His saying, the Exalted: "And those who had longed for his position the day before began to say, 'Oh, it is as if Allah...'

17165 - Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Tahrani informed us in what he wrote to me, ‘Abd al-Razzaq informed us, Mu‘ammar informed us, from Qatadah regarding His saying: "Oh, it is as if Allah extends provision..." He says: Do they not know that Allah extends provision?

17166 - Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us, al-‘Abbas ibn al-Walid al-Narsi informed us, Yazid ibn Zuray‘ narrated to us, Sa‘id narrated to us, from Qatadah regarding His saying: "And those who had longed for his position the day before began to say, 'Oh, it is as if Allah..." [He says:] Do you not see that Allah...

His saying, the Exalted: "extends provision for whom He wills of His servants."

17167 - My father narrated to us, al-Husayn ibn ‘Arafah narrated to us, Marwan ibn Mu‘awiyah narrated to us, from Husayn ibn Abi al-Jamil, who said: A man said to al-Hasan: "O Abu Sa‘id, I see a house and I wish that it were mine, and a slave girl and I wish for her." Al-Hasan said to him: "Do not do that, for Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says: 'extends provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts [it].'"

His saying, the Exalted: "and restricts [it]."

[The first interpretation]

17168 - Abu Sa‘id al-Ashajj narrated to us, ‘Uqbah ibn Khalid narrated to us, al-Harith ibn al-Sa'ib narrated to us, who said: I heard al-Hasan saying: "'Allah extends provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts [it].'" He said: He chooses for him.

17169 - My father narrated to us, al-Hasan ibn ‘Arafah narrated to us, Marwan ibn Mu‘awiyah narrated to us, from Husayn ibn Abi al-Jamil, from al-Hasan, [regarding] "extends provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts [it]," he said: He considers what is best for him; if wealth is better for him, He makes him wealthy, and if poverty is better for him, He makes him poor.

The second interpretation:

17170 - Abu Yazid al-Qaratisi informed us in what he wrote to me, Asbagh ibn al-Faraj informed us, who said: I heard ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam saying, regarding His saying: "extends provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts [it]," he said: "He restricts [it]" means: He decreases [it]. And likewise, everything in the Qur'an that is [described as] 'yuqdar' (restricted/measured) is [like] this."