99 Al-Qābid

Al-Qābid (ٱلْقَابِضُ)

The Withholder, The Restrainer, The One Who Contracts

Pronounced: al-QĀ-bidRoot: ق-ب-ض (Q-B-Ḍ) — to seize, to withhold, to hold something back, to draw inward

Original Invocation (Arabic Calligraphy):ٱلْقَابِضُ

---

Sacred Reflection

Al-Qābid is the One who pulls things back,

not as punishment,

but as part of the sacred rhythm.

In the Sufi path, He is always paired with His twin,

Al-Bāsit, the Expander.

One tightens.

One opens.

And the dance between them

is how the soul is shaped.

Al-Qābid is the Name that wraps around your ribs

when the air feels scarce.

When provision dries.

When clarity flees.

When you reach for something and feel,

Not yet.

He is not cruelty.

He is precision.

He withholds only what would distract you from your depth.

He contracts your world

to make room for your awakening.

Sometimes His silence is His softest touch.

Sometimes His no is the most sacred form of protection.

And sometimes, He takes away

so you remember what cannot be taken.

Al-Qābid is the Name that says:

Even now,

I am still the One holding you.

---

Parts Work Invitation

What part of you panics when things are taken away?

The one that says,

“What did I do wrong?”

“Why did He leave me?”

“I can’t handle this emptiness…”

Let that part be held by Al-Qābid.

Not with answers.

With presence.

Let it hear:

I know this feels like lack.

But this is My contraction, not your failure.

You are not being punished.

You are being prepared.

Let this part know:

It is safe to feel the tightness.

Safe to sit inside the sacred pause.

Safe to trust that expansion will come again.

But for now,

you are still being held.

Even in the withholding,

He never releases you.