Al-Mu'minun · Makki · ayah 75 of 118

Al-Mu'minun 23:75

۞ وَلَوْ رَحِمْنَـٰهُمْ وَكَشَفْنَا مَا بِهِم مِّن ضُرٍّ لَّلَجُّوا۟ فِى طُغْيَـٰنِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ

“And even if We gave them mercy and removed what was upon them of affliction, they would persist in their transgression, wandering blindly.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah knows what we would do with relief we have not yet been given; for some, lifting the hardship would only send them deeper.

A reflection

He knows what you would do with it

A man often says that if he won the lottery, he would give half of it away. He buys a ticket every week. He gives nothing from his salary. He has never noticed the gap.

Wa law raḥimnāhum: and if We had mercy on them and lifted the harm. One commentator says this ayah comes from a particular kind of divine knowledge. It is Allah's knowledge of what will not happen: if it did happen, how it would turn out. He records an early saying that every "if" of this kind describes something that never occurs.

So the ayah reports a counterfactual that only Allah can know. If the drought were lifted, these people would not turn grateful. They would go deeper into their defiance.

The same commentator links it to other ayat. If Allah had known any good in them, He would have made them hear. And had He made them hear, they would have turned away (8:23). And of those before the Fire: if they were sent back, they would return to what they were forbidden (6:28).

That is humbling for every ego, believer or not. Each of us carries stories about what we would do in other circumstances. If I had more time, I would pray more. If I had more money, I would give more. If I were not so tired, I would be kinder.

Allah knows exactly how true those stories are. He does not need our promises, and He is not deceived by them. He knows what the lottery winner would really do.

That knowledge is not cruel. It is the reason He sometimes withholds what we beg for. It is also an invitation. Stop bargaining with imaginary circumstances. Give from the salary you have. Pray in the time you have. Be grateful for the relief you already have.

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.