their provision lies solely with Allah, for they are creatures owned by no one. They soar through the air, leave their nests at dawn, and seek the bounty that Allah bestows. “They go out hungry” (taghdū khimāṣan): taghdū means they set off at the beginning of the day, for al-ghuduwwah is the early morning, and khimāṣan means hungry, as in Allah’s words: “But whoever is compelled by dire hunger, without inclining to sin, then Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (Al-Māʾidah 5:3); makhmaṣah here means famine. Thus they depart with empty stomachs, yet they rely on their Lord. “And they return” (tarūḥu)—that is, they come back at the end of the day, for ar-rawāḥ is the latter part of the day—“with full bellies” (biṭānan), their stomachs filled by Allah’s provision.

From this we may infer several points:

1. A person should place complete trust in Allah, exalted be He.

2. There is no creature on earth whose sustenance is not guaranteed by Allah—even the birds gliding in the sky; none holds them aloft but Allah, and none provides for them but Him. Every living creature, from the tiniest ant to the greatest beast such as the elephant, is guaranteed its provision by Allah, as He says: “There is no creature on earth but that its provision rests with Allah, and He knows its dwelling place and its resting place” (Hūd 11:6).

Those who think ill of their Lord have gone grievously astray when they say, “Do not have many children; your livelihood will be constricted!” By the Lord of the Throne, they speak falsehood. Whenever children are many, Allah enlarges the parents’ provision, for there is no creature on earth but that its sustenance lies with Allah. The upkeep of your sons and daughters is with Allah; He is the One who opens the doors of livelihood so that you may spend on them, yet many