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And one of His names is the Bestower.
Look at His favors and gifts at all times.
The dwellers of the heavens and the earth never cease
to receive these blessings from Him.
Praising Himself, Allah Almighty says: {Or do they have the depositories of the mercy of your Lord, the All-Mighty, the Bestower?} [Surat Sād: 9]
Our Lord, Exalted be He, is the Generous Bestower of gifts, which encompass all beings in the heavens and the earth. His giving and blessings are ceaseless. He gives without being asked and bestows favors without any means on the part of His servants. {Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower.} [Surat Ᾱl-‘Imrān: 8] {Or do they have the depositories of the mercy of your Lord, the All-Mighty, the Bestower?} [Surat Sād: 9]
Glory be to Him, a Magnificent Creator and a Generous Bestower!
Generosity and bounty are among His greatest attributes, and His giving never ceases. Could there ever be someone who is more bountiful than He is?!
His servants disobey Him but He watches over them, and He still preserves and takes care of them as they move and sleep as if they did not commit sins. He bestows His favors even upon sinners and wrongdoers.
Who supplicated Him and did not receive an answer? Who asked from Him and was not granted his request? Who stood at His door and got rejected?
Glory be to the One Who fulfills wishes lying within the heart yet not uttered by the tongue!
Glory be to Him! He guarantees the provision for all the worlds.
In fact, the favors of Allah Almighty are successively bestowed upon us since we were mere drops of sperm inside our mothers’ wombs. Then, He gave us the hearing and eyesight and breathed life into us. Then, He gave us food and drink and endowed us with homes, provisions, and everything we need.
Allah Almighty says to His servant: {Have We not made for him two eyes? And a tongue and two lips? And have shown him the two ways?} [Surat al-Balad: 8-10] {O people, it is you who stand in need of Allah; as for Allah, He is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy.} [Surat Fātir: 15]
He created you and provides for you. He gave you life and causes you to die. He bestows His favors upon you. He causes you to get sick and cures you. He causes you to get hungry and satisfies your hunger. He causes you to become thirsty and quenches your thirst. He makes you laugh and cry. He teaches you what you do not know and informs you about what you are ignorant of. He prepares your provision,
answers your supplication, responds to your call, vanquishes your enemies, sends messengers to you, teaches you His book, and guides you to His path; and after all that, you disobey Him! {Cursed is man; How ungrateful he is!} [Surat ‘Abasa: 17]
Do you find difficulty in life?
Do you suffer from illness?
Are you heavily in debt?
Are you crushed by poverty?
Do you wish to have a wife and children?
Do you live in perplexity and confusion?
Now, you should turn to Allah, the Bestower, the Generous Giver. Just raise your hands, stand at His door, and ask for His refuge, and behold! Your hunger, thirst, sleeplessness, and illness will disappear and the absent will come back, the misguided will be guided, the captive will be set free, and darkness will be dispelled by light.
He is the Bestower, Who turns tears into smiles, fear into security, panic into tranquility, darkness into light, and distress into unexpected relief.
The treasures of Allah Almighty are full and inexhaustible. He says: {...Call upon Me; I will respond to you...} [Surat Ghāfir: 60] Whoever supplicates Allah should ask for something big, for nothing is too big for Him. Here is Sulaymān (Solomon) (peace be upon him) asking for what is good in this world and in the Hereafter: {He said: “My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as none other after me will deserve. Indeed, You are the Bestower.”} [Surat Sād: 35]
Another example is Zakariyya (Zachariah) (peace be upon him). He became an old man and his wife was barren. Nonetheless, he said: {...My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication.} [Surat Ᾱl-‘Imrān: 38]
The kingdom, authority, wealth, children, and good health all come from Allah, the King, the Bestower. {...And Allah gives His sovereignty to whom He wills. And Allah is All-Encompassing [in favor] and All-Knowing.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 247] {...He grants females to whom He wills, and He grants females to whom he wills.} [Surat ash-Shūra: 49]
The best supplication a person can make to his Lord is the one made by learned people, who know the secrets in communicating privately with their Lord through His beautiful names, and so they ask Him for steadfastness and mercy: {Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower.} [Surat Ᾱl-‘Imrān: 8]
Hence, Allah Almighty made it a statement to be said in each Rak‘ah of prayer, imploring Him to grant us guidance: {Guide us to the straight path.} [Surat al-Fātihah: 6]
Allah Almighty loves those who supplicate Him. Rather, if it were not for their supplication, He would not care about them. He says: {Say: “My Lord would not care for you were it not for your supplication...”} [Surat al-Furqān: 77]
One of the supplications whereby we can draw close to our Lord is this one, which He teaches us in the Qur’an: {And those who say: “Our Lord, grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous.”} [Surat al-Furqān: 74]
And after this supplication, He gives the promise of Paradise: {Those will be awarded the Chamber for what they patiently endured, and they will be received therein with greetings and [words of] peace.} [Surat al-Furqān: 75]
Whoever becomes attached to Allah Almighty, resorts to Him whenever he is in distress, and frequently knocks on His door with humble submission and sincere supplication, Allah will honor, protect, and support him throughout his life and give him beyond his wishes.
Our Lord, Exalted be He, bestows favors in this world as a trial and test and bestows favors in the Hereafter as a reward and recompense.
So, He gives in worldly life in accordance with His will and afflicts according to His wisdom, so that one gets attached to his Lord through supplication and hope, and attains happiness through his monotheism and faith.
That is the greatest favor and gift ever, if the servant is aware of the truth of his trial.
If he knows this, he will develop a sense of love for his Lord on account of this name, extend praise and thanks to Him, and become perpetually attached to Him.
Praise be to You, our Lord, the Best Bestower.
You are the Best to fulfill our hopes and grant our wishes.
You are the Best to remove hardships and relieve distress.
And You are the Best to give and bestow favors.
O Allah, bestow Your mercy upon us; indeed You are the Bestower; and forgive us, our parents, and all Muslims, O Lord of the worlds!