An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 75 of 176

An-Nisa 4:75

وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُقَـٰتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ ٱلرِّجَالِ وَٱلنِّسَآءِ وَٱلْوِلْدَٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ ٱلظَّالِمِ أَهْلُهَا وَٱجْعَل لَّنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ وَلِيًّا وَٱجْعَل لَّنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ نَصِيرًا

“And what is [the matter] with you that you fight not in the cause of Allāh and [for] the oppressed among men, women and children who say, "Our Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper"?”

Saheeh International

Essence

Men, women and children were crying 'Our Lord, rescue us', and the ayah asks the people who could hear them: what is wrong with you?

A reflection

The question put to every bystander

Wa-mā lakum: and what is the matter with you? The ayah does not open with a command. It opens with a question, and a sharp one.

Commentators call it a question of rebuke. It means: nothing prevents you. One classical commentator puts it plainly. You have no excuse, now that the weak have reached the state they are in. Another notes that Allah turns to address them directly here, to press the point home.

The question is aimed at a particular community at a particular time. But its sting reaches anyone who can hear a cry and carries on as before. That is the timeless weight of these words. The oppressed are crying out. The people who could help are going about their business. Mā lakum: what is wrong with you?

Picture an agency night carer on her third shift at a nursing home. She notices that several residents are left in wet sheets until the morning team arrives. Everyone on nights knows. The answer is always the same. 'Not our place. We're only agency.' On her fifth night she writes down names, dates and times. Before going home, she hands the sheet to the manager, and keeps a copy.

She did not change the world. She refused to be one more person who heard and did nothing.

Most of us will never face the choice the first hearers faced. But we face smaller versions every week. A colleague being bullied. A neighbour's child who always seems hungry. An elderly relative quietly exploited by someone close.

The ayah's question waits for an answer. When you hear the cry, what is wrong with you, if you do nothing?

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.