Az-Zukhruf · Makki · ayah 41 of 89

Az-Zukhruf 43:41

فَإِمَّا نَذْهَبَنَّ بِكَ فَإِنَّا مِنْهُم مُّنتَقِمُونَ

“And whether [or not] We take you away [in death], indeed, We will take retribution upon them.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Even if the Messenger is taken before he sees it, Allah's justice will still arrive: it was never waiting on any human lifespan.

A reflection

Justice does not wait on you

The ayah speaks to the Prophet ﷺ about two possible futures. Fa-immā nadhhabanna bika: if We take you away. One commentary explains the small particle mā attached to in. It works like the particle of an oath, and it brings with it the heavy emphatic ending on the verb. The sentence is braced and certain. Fa-innā minhum muntaqimūn: then We will surely repay them.

Notice what the sentence assumes. Even the best of creation might not live to see the outcome. And the outcome does not depend on whether he does.

This is where the ego shrinks, gently. We tend to think our causes depend on us. If I stop, it stops. If I am not there to see it, it did not happen. The ayah says Allah's justice was never waiting on any human lifespan. Not even the Prophet's ﷺ.

There is great relief in that. Allah does not need us to secure His justice. He does not need our anger, our watching, or our presence at the verdict. He is never late, and He never loses a case.

An elderly campaigner spends thirty years seeking justice for workers poisoned at a factory. She dies two months before the court rules in their favour. At the hearing, her daughter reads out a line from her notebook: it was never about me being there.

For anyone who has been wronged and fears they will die unanswered, the ayah speaks plainly. You may be taken first. The repayment is not cancelled. It is held by the One who said: We will surely repay. Your part is to stay upright until then.

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.