An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 53 of 176

An-Nisa 4:53

أَمْ لَهُمْ نَصِيبٌ مِّنَ ٱلْمُلْكِ فَإِذًا لَّا يُؤْتُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ نَقِيرًا

“Or have they a share of dominion? Then [if that were so], they would not give the people [even as much as] the speck on a date seed.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The dominion is not theirs to share out; given any, a grasping heart would not part with even the pit on a date-stone.

A reflection

The treasuries that never run low

Am lahum naṣībun mina al-mulk: or do they have a share of the dominion? The question expects the answer no.

One classical commentator suggests that the dominion meant here may be Allah's own. He links it to a parallel ayah. Say: if you owned the treasuries of my Lord's mercy, you would hold them back for fear of spending. And man is ever grasping (17:100). Another classical commentator explains that fear: dread that what is in your hand will run out, though His treasuries could never be exhausted.

That contrast is the heart of the ayah's majesty. Human beings, given even a share of control, begin to clutch. Allah owns everything, and gives without any fear of loss. Sahih al-Bukhari records the Prophet ﷺ describing it. Allah's hand is full; spending, night and day, does not diminish it.

The root m-l-k has two branches: milk, owning a thing, and mulk, ruling over it. Every human hold on either is partial and lent. The ayah asks the ego a deflating question. Do you imagine you hold a share in His dominion, so that you can decide who receives His favour?

This is a quiet pride many of us carry. We act as gatekeepers of blessing. We feel that someone does not deserve their promotion, their healing, their happiness. We would not have given it to them. The ayah answers: it was never yours to give.

Does Allah keep dominion to Himself while condemning human stinginess? The opposite is true. The ayah condemns stinginess precisely because He is the great Giver. The dominion is safe in His hands because His hands are open.

So when you catch yourself resenting what someone else received, remember whose treasury it came from. It cost you nothing. And there is no shortage of more.

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.