Surah al-Anbiyāʾ 21:35
“Every soul shall taste death. We test you with evil and with good as a trial, and to Us you will be returned.”
Surah al-Falaq 113:1-2
“Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of daybreak, from the evil of what He has created."
Surah an-Nisāʾ 4:78
“…Say, ‘All of it is from Allah.’”
Surah Al-A'raf - 10
“By the soul and He who proportioned it… inspired it with wickedness and piety.”
al-Baqarah 2:155
“Surely We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives, and fruits; and give good news to the patient.”
Yūnus 10:107
“If God touches you with harm (ḍurr), none can remove it but He; and if He intends good for you, none can repel His grace…”
Ibrāhīm 14:4
“…God leaves astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills; He is the Mighty, the Wise.”
an-Naḥl 16:93
“Had God willed, He would have made you one community; but He leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills, and you shall surely be questioned about what you used to do.”
al-Isrāʾ 17:54
“Your Lord knows you best; if He wills He shows you mercy, and if He wills He punishes you…”
al-Kahf 18:17
“…Whom God guides, he is rightly guided; and whom He lets go astray, you will find no protector for him.”
al-Mulk 67:2
“(He) who created death and life that He may test you as to which of you is best in deed…”
| Verses | Etymology | Tafseer | Cross-Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| (21 : 35) كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِۗ وَنَبْلُوكُم بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةًۗ وَإِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ <br>কُل্লু নাফ্সিন যা’ইকাতুল্-মাওতি; ওয়ানাবলুকুম্ বিচ্-শার্রি ওয়াল্-খাইরি ফিত্নাতাঁ; ওয়াইলাইনা তুর্জাআন। <br>“Every soul shall taste death. We test you with evil and good as a trial, and to Us you shall be returned.” | • نَفْس (n-f-s) “self, soul”; cogn. Heb. נֶפֶשׁ nefesh. <br>• ذَائِقَة (ذ و ق; ḏ-w-q) “tasting”; metaphor for inevitable experience. <br>• مَوْت (m-w-t) “death”; Syr. ܡܘܬܐ mawtā. <br>• نَبْلُو (ب ل و; b-l-w) “We test/try”; pre-Islamic b-l-w “wear out cloth” → expose worth. <br>• شَرّ (š-r-r) “evil, harm”; Sabaic šrr “bad fortune.” <br>• خَيْر (kh-y-r) “good, prosperity.” <br>• فِتْنَة (f-t-n) “ordeal, smelting”; Akk. patanu “refine metal.” <br>• تُرْجَعُون (r-j-ʿ) “you will be returned.” | Makkan. Early exegesis: Mujāhid: fitna = imtiḥān bi-l-niʿam wa-l-niqam. Maqātil: “evil” = poverty & illness; “good” = wealth & health. Ṭabarī: death = equaliser; cites ḥadith “Gift for believer, regret for wicked” (ṣaḥīḥ chain). Zamakhsharī: rhetorical contrast; divine pedagogy. Rāzī: theodicy—good & evil both pedagogical, not punitive per se. Ibn Kathīr: links to 2 : 155. Modern: Fazlur Rahman—moral development through dialectic of niʿma / niqma. | 67 : 2 purpose of life & death = test. 2 : 155 graded trials. 90 : 4 human placed in toil. 57 : 22 no calamity but is inscribed. 64 : 11 “no disaster save by God’s leave.” |
| (113 : 1-2) قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ * مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ <br>কুল্ আ‘উযু বিরাব্বিল্-ফালাক; মিন্ শার্রি মা খালাক। <br>“Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak, from the evil of what He has created.” | • فَلَق (f-l-q) “daybreak, splitting”; root “cleave.” Ethiosemitic falaqa “crack.” <br>• أَعُوذُ (ʿ-w-ḏ) “I seek refuge.” <br>• شَرّ see above. <br>• خَلَقَ (kh-l-q) “He created.” | Makkan, grouped with Muʿawwidhatayn. Mujāhid: falaq = ṣubḥ. Maqātil: includes every created being that may harm (Jinn, insects). Ṭabarī: comprehensive istijāra formula. Zamakhsharī: falaq evokes victory of light over darkness. Ibn Kathīr: narrates ḥadith on ruqyah for Prophet’s illness (Ṣaḥīḥayn). | 7 : 54 God splits dawn. 114 : 1-6 parallel refuge from whispers. 6 : 97 fissuring of dawn as sign. 41 : 37 alternation of night/day as protection cycle. 16 : 98 seek refuge before recitation. |
| (4 : 78, mid-verse) قُلْ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ <br>কুল্: কুল্লুঁ মিন্ ‘ইন্দিল্-লাহ্। <br>“Say, ‘All of it is from Allah.’” | • كُلّ (k-l-l) “all, entirety.” <br>• عِند (ʿ-n-d) “with, from the presence of.” | Madanī. Maqatil: rebuttal of hypocrites blaming destiny. Ṭabarī: good & bad occurrences both within divine qadar yet human accountable. