Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:79

The aforementioned syntactical analysis necessitates that the relative pronoun in His exalted saying, "And it is He who feeds me and gives me drink," be an inchoative (mubtada') with a deleted predicate, indicated by what precedes it, and likewise for the two that follow. The weakness of this in both wording and meaning is not hidden. Therefore, what befits the eloquence of the Revelation is the first syntactical interpretation, according to which the relative pronouns are conjunctions linked to the first relative pronoun.

The relative pronoun is repeated in all three instances—even though it would have sufficed to simply conjoin the six sentences contained within the relative clauses to the first relative clause—in order to signal that each one of these descriptions is a majestic attribute of the Almighty, independent in its demand for [His] decree, and worthy of being applied to Him, the Almighty, on its own merit, not as a subordinate to another. The apparent meaning is that the feeding and giving of drink are directed toward others by the Almighty, unlike the act of creation. This analogy applies to what is preceded by "He" and what is omitted, God willing.

It is related from Abu Bakr al-Warraq that the meaning is: "He feeds me without food and gives me drink without drink," just as it has been said, "I spend the night while my Lord feeds me and gives me drink." This is a Sufi interpretation. These two attributes were mentioned after what preceded them because the continuity of life and the preservation of the human constitution depend on food and drink; it is in these two that the path of moderation is pursued, and [man] is in greater need of them than of anything else. Do you not see that the people of the Fire, despite the torment they are in, are not diverted by it from seeking them? They say, "Pour upon us some water or from whatever God has provided you."