Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, said Al-Qābiḍ and Al-Bāṣiṭ are two noble names that are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an in the verb form only because they are attributes of Divine actions, rather than of the Divine Self. Attributes of the Divine Self typically occur in the form of c nouns. The effect of these two names are reflected on the creatures; Al-Bāṣit refers to giving and expanding, and Al-Qābiḍ refers to restricting and narrowing.

During the twenty-third episode of his Ramadan program Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk, His Eminence explained that restricting a person’s livelihood is not a sign of evil befalling him, nor does it mean that Allah Almighty does not love him or that it is a punishment for him. On the other hand, easing one’s livelihood does not indicate the righteousness of this person or his closeness to Allah or that Allah loves him. Indeed, Allah Almighty does not take this world as a measure of man’s worth, righteousness, or corruption. Allah may deprive a poor pious servant of wealth, and give it to a wicked rich one. This matter is very important, and it is one of the misconceptions that should be corrected.

The Grand Imam emphasized that all money and wealth belong to Allah, so when you withhold it from those who deserve it, you have intervened and acted according to your egotistic desire or whim, and you would have then disobeyed what Allah commanded you to do. In addition, expansion of sustenance may be in knowledge or wealth, or may also be in many other things that we do not know in heaven or on earth, and which are countless.

The Grand Imam concluded by saying that there are many hadiths that call for spending, giving and not being stingy with money. The Prophet (pbuh) said to ˀAsmāˀ, may Allah be pleased with her, “Do not hoard; otherwise, Allah would then withhold from you.” That is, do not be stingy or Allah will restrict your livelihood. There are other hadiths that deal with people’s abstaining from spending for fear of poverty. The Prophet (pbuh) said, “A Muslim’s wealth shall not be decreased by charity.” People should believe that whatever money they spend, Allah will compensate them for it in the form of money, good health or long age. His Eminence warned against asking people for something you do not need. The Prophet (pbuh) said, “... and no servant of Allah opens up a door to begging except that Allah opens for him  a door to poverty.” This is a call for people to preserve their dignity and to refrain as much as they can from asking others for unneeded money.