Al-Baqarah · Madani · ayah 165 of 286

Al-Baqarah 2:165

وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَندَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّهِ ۗ وَلَوْ يَرَى ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوٓا۟ إِذْ يَرَوْنَ ٱلْعَذَابَ أَنَّ ٱلْقُوَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعَذَابِ

“And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allāh as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allāh. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allāh. And if only they who have wronged would consider [that] when they see the punishment, [they will be certain] that all power belongs to Allāh and that Allāh is severe in punishment.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Some give rivals the love owed to Allah alone; believers love Him more, and on the Day all borrowed power returns to Him.

A reflection

All the power, all along

Notice how the ayah breaks off. 'If only the wrongdoers could see, when they see the punishment, that all power belongs to Allah.' If only they could see… and then? The sentence never says. A classical linguist points out that the answer is left out on purpose. What they would feel is beyond description: regret, grief and sudden clarity. It is like saying, 'If you had seen him when the whip came down,' and stopping there.

The heart of the ayah is one phrase: 'all power belongs to Allah'. Not most of it. All of it. The word for power, quwwa, pictures a rope twisted strand by strand until it holds a load. Every strand of strength anyone has ever held was spun by Him and lent out.

That is exactly what the people of this ayah forgot. They lent their love and obedience to rivals, and in doing so lent them a power they never had. On the Day, the loan is called in. Every borrowed strand returns to its Owner, and the rivals stand there as they always were: empty.

This is humbling for us as well as for them. We, too, lend power. To an employer's approval, a following, an expert's opinion, a bank balance. We behave as if these could make or break us. And we like to feel powerful ourselves, in our homes and workplaces.

Is a God who calls Himself 'severe in punishment' simply demanding fear? No. He gains nothing from our fear or our love (35:15). The warning is a kindness given early, while the sentence 'if only they could see' can still be finished differently. Its other half is the next truth in the ayah: those who believe are stronger in love.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.