Tafsir of Saba' 34:36

Say, as a refutation of what they claimed—that this is evidence of honor and approval—"Indeed, my Lord extends provision to whom He wills," meaning that He extends it for him, "and restricts it," meaning He restricts it for whom He wills.

For the Exalted might expand [provision] for the disobedient and restrict it for the obedient, and He might reverse the matter. He might expand it for both of them, or restrict it for both. He might expand it for a person—whether obedient or disobedient—at one time, and restrict it at another. He does each of these according to what His will requires, which is based on profound wisdom. If expansion were evidence of honor and approval, it would be exclusive to the obedient; likewise, if restriction were evidence of humiliation and displeasure, it would be exclusive to the disobedient. But this is not so.

In sum, as has been said, it denies that such [provision] is evidence for what they claimed, because both the enemy and the ally are equal in it. A group said: The intent is that the Exalted does this according to His will, which is based on wisdom, so the matter of reward and punishment—the basis of which is obedience or the lack thereof—cannot be measured by it.

Nasir al-Din said: If that [provision] were due to honor or humiliation that necessitates it, it would not be by the will of the Exalted. This is based on the premise that necessitation contradicts choice and will. Al-Khafaji has argued for this, drawing from the words of our master Jalal al-Din, and he used it to refute those who refuted it. Yet, it is not hidden that the affluent's claim of necessitation upon God, regarding the expansion of provision they are in—and likewise the restriction of it for their enemies—is not apparent, such that it would be refuted by establishing a will that does not coincide with necessitation.

Al-A'mash recited wa-yuqaddir (and He restricts) with the shaddah (doubled 'd') here and hereafter.

"But most of the people do not know," that is, they do not know the truth of the matter. Some of them claim that the basis of expansion is honor and nobility, and the basis of restriction is humiliation and insignificance. Others are bewildered and object to the Exalted God regarding the expansion for some people and the restriction for others, until one of them said:

How many a scholar whose methods have failed, While an ignorant, foolish man is found provided for. This is what has left understandings bewildered, And made the skilled scholar a heretic.

The speaker meant himself by "the skilled scholar," but by my life, he is more deserving of the description "ignorant and dull" than he is of this description. For the skilled scholar...