Az-Zukhruf · Makki · ayah 60 of 89

Az-Zukhruf 43:60

وَلَوْ نَشَآءُ لَجَعَلْنَا مِنكُم مَّلَـٰٓئِكَةً فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يَخْلُفُونَ

“And if We willed, We could have made [instead] of you angels succeeding [one another][1445] on the earth.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Had Allah willed, angels would walk the earth in our place, so we hold our turn at the well by His choice.

A reflection

Replaceable, and still chosen

Wa-law nashāʾu: and if We willed. One of the most quietly humbling phrases in the Quran. If We willed, We could have made, in your place, angels on the earth, succeeding one another.

One early commentator reads it plainly. If We willed, children of Adam, We would destroy you all, and put angels in your place on the earth, worshipping Me. He sets it beside another ayah. If He wills, He can remove you, O people, and bring others, and Allah has power to do that (4:133).

Another commentary adds a careful note. The point, it says, is to show the perfection of Allah's power, not to threaten extinction, though the threat is contained within it.

This is where the ego meets its limits. Humanity tends to think of itself as the centre of creation, indispensable. Each of us thinks the same about our own corner of it. The ayah says, gently but firmly: you could be replaced in an instant, and the earth would be filled with worshippers who never disobey.

And yet He has not replaced us. We are still here. That is not because we are indispensable. It is because He chose us, and keeps choosing us, every morning we wake.

Allah gains nothing from keeping us. He does not need our worship, and angels would give it more perfectly. Our place on the earth is pure gift.

A long-serving employee overhears his manager saying that anyone could do his job. He is wounded for a day. Then he realises the same manager has kept him on through three rounds of cuts. He goes back to work grateful instead of bitter.

You are replaceable, and you are still here. Both are reasons to thank Him.

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.