An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 104 of 176

An-Nisa 4:104

وَلَا تَهِنُوا۟ فِى ٱبْتِغَآءِ ٱلْقَوْمِ ۖ إِن تَكُونُوا۟ تَأْلَمُونَ فَإِنَّهُمْ يَأْلَمُونَ كَمَا تَأْلَمُونَ ۖ وَتَرْجُونَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا يَرْجُونَ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا

“And do not weaken in pursuit of the enemy. If you should be suffering - so are they suffering as you are suffering, but you expect from Allāh that which they expect not. And Allāh is ever Knowing and Wise.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Do not let pain make you slacken: others hurt as you do, but you hope from Allah for what they cannot.

A reflection

The One who knows why it hurts

The ayah ends with two names: wa-kāna Allāhu ʿalīman ḥakīmā. Allah has ever been Knowing, Wise.

They are placed after a sentence about pain. That is not an accident. One classical commentator explains: He commands and forbids nothing except from knowledge of what is good for you. Another says He has always known what benefits His creatures, and is wise in how He arranges it.

Ḥakīm has a striking root. Its first picture is the ḥakama, the part of a horse's bridle that runs round the jaw. It stops the horse bolting. The Arabs made it from rawhide, for strength, not decoration. From that restraint came the judge, who holds back injustice, and ḥikma, wisdom, which holds a person back from folly.

This is humbling. Our pain makes us feel we can see the whole picture. Why this, why now, why me? The ego quietly assumes that if it cannot see the point, there is none. The ayah answers gently. The One who sees all of it knows, and holds the rein.

Picture a fourteen-year-old after a visit to the orthodontist. Her braces have just been tightened and her whole jaw aches. She cannot eat anything but soup for two days, and she is furious. The orthodontist is not cruel. She knows exactly how far each tooth must move, and why it hurts.

Does Allah need us to trust Him like this, to feed some need for praise? He needs nothing. The trust is for us. A person who believes his pain is known and purposeful can carry far more than one who thinks it is random.

What pain in your life are you judging by what you can see from where you stand?

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.