reached you—just as the Almighty says:

“Have you considered what you sow? Is it you who make it grow, or are We the Grower? If We willed, We could reduce it to dry chaff, and you would be left in bewilderment, crying, ‘We have incurred loss; rather, we have been deprived!’”

Were it not for Allah’s facilitation, a person would never obtain food: from the moment the seed is cast into the soil, then sprouts, is harvested, transported, milled, kneaded, cooked, and finally set before him, Allah eases every step until it becomes edible. For this reason some scholars have said that by the time food is placed before a human being it has already been preceded by roughly one hundred distinct blessings from Allah—yet most of the time we remain heedless of them.

We therefore ask Allah to nourish us and all Muslims with lawful provisions and to grant us the ability to thank Him for His favors; surely He is capable of all things.

In the ḥadīth of Muʿādh ibn Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet ﷺ urged his Companions to say after eating: “Al-ḥamdu lillāh kathīran ṭayyiban mubārakan fīh, ghayra makfiyyin wa-lā muwaddaʿin wa-lā mustaghnā ʿanhu rabbana” (All praise is for Allah—abundant, pure, and blessed; never can it be repaid, never abandoned, and we can never do without our Lord). The meaning is that we can never dispense with Allah, and no one besides Him can suffice us; He alone is our protector and our Provider, exalted be He.