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To one who pursued all paths but found them blocked and knocked on all doors and found them closed..
To one who explored his inner self and the secrets of his being and found life constricted, despite its vastness..
To one who felt the bitterness of humiliation, and the shackles of helplessness trod on him and battered his being..
To one who was forsaken by his relatives and friends, and his foes gloated over him and he lost his self-confidence..
To one who was hit hard by disasters and surrounded by difficulties and unpleasant things, and relief was too slow in coming to him..
To one whose heart hardened and became hopeless and tired of life..
To one who suffered severe illness, a heavy debt, or abject poverty..
I say to them all: Do not be sad, for Allah Almighty is the Constrictor and the Expander. He will remove your distress and protect you at times of hardships and disasters. He will make you strong without your folks and self-sufficient without wealth, and He will grant you more if you show gratitude to Him, mention you if you mention Him, and give you if you ask from Him.
So, turn to Him and seek closeness to Him through His two names: (Al-Qābid - Al-Bāsit). These two names are closely connected and should always be used together. We may not praise Allah by one of them without the other.
If you want to obtain tranquility and relief within your heart, say as the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: “O Allah, all praise is due to You.
O Allah, none can constrict what You expand nor expand what You constrict, nor bring near what You put far away or put far away what You bring near. No one can give what You withhold nor withhold what You give.
O Allah, expand for us some of Your blessings, mercy, favor, and sustenance.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri in Al-Adab al-Mufrad; Sahīh (authentic)]
Our Lord, Exalted be He, is the One Who expands the provision for whomever He wills, ending poverty altogether, and Who constricts it to whomever He wills, until he possesses nothing. He does that by His perfect ability and justice, in line with His wisdom, and in ways that suit the conditions of His servants. If He gives him abundance, this does not stem from extravagance or ignorance, and if He constricts His sustenance, this is not due to insufficiency or stinginess. Allah Almighty says: {If Allah were to give abundant provision to [all] His slaves, they would transgress on earth; but He sends down what He wills in due measure. Indeed, He is All-Aware and All-Seeing of His slaves.} [Surat ash-Shūra: 27]
When the prices went up during the Prophet’s lifetime, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) asked the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) to fix the prices. They said: “O Messenger of Allah, the prices have gone up. So, fix the prices for us.” He said: “Allah is the One Who fixes prices, the constrictor, the Expander, the Provider.” [Narrated by Ibn Mājah; Sahīh (authentic)]
Our Lord, Exalted be He, takes charity from the wealthy and expands the provision for the weak. He takes charity, grows it, and expands His blessings.
And our Lord is the One Who takes the souls out of the bodies at the time of death and expands the souls in them at the beginning of life.
Also, Allah Almighty constricts the hearts of people and makes them so narrow as if they were climbing into the sky, and He expands them beyond capacity out of His benevolence, kindness, and beauty, thus putting joy and relief into them. In the Qur’an, He says: {Whoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his heart to Islam; and whoever He wills to lead astray, He makes his heart tight and constricted, as if he were climbing up into the sky. This is how Allah punishes those who do not believe.} [Surat al-An‘ām: 125]
Our Lord constricts and expands by His two honorable Hands, in a real manner and in a way that befits His majesty and magnificence, for whomever He wills among His servants. This includes the heavens and the earth.
Allah Almighty says: {They did not revere Allah His true reverence. On the Day of Resurrection, the whole earth will be in His Grip, and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified and exalted is He above all what they associate with Him!} [Surat az-Zumar: 67] The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “Allah Almighty will take hold of His heavens and earth with His two Hands and say: ‘I am Allah - constricting and expanding His Fingers - I am the King.’” [Narrated by Muslim]
And our Lord expands His Hand to accept the repentance of those who do wrong. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “Allah expands His Hand during the night so the sinners of the day may repent, and expands His Hand during the day so the sinners of the night may repent. He keeps doing so until the sun rises from the west.” [Narrated by Muslim]
Our Lord also gives respite to the sinners, making them live between hope and fear.
Our Lord expands His Hand every night to those who ask and supplicate Him. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “...Then He expands His Hands and says: ‘Who will lend One Who is neither indigent nor tyrant?’” [Narrated by Muslim]
Also, our Lord gives expanse in knowledge and stature to whomever He wills. In the Qur’an, He says: {...And has increased him abundantly in knowledge and physique...} [Surat al-Baqarah: 247]
Our Lord will take a handful of Hellfire, with His honorable Hand, and bring out people who have never done any good. In a lengthy Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “And He will take a handful of Hellfire, bringing out of it some people who never did good.” [Narrated by Muslim]
Also, our Lord constricts and expands light and darkness, leading to the alternation of night and day.
