Al-Hadid · Madani · ayah 22 of 29

Al-Hadid 57:22

مَآ أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِىٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا فِى كِتَـٰبٍ مِّن قَبْلِ أَن نَّبْرَأَهَآ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ

“No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register[1634] before We bring it into being - indeed that, for Allāh, is easy -”

Saheeh International

Essence

No blow lands on the earth or on you except it was written before creation began; holding all of it is easy for Allah.

A reflection

The plan that never slips

A project manager builds a beautiful plan for a new hospital wing. Every task has a start date, an end date and an owner. By week two a supplier has gone bust. By week five a wall has failed inspection. By month three the plan is a historical document, and she is redrawing it every Monday.

We cannot hold even one building in our heads. We cannot say with certainty what next Tuesday will bring.

This ayah claims something on a scale we cannot picture. Every blow that lands on the earth, every drought and blighted harvest, was fī kitāb, in a book. So was every illness and loss within us. Min qabli an nabraʾahā: before We brought it into being. Sahih Muslim records the Prophet ﷺ saying that Allah wrote the measures of all creation. He wrote them fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth.

Then the ayah adds four words: inna dhālika ʿalā Allāhi yasīr. Truly, that is easy for Allah. One commentator says it is easy for Allah though hard for His servants. Another adds that it needs no equipment and no stretch of time. The root of yasīr pictures a mare with light, sure legs, stepping easily, carrying weight without strain.

The ego bristles at this. It likes to think it runs its own life. It makes plans as if it were the only planner. This ayah shrinks that pride to its true size. We are characters inside a story already fully known, not its authors.

Why would Allah tell us this? Not to be admired for His knowledge. The very next ayah gives the reason. It is so that you do not despair over what passes you by, nor exult over what comes to you (57:23). The majesty is offered as consolation.

So plan, and plan well. Then hold the plan loosely. The real one was finished long before yours, and it is not slipping.

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.