Asma ul Husna- #31 Al Basit, #32 Al Qaabid

Al- Baasit

                                                                       Audio link here

The Expander, The Reliever

• The One who makes ample and plentiful all that is needed.
• The One who expands and amplifies all abundance.
• The One who makes the way wide and open. 
• The One who stretches out a helping hand to mankind. 
• The One whose open hand releases joy, comfort and abundance.
• The One who infuses the soul into the body. 
• The One who has filled the heart with spiritual abundance. 
• The One whose glory and abundance fill and expand the heart.
• Allah grants spiritual and material abundance to those who believe in Him and who obey Him wholeheartedly.
• He removes the difficulties they face. Upon encountering any hardship, trouble, or sickness, believers take refuge only in Allah. As a reward for this, Allah eases their tasks while making things difficult for unbelievers.
• He is the One who, if takes something for you, makes way for something better and bigger in your life. 
• In return for one good deed, He gives you a thousand blessings. 
• He gives life to the heart, of course, according to His wisdom and mercy.

“Your Lord expands the provision of anyone He wills and restricts it. He is aware of and sees His servants”. ( Surat al-Isra’, 17:30)

“And, behold, with every hardship comes ease: verily, with every hardship comes ease! Hence, when you are freed from distress, remain steadfast, and unto your Sustainer turn with love.” (Surah 94-As Sharh)

Al- Qaabid

The Restrainer, The Witholder, The Straitener

• We all go through periods of constriction. Our chests feel tight, we may feel angry with people and we find no pleasure in acts of worship. On the other hand, during the good times there is a feeling of great expansion in the heart, a lightness and a joy.
• Both of these are from Allah, al-Qaabid al-Baasit, He who contracts and He who expands
• Another aspect of qabd and bast shows us the true power of God. Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) seizes the souls and causes them to die, or releases them.
• Most relevant to us is the state of our hearts, which we struggle with daily. We sometimes feel constricted, but the constriction is for a reason. Sometimes it is this constriction that brings us back to God. 
• A person who is in a state of constriction should remember that the One who was able to constrain his heart (The Al-Qaabid) is also The One who can expand it (The Al-Basit)  The Prophet Yusuf alayhi as-salaam (peace be upon him) had to be thrown in a well before coming into the care of the Minister. He had to be put in prison before he was given power and reunited with his family. But he understood that it was from Allah (swt) and was able to make the best of his situation. He knew that the relief was coming.
• The feeling of qabd is sometimes due to our own priorities. We may desire approval, control and security from other than Allah (swt), and when they fail us the natural feeling of contraction occurs. It hurts. And some of us decide to keep it there. We let the feeling of qabd push us farther away from Allah (swt), because we do not understand why it is there. But Allah (swt) is al-Qaabid, and just like a headache tells us we have not slept well or a stomachache tells us the food we have eaten is bad, this qabd tells us to reflect on its causes. There is a root cause, and the only way to get rid of the discomfort of the contraction is to deal with its source. And just like Allah (swt) is al-Qaabid, He is al-Baasit who can remove even the traces of any constriction we may have felt.
• The key is to know that after every hardship is ease, as promised in the Qur’an. And the state of the believer is that when he is in a state of ease and feeling at rest in his heart, he is grateful. Sheikh Omar AbdelKafy stated that the heart is like a home. At the times when we are able, it is important to build around the house, so that if a thief decides to rob us, he has to get past so much more just to be able to get to the front door.