Basic
Monotheism
Surah: Al-Mulk (21)
Who Is This That Would Provide for You If He Withheld His Provision — An Existential Challenge to Deniers
أَمَّنۡ هَٰذَا ٱلَّذِي يَرۡزُقُكُمۡ إِنۡ أَمۡسَكَ رِزۡقَهُۥ
— الملك الآية 21
Verse: "Who is this that would provide for you if He withheld His provision?" (67:21) — "Amman" = "or who?" — a challenge by interrogative name. Who besides Allah would provide for you if Allah withheld provision? No one — and the human knows this. This challenge reveals that every person deep down acknowledges that no one grants provision except Allah. The continuity of provision is evidence of continuing divine care — not an acquired right or mere "luck." Lesson: in every bite you eat is an implicit acknowledgment that Allah is the Provider — how then not to acknowledge Him explicitly?
Source: Ibn Kathir (8/182); Al-Sadi
Test Yourself
What is meant by "who is this that would provide for you" and what is its rhetorical style?
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