He is Allah
(21) The WITHHOLDER (AL-QABIDH)
(22) The ENLARGER (AL-BAASIT)
Qabdh in Arabic means withholding and it also means taking; bast means enlarging, liberally donating, and granting beyond measures. So scholars said, Allah withholds souls from the body on death, and grants them existence in it during life. Charity is taken from the well-off, and provision and means of subsistence is enlarged for the poor. Allah occasionally withholds or enlarges in the hearts the feelings of hope or fear; He withholds, if He wishes, the evil of the unjust that is meant to befall the weak.
The word qabdh, as mentioned in the Qur’an, may also mean having powerful control over things, as in, “..it is God that giveth you Want or Plenty.” (BAQARA, 245), “On the Day of Judgment the whole of the earth will be but His handful.” (ZUMAR, 67).
The meaning of bast may also be the spreading or giving with liberality, as in, “..nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach” (ISRAA’, 29), “..and they raise the Clouds,then does He spread them in the sky as He wills.” (RUM, 48), “..both His hands are widely outstretched,He giveth and spendeth of His bounty as He pleaseth.” (MA’IDA, 67), “..and hath gifted him abundantly withknowledge and bodily prowess.” (BAQARA, 247),“..and gave you a stature tall among the nations.” (A‘RAF, 69).
The contrast between the two attributes shows that they can only co-exist as attributes of Allah, Who is the true WITHHOLDER and ENLARGER of all things, Glory be to Him, He is Allah.