Lesson 3 of 6 · What rizq actually means, and what those verses do not promise
The bird goes out in the morning
The best text on this subject is the one the misreading uses.
If you were to rely upon Allah with the reliance He is due, you would be given provision like the birds: they go out hungry in the morning and come back with full bellies in the evening.
Read the second half. The bird is provided for, and the bird leaves the nest. It goes out, and it goes out hungry. The reliance described in that report contains the going out, and the classical commentators read it exactly that way. Tawakkul that means staying in the nest is not the tawakkul in the report.
Then the man who asked whether he should tie his camel and rely upon Allah or leave it loose and rely upon Allah. Tie it, and rely upon Allah. Both, and in that order, and there is not a word of rebuke in the answer for having asked.
There is also Musa at the well in Madyan. He waters the flocks of two strangers, withdraws into the shade, and then says, my Lord, I am in dire need of whatever good thing You may send me. He worked first and asked second, and he named no amount.
And the Qur'an says disperse in the land and seek out the bounty of Allah, and says travel the regions of the earth and eat of His provision. Seeking is commanded. Travelling is commanded.
Qur’an and Sunnah
Disperse in the land and seek out the bounty of Allah. Seeking is commanded here rather than merely permitted, which is why reliance cannot mean staying where you are.
فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةُ فَٱنتَشِرُواْ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَٱبۡتَغُواْ مِن فَضۡلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱذۡكُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرࣰ ا لَّعَلَّكُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ
then when the prayer has ended, disperse in the land and seek out God’s bounty. Remember God often so that you may prosper
Qur’an 62:10
Travel the regions of the earth and eat of His provision. Travelling is commanded too, so the going out that the bird report describes is in the Qur'an as an instruction and not only as an image.
هُوَ ٱلَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ ذَلُولࣰ ا فَٱمۡشُواْ فِي مَنَاكِبِهَا وَكُلُواْ مِن رِّزۡقِهِۦۖ وَإِلَيۡهِ ٱلنُّشُورُ
It is He who has made the earth manageable for you––travel its regions; eat His provision- and to Him you will be resurrected
Qur’an 67:15
Musa at the well in Madyan, and the order is the point. He watered the flocks, withdrew into the shade, and then asked. He worked first and asked second, and he named no amount.
فَسَقَىٰ لَهُمَا ثُمَّ تَوَلَّىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلظِّلِّ فَقَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي لِمَآ أَنزَلۡتَ إِلَيَّ مِنۡ خَيۡرࣲ فَقِيرࣱ
He watered their flocks for them, withdrew into the shade, and prayed, ‘My Lord, I am in dire need of whatever good thing You may send me,’
Qur’an 28:24
The best text on the subject, and the one the misreading uses. Read the second half. The bird is provided for, and the bird goes out, and it goes out hungry.
‘Umar said:“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘If you were to rely upon Allah with the reliance He is due, you would be given provision like the birds: They go out hungry in the morning and come back with full bellies in the evening.”
Sunan Ibn Majah 4164graded sound, albanithe Arabic and its grading
The birds report again, in a second collection and in near identical words. It is shown twice because the whole argument rests on the going out being inside the reliance rather than beside it, and a claim that load bearing is worth checking in more than one wording.
Umar bin Al-Khattab narrated that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said:"If you were to rely upon Allah with the required reliance, then He would provide for you just as a bird is provided for, it goes out in the morning empty, and returns full
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2344graded sound, albanithe Arabic and its grading
A man asked whether to tie his camel and rely upon Allah or leave it loose and rely upon Allah. Tie it, and rely upon Allah. Both, and in that order, and there is not a word of rebuke in the answer for having asked.
Anas bin Malik narrated that a man said:"O Messenger of Allah! Shall I tie it and rely(upon Allah), or leave it loose and rely(upon Allah)?" He said: "Tie it and rely(upon Allah)." Other chains report similar narrations
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2517graded sound, albanithe Arabic and its grading
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.