Fatir · Makki · ayah 17 of 45

Fatir 35:17

وَمَا ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٍ

“And that is for Allāh not difficult.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Removing a whole people and bringing a new creation costs Allah no effort at all, because He needs none of us.

A reflection

Only the One who needs nothing can say 'if He wills'

This exact line closes 14:20, and its fuller treatment belongs there. In Fatir it lands at the end of a different argument. Two ayat earlier comes the great sentence of this surah: you are the poor in need of Allah, and Allah is the Rich, the Praised. Then: if He wills, He removes you and brings a new creation. Then this line: and that is not hard for Allah.

One commentary notices how the wording itself proves His freedom from need. A man who depends on his house never says he might knock it down if he wished. He says, 'If I did not need somewhere to live, I would sell it.' Need always shows in the way we speak. Only someone who truly needs nothing can say 'if He wills' about removing the very people He addresses.

That is uncomfortable for the ego, and it should be. Most of us carry a quiet sense that our absence would leave a gap that something must strain to fill. The line answers with calm, not with anger. A boast comes from someone who needs to be seen as strong. This comes from One who needs nothing, not even our awe. Nothing about you is holding up His kingdom. That is not a threat to your worth. It is the end of a burden you were never meant to carry.

The full entry has 2 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.