Studying Names of Allah’s benefits are not excluded to getting closer to Allah or praising Allah while making Duas, but sometimes it allows us to understand the wisdom beyond the restriction and the providence that we feel while we go through our life’s stations. You may one day wake up feeling gifted, provided and supported, other days you feel losing everything. These ups and downs stations are ruled by the Discretion of Allah. Sometimes you feel your stock of happiness increases, while on next day you feel it’s decreased, this go by the Wisdom of Allah. Allah Al-Mighty said in the Holy Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah:245, ”And it is Allah who withholds and grants abundance, and to Him you will be returned.” (وَاللَّهُ يَقْبِضُ وَيَبْسُطُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ). So what dose the Names of Allah Al-Qabid (الْقَابِضُ) and Al-Basit (الْبَاسِطُ) mean? And why they are combined?
Al-Qabid (الْقَابِضُ)
(The Restricting One)
He is the Witholder, the One who constricts the sustenance by His wisdom and expands and widens it with His Generosity and Mercy. He is the One who decides to withhold something or to make it scarce. He is the One who constricts lives, breathes, sustenance, rains, winds, sunlight, and waters, etc. He withholds guidance to whoever He wills, and spread it to whoever He wills. He is the One who whatever He wills comes to be. Allah said in Surah Al-Hijir, Ayah:21 ”And there is not a thing but that with Us are its depositories, and We do not send it down except according to a known measure.” (وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلَّا عِندَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُ إِلَّا بِقَدَرٍ مَّعْلُومٍ), everything is between His Hands. Allah may take something valuable from you, not because He wills suffering for you, as Allah said ”What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe? And ever is Allah Appreciative and Knowing.” Surah Al-Nissa:147, but Allah is guiding to search for His Mercy in order to ask for His sustenance and providence. Your worshiping to Allah comes to its peak when you flee to Him, when you feel there is no refuge and no place of safety from Allah but with Allah. The word ”Al-Qabid (الْقَابِضُ)” comes from the arabic root ” ق ب ض ”, to take in the hand, clutch, lay hold of to grasp, grip, seize, hold firmly to have absolute ownership of something. He is the One who decides to give or to prevent. There is also, a beautiful Ayah in Surah Al-Najim, Ayah 43 spoke about the idea of giving and preventing that touches our hearts and makes us submit to Allah if we are sad or happy ”And that it is He who makes [one] laugh and weep.” When we believe that any constricting happens to us is made under the Care of Allah, it pushes us more to accept this test and strengthen our faith in Allah’s Wisdom. Another meaning to the Attributes ”AlQabid” is the One who captures souls through death or sleeping, the prophet Muhammed (ﷺ) said, “Allah captured your souls (made you sleep) when He willed, and returned them (to your bodies) when He willed.”
Al-Basit (الْبَاسِطُ)
(The Extender)
He is the Englarger, He is the One who amplifies all abundance. He is the one who makes the way wide open. “Al-Basit” is the One who can provide everything and anything. He is Generous and likes generosity and Munificent and likes munificence, who is not stingy and do not withholds His providence against His slaves in contrary to the Jews who accused Allah and said ”And the Jews say, “The hand of Allah is chained.” and Allah said in same Ayah of Surah Al-Maidah:64 ”Chained are their hands, and cursed are they for what they say. Rather, both His hands are extended; He spends however He wills.” The word ”Al-Basit” has the arabic root of ” ب س ط”, which means to expand, enlarge, extend, to grant abundance, to provide amply, to spread, widen, to make spacious, or to extend a hand. Sayyiuna Anas said that when prices were high in the Prophet’s time the people asked him to fix prices for them, but he replied, “God is the One who fixes prices, who withholds, gives lavishly and provides, and I hope that when I meet my Lord none of you will have any claim on me for an injustice regarding blood or property.” Al-Basit is Allah, who makes you feel secure with His divine pardon and forgiveness and Al-Qabid is also Allah who makes you feel afraid of being separated from Him. When you live by this Name of Allah, you feel supported and under the Care of Allah, you feel with one Duas of you with sincere intention and heart that the gates of heavens will be opened to you because of Allah.
When learning about the Names of Allah, it is a sort of perfection in meaning to learn it through viewing the names in pairs as they occur. Al-Qabid (الْقَابِضُ) and Al-Basit (الْبَاسِطُ) are combined to give a complete overview of the meanings of both. From the word Al-Qabid you can understand the word Al-Basit. May Allah provide us with beneficial knowledge and make it sincere for His Sake asking His Pleasure and Jannah.
