وَٱللَّهُ فَضَّلَ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ فِى ٱلرِّزْقِ ۚ فَمَا ٱلَّذِينَ فُضِّلُوا۟ بِرَآدِّى رِزْقِهِمْ عَلَىٰ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَـٰنُهُمْ فَهُمْ فِيهِ سَوَآءٌ ۚ أَفَبِنِعْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ يَجْحَدُونَ
God has given some of you more provision than others. Those who have been given more are unwilling to pass their provision on to the slaves they possess so that they become their equals. How can they refuse to acknowledge God’s blessings?
[Quran 16:71]
In his reflections on the Quran, Shaykh ash-Sha’rāwī (may Allah have mercy on him) stated the following:
If we looked at the creation around us, we would find that we’re not equal in anything except for one thing – that we’re slaves of God. We’re equal in only this thing. We’re different in everything else. We differ in our colours, we differ in our bodies, our looks, our talents, and our provisions.
The strange thing is that this difference is the essence of concordance, because difference can give rise to concordance and concordance can give rise to discordance. For example, if you and a friend enter a restaurant and order a chicken, where you like the breast and your friend likes another part of it, this is a difference. When the food arrives, you find this difference is the essence of concordance because you take what you like and your friend does the same. Now, if we assume we both like the breast, for example, this is a concordance that could lead to discordance when the food arrives and we sit down – which one takes the breast?
The Truth, all glory be to Him, created us different in ways, and He wanted this difference to be for complementarity between us. How can there be complementarity otherwise? Can we imagine, for example, a person who has collected all the talents, such that if they wanted to build a house, for instance, they’re the architect who draws, the builder who builds, the labourer who carries, the carpenter, the blacksmith, the plumber, etc? Can we imagine a person such as this? No. Rather, the Creator, all glory be to Him, spread these talents between people so that each one remains in need for another having talents they don’t possess. In this way, complementarity is achieved in creation. Hence, difference between us is the essence of concordance, and it’s a sign from His signs, all glory be to Him, and a wisdom the Creator, the Majestic and Exalted, wanted to manifest. He said, (They will remain different) [Quran 11:118]. He created us in this way Otherwise, if we became one and the same in talents, [meaning] if we all became philosophers, physicians, and scholars, then who will build? Who will farm? Who will manufacture? etc.
Hence, it’s from the mercy of God that He made us different, complementing each other. The Truth, all glory be to Him, says, (in provision). People look at provision from one angle – money, [declaring] this one is rich, and this one is poor. In reality, provision is not only money. Rather, everything you benefit from is your provision. For this one their provision is their intellect, and the other it’s their physical power. This one does mental lobour and the other does physical labour. Therefore, we must not look at provision as if it’s a single colour. We must look at everything God created for His creation in different talents: health, ability, intelligence, forbearance, courage, etc. All these are from the provisions that people have been preferred over one another in. And the Truth, all glory be to Him, when He presented the issue of provision [in this verse], He made this preference ambiguous, where the verse did not state who was preferred over whom. For the term (some) is ambiguous so that we understand from it that in every some of some, they have been preferred in one way, but another was preferred over them in another way. The physically strong is preferred over the weak in their strength, but the weak could be preferred over them with what they have in knowledge or wisdom.
As such, every one in God’s creation has been blessed with a talent. This talent is not replicated in people until creation is complemented by one another. If you find this talent in one person and missing in another, interest dictates that both sides should come together, not in a relationship of preference over one another, but a relationship of need fulfilment…
Do not look at one angle in any human being. Look at their collective angles, and you will find the Truth, all glory be to Him, is Just in distributing talents between people. If you ran an equation between people, you would find the collective sum of each person is equal to that of every other person. Meaning, if you took, for example, health, wealth, children, strength, courage, peace of mind, righteous spouse, status, and station, etc., you would find the share of each one of us at the end of the equation equal to the share of another. You’re increased over me in strength, and I’m increased over you in knowledge, and so on. Because having no kinship or lineage relationship to Him, we’re all slaves of God.
