Quran Universe
26:79

وَٱلَّذِي هُوَ يُطۡعِمُنِي وَيَسۡقِينِ

Waallathee huwa yutAAimunee wayasqeeni

And it is He who feeds me and gives me drink.

Word by word
  1. وَٱلَّذِيAnd the One Who
  2. هُوَ[He]
  3. يُطۡعِمُنِيgives me food
  4. وَيَسۡقِينِand gives me drink
Ash-Shu'ara · 26:79Makkah

He is the one who feeds me and gives me water.

Every meal traced back to its source

Where the meal comes from
Allahdrives the clouds
sends
rainfresh and sweet
becomes
food and drinkon my table
Who provides
my salaryI pay for my food
Allahthe salary is a means

Second reason: He feeds me and gives me drink. Ibn Kathir describes how Allah drives the clouds and sends down water, reviving the earth and bringing out fruits, and sends water fresh and sweet for people and animals to drink.

You grab a sandwich between meetings and drink from a plastic bottle without looking at it. You think your paycheck bought it. Your paycheck is just the last step of a long chain that starts with rain.

I feed myself with the money I earn.

Allah feeds me. My job is one of the ways He sends it.

Try this

Before your next meal, say Bismillah slowly and think of the rain that made it.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 26:78)

Who has created me, and it is He Who guides me (78)And it is He Who feeds me and gives me to drink (79)And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me (80)And Who will cause me to die, and then will bring me to life (81)And Who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on the Day of Recompense (82)

Ibrahim Mentions Allah's Kindness Towards Him

Ibrahim said, "I will not worship any but the One Who does these things:

الَّذِي خَلَقَنِي فَهُوَ يَهْدِينِ

(Who has created me, and it is He Who guides me.) He is the Creator Who has decreed certain things to which He guides His creation, so each person follows the path which is decreed for him. Allah is the One Who guides whomsoever He wills and leaves astray whomsoever He wills.

وَالَّذِي هُوَ يُطْعِمُنِي وَيَسْقِينِ

(And it is He Who feeds me and gives me to drink.) He is my Creator Who provides for me from that which He has made available in the heavens and on earth. He drives the clouds and causes water to fall with which He revives the earth and brings forth its fruits as provision for mankind. He sends down the water fresh and sweet so that many of those whom He has created, animals and men alike, may drink from it.

وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ

(And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me.) Here he attributed sickness to himself, even though it is Allah Who decrees it, out of respect towards Allah. By the same token, Allah commands us to say in the prayer,

اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ

(Guide us to the straight way)(1:6) to the end of the Surah. Grace and guidance are attributed to Allah, may He be exalted, but the subject of the verb with reference to anger is omitted, and going astray is attributed to the people. This is like when the Jinn said:

وَأَنَّا لَا نَدْرِي أَشَرٌّ أُرِيدَ بِمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ أَمْ أَرَادَ بِهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ رَشَدًا

(And we know not whether evil is intended for those on earth, or whether their Lord intends for them a right path)(72:10) Similarly, Ibrahim said:

وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ

(And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me.) meaning, 'when I fall sick, no one is able to heal me but Him, Who heals me with the means that may lead to recovery'.

وَالَّذِي يُمِيتُنِي ثُمَّ يُحْيِينِ

(And Who will cause me to die, and then will bring me to life.) He is the One Who gives life and causes death, and no one besides Him is able to do that, for He is the One Who originates and repeats.

وَالَّذِي أَطْمَعُ أَن يَغْفِرَ لِي خَطِيئَتِي يَوْمَ الدِّينِ

(And Who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on the Day of Recompense.) means, no one is able to forgive sins in this world or the Hereafter except Him. Who can forgive sins except Allah? For He is the One Who does whatever He wills.