And He constricts things by prohibition and expands others by permission.
He also constricts and expands the hearts of His servants, and thus the believers live between hope and fear.
He constricts and expands,
and He elevates and lowers, by justice and measure.
When a servant walks on the path to his Lord, worshiping Him and performing obligatory and supererogatory acts, with his heart being in deep attachment to Allah, you find him in relief and joy, with this good condition being expanded for him by the Almighty Lord. On the other hand, when a servants commits sins, he becomes uneasy and dispirited.
This feeling of unease is the constriction by Allah Almighty. It is a fleeting tribulation that leads to His grace. {[And Allah also turned in mercy to] the three who stayed behind, until the earth became constrained to them, despite its vastness, and their souls became a burden to them, and they realized that there was no refuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them in mercy, so that they might repent, for Allah is the Accepter of Repentance, the Most Merciful.} [Surat at-Tawbah: 118]
On the other hand, the feeling of relief and joy and the inclination towards Allah fall under the expanding by our Lord.
Also, the feeling of unease, backtracking from worship, or lack of pleasure in worship falls under constriction. Indeed, a person could be constricted by sins, be they outward or inward, like the diseases of the heart.
Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Verily, when a person commits a sin, his heart is marked with a black spot. When he repents, his heart is polished clean. But if he returns, it increases until it covers his entire heart. And that is the ‘Rān’ which Allah mentions: {No indeed! Their hearts have been stained by what they used to commit!} [Surat al-Mutaffifīn: 14]” [Narrated by Ibn Hibbān; Classified as Sahīh (authentic) by Al-Arnā’ūt]
The believer oscillates between expanding and constricting. Hence, he constantly implores his Lord to make him steadfast and grant him a good ending. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate saying: “Ya muqallib al-qulūb thabbit qalby ‘ala dīnik (O Turner of the hearts, keep my heart firm upon Your religion).” [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; Sahīh (authentic)] If this is the case of the believer, then what about one who persists in sins and disobedience?!
Therefore, scholars said: The greatest act of expanding by Allah is expanding mercy within the hearts, illuminating them and bringing them out of the darkness of sins. {Is one whose heart Allah has opened to Islam, so he is enlightened by his Lord [like a disbeliever]?...} [Surat az-Zumar: 22] {Whoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his heart to Islam...} [Surat al-An‘ām: 125]
And its opposite occurs in the verse that says: {And whoever He wills to lead astray, He makes his heart tight and constricted, as if he were climbing up into the sky} [Surat al-An‘ām: 125]
In another verse, Allah Almighty says: {Say, “My Lord extends provision to whom He wills or restricts it, but most people do not know”.} [Surat Saba’: 36] He also says: {Your Lord extends provision to whom He wills or restricts it. He is All-Aware and All-Seeing of His slaves.} [Surat al-Isrā’: 30] He informs us that expanding and constricting lie in His Hand and are subject to His will and predestination. He expands for whomever He wills his wealth, good health, lifespan, or knowledge - or constricts it. He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware. The abundance you see the enemies of Allah enjoying is not an act of expanding, but in fact a plot to gradually drag them to their ruin.
The believer may be deprived of something, yet this is in fact a gift for him; and he may be given something, and this is not but a trial for him. {But it maybe that you dislike something which is good for you, and you like something which is bad for you.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 216]
Allah Almighty is the One Who expands and constricts and Who elevates and lowers, according to His predestination. This does not mean, however, that such things do not happen due to the people themselves and their acts. They do certain things and find their consequences. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) combined these two meanings in the Hadīth that reads: “Whoever loves to have his sustenance expanded and his term of life prolonged should maintain ties of kinship.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
So, the expansion of sustenance lies in the Hand of Allah; whereas maintaining ties of kinship is a cause to be fulfilled by the person himself.
When Allah expands a person’s wealth, knowledge, stature, or status, he should draw close to his Lord by showing benevolence to His servants as Allah has shown him benevolence. This is a way of expressing gratitude for Allah’s favors by which the favors continue to exist. However, if he cannot afford to give people, then let him treat them kindly. {For Allah loves those who do good.} [Surat Ᾱl ‘Imrān: 134]
O Allah, the One Who constricts and expands, expand for us Your mercy and protect us from the evil of Your creatures.
O Allah, expand for us Your blessings, mercy, favor, and sustenance.