It Is From Allah

So Zakariyyā was the sponsor of Maryam, and he would take care of her, and he would visit her from time to time. But he used to notice strange things: he would come in to visit Maryam in her place of worship, and he would find with her rizq — rizq is provision, sustenance from Allah.

Allah (swt) in the Qur'an mentions it as rizq; it does not define exactly what it is, but many of the mufassirūn say that she used to get the fruits of summer in winter, and she would get the fruits of winter in summer. And there is no refrigeration, and these fruits were fresh: so it is winter and she would get fresh summer fruits, and it is summer and she would get fresh winter fruits. It is a miracle.

And in Arabic there is a difference between muʿjizah and karāmah. Muʿjizah is a miracle that is given to the anbiyāʾ, and karāmah is a miracle that is given to the awliyāʾ. In the case of Maryam it is a karāmah; it is a miracle that is given to the friends of Allah (swt). And these are things that were happening frequently, because Allah (swt) says that whenever he would go and visit her, he would find with her rizq. So it is not once or twice; it is many times, frequently.

And she is there in the room, and this rizq is coming to her; so Zakariyyā (peace be upon him) asked her: annā laki hādhā — where is this rizq coming from? He is wondering: who is bringing you this? I am the one taking care of you. And then, this is strange, because this fruit is impossible to have in Jerusalem at this time of the year.

What was the response of Maryam (peace be upon her)? She said: huwa min ʿindi Allāh — this is from Allah. And then she told him — and she is giving him this wonderful lesson in rizq — inna Allāha yarzuqu man yashāʾu bi-ghayri ḥisāb: Allah (swt) gives the ones He wants without any limits. See what she said? Allah will give you without any limits; so it is limitless. The rizq of Allah (swt) — there is no limit to it.

We put a lot of effort into pleasing the boss, our children, our friends; we put a lot of effort into pleasing the ones around us. And sometimes we do that and we compromise the religion in the process. Now, if we are doing that and we are keeping the terms of religion, al-ḥamdu lillāh — that is ṣilat al-raḥim; it is fulfilling your rights towards the relatives and towards the friends. But sometimes we do it and we compromise the religion.

We need to understand and believe firmly that if you please anyone while you are upsetting Allah (swt), Allah will make that person — or whoever it is — upset with you, and Allah will be upset with you. But if you please Allah (swt), Allah (swt) will make the creation pleased with you. And when Allah (swt) is pleased with you, you will not need anyone else. See, that is the important point: we are trying to please too many people — but if we please Allah (swt), just pleasing Allah will take care of everything.

And then Allah (swt) is the only One who, if He is pleased with you, will give you without limits; anything else is within boundaries and limits, except the rizq of Allah (swt). When Allah (swt) is pleased with you, then Allah (swt) will show you the meaning of His name al-Karīm; Allah will show you what the meaning of al-Karīm is. And Allah will show you what the meaning of the name al-Raḥīm, the Merciful, is. And Allah will show you what the meaning of the name al-Razzāq, the Sustainer, is. Allah will show you the meanings of these names of Allah (swt).

And that is why the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and the anbiyāʾ of Allah (swt) and their followers, had their goal set — and that is to please Allah (swt); and they spent their lives trying to achieve this goal. And that is why Allah (swt) says: Allah is pleased with the ones who gave you the pledge of allegiance under the tree. And these are the 1,400 Companions who came and gave the bayʿah to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him); Allah (swt) said He is pleased with them. And that is the ultimate goal that one could achieve: to please Allah (swt). Because if you please Allah, Allah will please you — and Allah (swt) will give you without any limits.