Combining the verse "so that some of them may take others as a source of amusement" with the concept of self-sufficiency from people
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
This questioner says: He says: Allah the Exalted said:[Az-Zukhruf 43:32]
The Shaykh:
We followed some of you, what is in some of you, yes.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh:
No, by Allah.
The questioner:
So that some of them may take others as a source of amusement.
The Shaykh:
[Az-Zukhruf 43:32] A third-person pronoun. [Az-Zukhruf 43:32] Yes, and what is the issue with it?
The questioner:
He says: May Allah reward you, how do we combine this verse with the statement that self-sufficiency from people is part of the perfection of tawhid (the oneness of Allah)?
The Shaykh:
It is not self-sufficiency to not work and not earn your livelihood. Who said that? Seek your provision, work, and hire yourself out. This is not a deficiency in tawhid (the oneness of Allah); rather, this is the perfection of tawhid. Seek your provision.[An-Nisa 4:103] "And disperse in the earth" [Ar-Rum 30:46] [and] Allah [Al-Jumu'ah 62:10] [says]. So seeking provision is commanded, and it is also an act of worship, if your intention is correct, it is worship.
This questioner says: He says: Allah the Exalted said:
and have raised some of them above others in degrees [of rank] that they may make use of one another for service
وَرَفَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ لِّيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُم بَعْضًا سُخْرِيًّاThe Shaykh:
We followed some of you, what is in some of you, yes.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh:
No, by Allah.
The questioner:
So that some of them may take others as a source of amusement.
The Shaykh:
It is We who have apportioned among them their livelihood
نَحْنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُم مَّعِيشَتَهُمْin the life of this world and have raised some of them above others in degrees [of rank] that they may make use of one another for service
فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَرَفَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ لِّيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُم بَعْضًا سُخْرِيًّاThe questioner:
He says: May Allah reward you, how do we combine this verse with the statement that self-sufficiency from people is part of the perfection of tawhid (the oneness of Allah)?
The Shaykh:
It is not self-sufficiency to not work and not earn your livelihood. Who said that? Seek your provision, work, and hire yourself out. This is not a deficiency in tawhid (the oneness of Allah); rather, this is the perfection of tawhid. Seek your provision.
And when you have completed the prayer
فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُمُ الصَّلَاةَso you may seek of His bounty
وَلِتَبْتَغُوا مِن فَضْلِهِAnd when the prayer has been concluded, disperse within the land and seek from the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often
فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَانتَشِرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَابْتَغُوا مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا
Source
شرح كتاب فتح المجيد في شرح كتاب التوحيد [ صالح الفوزان ]، باب : من حقق التوحيد دخل الجنة بغير حساب — islamhouse.com (1:01:38)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.