Allah's Treasuries and the Heart Hung on Numbers

Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on August 10, 2026 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

We paused over what we heard in the recitation, in the saying of Allah, blessed and exalted: ﴿وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلَّا عِندَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُ إِلَّا بِقَدَرٍ مَّعْلُومٍ﴾ ("And there is nothing but that with Us are its treasuries, and We send it down only in a known measure")^[1]. It is as though the Lord of Might, glory be to Him, sums the whole matter up for you: your wishes, your ambitions, your hopes, your dreams, your desires, and everything you want, are in His hands. And not only in His hands, but with Him are treasuries of it, not a single sample. So if some people want wealth, wealth is in Allah's hands; and if one wants a position, all of that is with Allah. He does what He wills.

Provision Is a Test of Faith

The system of provision, in what is with Allah, represents a first test of faith for every individual. The thief steals only out of doubt that Allah will give him this money when he wants it, and because he doubted Allah he stretched out his hand to the forbidden. The forger forges for this very reason too. But whoever is certain of what is with the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, his hand always remains empty, because nothing comes to it except that it goes out of it. That was the way of the Prophet ﷺ: nothing came to him except that he gave it away. Why? Because he was certain that the Lord of Might would compensate him, replace it for him, and increase him.

That is the matter in its essence. When our Lord, glory be to Him, spoke to His servants about obedience, He said: ﴿وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ * مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُم مِّن رِّزْقٍ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَن يُطْعِمُونِ﴾ ("I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me"), then He said: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ﴾ ("Indeed, Allah is the Provider")^[2]. What is asked of people is that they give their lives, and what they have with Allah is that He guarantees their lives for them. And we do not say: what is required is from our Lord alone.

The Meaning of "Treasuries"

So whoever is certain that provision from Allah is guaranteed, indeed stored up. And imagine the meaning of "stored up"; for the word "treasuries," when it is used, is used only for the enormous quantity that needs someone to count it out, so you say: we have this much of this kind, and that much of that kind, and you tally it in a treasury. And a treasury is a large, spacious place that encompasses what has been put by. And what is in the treasury is always outside the scope of hand-to-hand use, are we agreed on this? If I have five that I use and forty-five in the treasury, then these forty-five are set aside, out of use for now, and perhaps they will be used later. So when the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him and exalted, says: ﴿وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ﴾ ("And there is nothing"), a person's mind roams over everything he desires, everything he imagines, and everything he dreams of.

Do Not Hang Your Heart on Numbers

And the very simple conclusion: do not hang your head and your heart on these numbers as much as you should hang your heart and your mind on what you do in your life, what you practice. For the preoccupation of people's hearts with numbers and provisions keeps them always in anxiety, always in distress, always in vexation and bewilderment about their situation. They feel besieged from every side, so that none of them sees any way out for himself except this road, because his mind has been confined to the sum of the numbers.

And we have seen that life passes over people, rich and poor, and then they die. And the servant dies, not by the measure of the wealth he gained and desired, but by the measure of the good deeds he accomplished in his life.

So if I have a counsel for myself and for whoever hears this verse: provision in this world is in the hand of the Lord of the worlds, who said: ﴿وَفِي السَّمَاءِ﴾ ("And in the heaven")^[3]. So work for the One who is in the heaven, and He will provide you with what is on earth; work for the One who is in the heaven, and He will send you what is on earth. The matter is easy, and the equation is utterly simple, so do not let your mind be confined to numbers that, together with their multiples, are in the hands of the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him and exalted.

I ask Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to grant us good understanding of what He intends in His Book, and that we not stumble over the blessings we possess, and that our provision be a path for us to Paradise, and that we not be besieged by the good things we have been given. O Allah, amen.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat al-Ḥijr, verse 21; the speaker recited it as it is recorded. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: [al-Dhāriyāt: 56–58]. The speaker confined himself to the verses as recorded, and the remainder of the last verse he did not utter, so it was not recorded in the body. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: The speaker alluded to the saying of the Exalted in Sūrat al-Dhāriyāt (verse 22): «وَفِي السَّمَاءِ رِزْقُكُمْ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ» ("And in the heaven is your provision and what you are promised"), but he uttered only «وفي السماء» ("and in the heaven").