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Is Allah Almighty’s saying: "And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision" an informative statement that the provision of creatures is from Allah, or a pledge from Him, glory be to Him, to provide for them, and how can we reconcile it with the death of some creatures from hunger?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The Almighty's statement: "And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision" (Hud: 6) does not mean that every creature will be provided with what suffices it. Rather, it means that Allah has taken responsibility for the provisions of all creatures, of their various kinds. He expands provision for whom He wills and restricts it for whom He wills. This affirms the perfection of Allah's attributes, such as knowledge and power.

Some creatures may indeed die of starvation, just as is the case with humans. Nevertheless, if their provision comes to them, it is from Allah, a favor from Him, not an obligation upon Him.

As for accountable human beings, Allah has tested them with commands and prohibitions, and with ease and hardship, to elicit the acts of worship of gratitude and patience, as stated in His saying: "And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger" (Al-Baqarah: 155). Allah has commanded the wealthy to give to the poor, for in the total wealth there is enough for everyone if they comply with this.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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