Al-An'am · Makki · ayah 43 of 165

Al-An'am 6:43

فَلَوْلَآ إِذْ جَآءَهُم بَأْسُنَا تَضَرَّعُوا۟ وَلَـٰكِن قَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ

“Then why, when Our punishment came to them, did they not humble themselves? But their hearts became hardened, and Satan made attractive to them that which they were doing.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Hardship came with a return address, but their hearts had baked hard, and the devil had already painted their habits to look lovely.

A reflection

The hardship had a signature

One small suffix carries the weight of this ayah: baʾsunā, Our might. The hardship did not drift in on the weather. It came from Someone, and it was addressed to someone. That is the first thing these nations refused to read.

One classical commentary describes what the devil achieved in them. It never even crossed their minds that what struck them was because of what they were doing. Want and sickness were filed under chance, seasons and bad markets. Those forces have one great advantage for the ego: they ask nothing of you.

A farmer fills in a crop-loss insurance claim after a hailstorm. In the box marked cause, he ticks 'act of God'. That evening at the kitchen table he tells his wife it was rotten luck. The form was more honest than he was.

This is how pride defends itself. It would rather live in a meaningless world than in a world where it must answer. A random hardship can be endured with a shrug. A signed hardship is a letter, and a letter waits for a reply. The arrogant self prefers to be a victim of nothing than a servant of Someone.

Yet the signature is also the mercy. A hardship that belongs to no one cannot be appealed. A hardship that is His has an address. It can be taken back to the One who sent it, as the Makkans themselves did in their storms (6:41). Owning it is not Allah boasting of His power to hurt. He needs no credit from His creatures. It is Him telling them where the way out lies.

The humble reading of a hard season is therefore simple. Not 'why me?', and not 'nobody's fault'. Rather: this is from Him, so what is He asking of me?

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.