Al-An'am · Makki · ayah 34 of 165

Al-An'am 6:34

وَلَقَدْ كُذِّبَتْ رُسُلٌ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَصَبَرُوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَا كُذِّبُوا۟ وَأُوذُوا۟ حَتَّىٰٓ أَتَىٰهُمْ نَصْرُنَا ۚ وَلَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَكَ مِن نَّبَإِى۟ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ

“And certainly were messengers denied before you, but they were patient over the denial, and they were harmed until Our victory came to them. And none can alter the words [i.e., decrees] of Allāh. And there has certainly come to you some information about the [previous] messengers.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Messengers before you were denied and harmed, held firm until His help came, and no one can rewrite what Allah has promised.

A reflection

The hoarding that said 'coming soon'

On a busy road there is a developer's hoarding. In bright letters it promises luxury apartments, coming soon. The artist's drawing shows a rooftop garden and smiling couples. Twelve years later the hoarding is still there, faded and peeling. The site behind it is weeds. Nobody laughs at the developer for long. Everyone's 'coming soon' gets rewritten by something: money, councils, illness, time.

Against that, the ayah sets one line: lā mubaddila li-kalimāti Allāh. No one alters the words of Allah. The commentaries say His words here are His promises, above all the promise of help to His messengers. One commentary adds that the name Allah is used to give the reason. Godhood itself means none can overpower Him in any act or make Him break any word.

The root of mubaddil holds a precise picture. One lexicon preserves a grammarian's distinction. To swap a signet ring for a plain ring is one thing. To melt the signet down and recast it is another: the gold remains, but its seal is gone. No one can melt down what Allah has said and recast it into something else.

This is where the ego shrinks. We speak of our plans as if they will stand. We speak of our opponents' plans as if they are final. Both are hoardings by the road. Only one word in existence is never rewritten.

Does Allah need to announce this, as if His pride required it? No. The announcement is for the one waiting. A child waiting at the school gate does not need the parent's ego. The child needs to know the parent's word holds. That is all this sentence gives, and it is everything.

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.