Al-Qabid

The One who takes souls, who constricts and restricts, and who gives provision in measured amounts. Allah Almighty says: "...And to Him you will be returned." (Al-Baqarah, 245) It means the One who deals with His servants through His power and will, restricting them in both material and spiritual matters. Although the name Al-Qabid is not mentioned as a name in the Qur'an, Allah's act of taking hold is mentioned as a verb. He is the One who gives life to all living things and who takes the souls of creatures at the moment of death. It is Allah who impoverishes and constricts in material terms, and Allah who enriches and expands. Just as we see those who were rich become poor, the strong become weak, those in high positions fall, and the learned lose their minds, so too He is the One who created those who were poor and became rich; those who were seen as weak in Makkah and became strong at Mina; those like Bilal al-Habashi who were slaves of the disbelievers and became masters of the believers; those like Yusuf (peace be upon him) who went from prison to rule over Egypt; and Muhammad, who though unlettered became the teacher of all people to come until the Day of Judgement. It is Allah who takes and Allah who gives. Allah tests one person by increasing his means, to see whether he will be grateful, and another by restricting his means, to see whether he will be ungrateful. Therefore what people possess or fail to possess is not in itself a gain for them. These are only trials Allah has created to see whether they desire this fleeting worldly life or the Hereafter, which is the true abode. If a person fails to recognise this reality and, imagining that everything in his hand is his own, becomes miserly and does not spend as Allah wills, then Allah may restrict the means in his hand. Conversely, He increases the means of those who know that everything given to them is for the purpose of earning Allah's pleasure, and He rewards them in the finest way both in this world and the next. The servant's share of this name requires him to hold fast to the blessings Allah Himself has given, not to what is given by the hand of another — for dominion belongs to none besides Allah, and there is no giver other than Allah. When the servant takes on the character of this name, his words turn the hearts of other beings toward the truth.

The noble name Al-Qabid is recited 903 times as "Ya Qabid, jalla jalaluhu" for the destruction of an oppressor. If someone writes the name "Al-Qabid" upon forty morsels of bread for forty days and eats one morsel each day, thereafter he does not feel the pain of hunger.