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Salamun Alaykum

Thank you for your query.

وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا ۚ كُلٌّ فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ

And there is no creature in the earth but on Allah is the sustenance of it, and He knows its resting place and its depository all (things) are in a manifest book. (Surah Hud/6)

Indeed, Allah (swt) is the Sustainer(Raziq) of not only the mankind but of all creatures.

Have we ever thought why people are dying because of starvation?

Allah Almighty, Who is infinitely merciful, has set the world like a dining table and invited the living beings to this feast. Everything from the tiniest microbe that is invisible by eyes to tons of heavy whales benefits from this feast. According to the findings that biology points out there are over two million kinds of plants and animals on earth. In addition, each kind has individuals in infinite numbers. Just as each has different stomachs, tastes, nutrition, they also have different foods. Who satisfies their hunger every single day perfectly?

The best example to the fact that food is given to the living beings by Allah (swt) is that the incapable feed themselves better. For example, the baby in mother’s womb is completely deprived of strength. But through umbilical cord, it is fed perfectly. When he/she opens his/her eyes to the world, he/she gains a bit of strength and that door is closed. Again, this time, he/she is fed on the pure and nutritious milk from the mother’s breasts. Not only does milk contain iron and copper, but also all nutrients that are necessary for the baby’s life such as fat, protein, carbohydrate. In addition, these elements are stored in his/her mother’s womb by Allah Almighty Who has undertaken his/her food even before he/she was born. And this process continues. Without the strength of the fetus it is just Allah swt who can provide the provision and sustain the baby. None other than God has the power to sustain human being in this perfect order. So Allah, has given the Rizq, it is on us to strive and struggle and get our provision. If one sits at home and waits for the food, will he get it or he has to go and gain it by hard working? So, there are 2 parts. One part is the hard working from our side and the other side is on Allah to sustain and remove our hunger.

Sometimes we see, it is the human being because of whom, some or many people are deprived of the basic necessity of the human being which is food. In some of the countries that do not get enough food whereas in many countries tons of food is being wasted.

In the United States 30% of all food, worth US$48.3 billion (€32.5 billion), is thrown away each year. It is estimated that about half of the water used to produce this food also goes to waste since agriculture is the largest human use of water.

Losses at the farm level are probably about 15–35 per cent, depending on the industry. The retail sector has comparatively high rates of loss of about 26%, while supermarkets, surprisingly, only lose about 1%. Overall, losses amount to around US$90 billion–US$100 billion a year (Jones, 2004 cited in Lundqvist et al., 2008).

The food currently lost or wasted in Latin America could feed 300 million people (FAO, 2013). You can read other details on: https://www.unep.org/thinkeatsave/get-informed/worldwide-food-waste

If human beings use the food properly and don’t waste. rather use it appropriately then there would be no one in this world who would die sit to starvation. Hence, we can’t blame Allah(swt) for the people who are dying because of starvation. It is the human being who has made the boundaries between the countries, differences between black and white, differences between rich and poor, whereas Islam sees all equal. If people live according to what Islam has taught, none in this world would die due to hunger as Allah has provided everything for one’s livelihood.

May Allah(swt) grant you success

Wassalam,

Syed Haider