Is the statement, "Do not ask Allah for sustenance, for sustenance is decreed; rather, ask Him for blessing in it," soundly attributed to Omar ibn al-Khattab?
The saying, "Do not occupy yourself with supplicating for sustenance, for what is destined for you will inevitably reach you; rather, occupy yourself with supplicating for blessing in it," is baseless and is not believed to have been uttered by Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, for several reasons:
1. Divine revelation guided towards supplicating for sustenance, as indicated in Quranic verses and prophetic hadiths. 2. Supplication is one of the means to attain sustenance, just like striving and working. Abandoning these means is a flaw in both intellect and religious law. 3. The saying is contradictory. Supplicating for blessing is desirable, and blessing is a type of sustenance. If supplicating for blessing is permissible, then supplicating for sustenance is also permissible. 4. A supplication attributed to Umar ibn al-Khattab contradicts this saying, where he asked for the effacement of wretchedness and the affirmation of felicity, which indicates his belief in the alteration of destinies through supplication.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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