defeated. But whoever desires the Hereafter, and pursues it as it should be pursued, while he is a believer; these-their effort will be appreciated. To all-these and those-We extend from the gifts of your Lord. The gifts of your Lord are not restricted. See how We have favored some of them over others; yet the Hereafter is greater in ranks, and greater in favors." (17:18-21). We infer from these verses that all human beings get their share of God's bounties/gifts and provision as per the divine will of our Lord God, and this is part of inevitable fate; people's provision changes as rich people may become poor and vice-versa, and this applies to all people. If provision is controlled by people, everyone would have been a billionaire and no one is going to be impoverished worldwide. God is the Sole Owner and Distributer of provision in this life as per His divine will and people vary in their share of this provision; people cannot control this at all. This is why the real winners within the Hereafter are those who believe in God and in the Last Day and work for earning Paradise by their good deeds and devout faith, as their provision in this transient world is predestined by God to them in terms of quantity and quality. In contrast, those who do not believe in God nor the Hereafter get their share of provision allotted to them by God, and since they seek only worldly possessions and riches and however many and great the things they own, they will enter into Hell because of their disbelief: "Whoever desires the fleeting life, We expedite for him what We decide to give him, to whomever We desire. Then We consign him to Hell, where he will roast, condemned and defeated." (17:18).    

4- Those who seek only this transient life and do not believe in the Hereafter are divided into two types.

4/1: There are those who use their money to commit sins and injustices and disobey God, and thus, they are punished in this world before the next one, as per these verses: "There is for them torment in the worldly life, but the torment of the Hereafter is harsher. And they have no defender against God." (13:34); "Thus We recompense him who transgresses and does not believe in the verses of his Lord. The punishment of the Hereafter is more severe, and more lasting." (20:127). As for their being torment in this life, we see how those disobedient ones who have earned ill-gotten money by wicked and unjust means enter into endless battles against their likes among wicked people in their competition to own and hoard as many assets as possible, and they vie for the worship of Mammon (i.e., money) and they conspire and scheme against one another within incessant struggles; thus, they never enjoy tranquility or peace of mind. These filthily rich people in their pomp might impress ordinary people who cannot imagined how the filthily rich ones are so distressed and worried and live in constant fear. The endless struggles among worshippers of Mammon end either in successive victories and defeats as more foes emerge who may be mightier, or in the final defeat (i.e., bankruptcy) or death of the rich person who had ill-gotten money earned by dishonest means. In fact, these corrupt, rich persons own only mere numbers in bank accounts or mere colored paper they call bank-notes; they cannot overeat within more than their stomachs can handle nor overdress by wearing multiple layers of clothes, and they cannot sleep in three or more beds at eh same time. This applies also to the impecunious people who sleep in one place, eat daily, and wear one garment, with the huge difference in the fact that the poor ones among real pious believers sleep soundly while wearing a smile, as they have a clear conscience and little worries.         

4/2: There are those who seek only this life and its possessions and riches, but they harm no one and do charity works, but at the same time, they disbelieve in God nor in the Last Day. Those people will get rewarded only in this world, but in the Hereafter, they will enter into Hell because of their disbelief, and their good deeds will be annulled and will never bear fruits, because such good deeds have been used to get more fame and stature, and they are rewarded for these deeds only in this life as they are granted success and huge financial profits. These verses apply to these people: "Whoever desires the worldly life and its glitter-We will fully recompense them for their deeds therein, and therein they will not be defrauded. These-they will have nothing but the Fire in the Hereafter. Their deeds are in vain therein, and their works are null." (11:15-16). Thus, these people's success and wealth is God's provision for them, and they should have worshipped God without other partners with Him and thank Him for His bounties and gifts granted to them, and they should have dedicated their good deeds (and acts of worship) only to Him; yet, they seek only to please people and to be thanked by them, and they disbelieve in God. Thus, God gives them rewards only in their lifetimes on Earth as per divine justice. But eventually, they will enter into Hell in the Hereafter; while those who commit evil deeds and injustices during their lifetimes will be punished twice: in this world and in the next one in Hell.   

5- The following verses apply to Bill Gates and his likes (i.e., charitable persons who do not believe in the Hereafter): "Whoever desires the worldly life and its glitter-We will fully recompense them for their deeds therein, and therein they will not be defrauded. These-they will have nothing but the Fire in the Hereafter. Their deeds are in vain therein, and their works are null." (11:15-16).

Thirdly:

1- Those who seek only this transient life and allow life's glory, assets, possessions, competitions, struggles, profits, and gains to make them forget the Hereafter are not going to wake up until angels of death visit them; only then, they will realize that they have spent their life in useless, futile endeavors and in vanities of transient life. God warns believers against this miserable state: "O you who believe! Let neither your possessions nor your children distract you from the remembrance of God. Whoever does that-these are the losers. And give from what We have provided for you, before death approaches one of you, and he says, "My Lord, if only You would delay me for a short while, so that I may be charitable, and be one of the righteous."But God will not delay a soul when its time has come. God is Informed of what you do." (63:9-11). In the whole of the Quranic Chapter 102, God warns people beforehand against competing for transient possessions of this world till death: "Abundance distracts you. Until you visit the graveyards. Indeed, you will know. Certainly, you will know. If you knew with knowledge of certainty. You would see Hell. Then you will see it with the eyes of certainty. Then, on that Day, you will be questioned about the Bliss." (102:1-8).

2- In contrast, there are those who seek the Hereafter and perform good deeds and preserve their monotheistic faith as they seek to enter into Paradise; they compete and cooperate for the sake of righteousness, piety, and charity, and NOT in the route of evil deeds, violence, aggression, and sins: "...Therefore, race towards goodness. Wherever you may be, God will bring you all together. God is capable of everything." (2:148); "...So compete in righteousness. To God is your return, all of you; then He will inform you of what you had disputed." (5:48); "...And cooperate with one another in virtuous conduct and conscience, and do not cooperate with one another in sin and hostility. And fear God. God is severe in punishment." (5:2). When real believers apply these verses in their lives, wealth is not accumulated to them in a way that makes them seek to be more powerful and filthy rich by dishonest means and by injustices. Piety in their hearts prevents them from seeking superiority on Earth and seeking power and authority to oppress people. hence, they deserve God's mercy Paradise as per this verse: "That Home of the Hereafter-We assign it for those who seek no superiority on earth, nor corruption. And the outcome is for pious ones." (28:83). God grants them mercy during their lifetimes on Earth as well: God grants them His bounties/gifts and provision within certain limits as per the divine will, because if they were to own too much, they might incline to the human nature of seeking greedily more power, money, and authority by committing injustices and transgression. This negative aspect of human nature (of most people) emerges when one feels one does not seek or need God and the Hereafter and thus, sins and transgression are committed: "In fact, man oversteps all bounds. When he considers himself in no need." (96:6-7), in contrast to this, those who seek guidance are granted more guidance by God: "As for those who are guided, He increases them in guidance, and He has granted them their righteousness." (47:17). Part of this guidance granted to those who seek guidance is the fact that God never tests them with being filthily rich, as this would make them lose their piety and righteousness by being distracted from good deeds and obeying God by working all the time to increase and multiply their money and competing with other rich people (which entails resorting to dishonest means and injustices and committing transgression on Earth, as always the way with worshippers of money).    

3- This is inferred and understood by us from this verse: "If God were to increase the provision to His servants, they would transgress on earth; but He sends down in precise measure whatever He wills. Surely, regarding His servants, He is Expert and Observant." (42:27).

4- As always, God says nothing but the Absolute Truth.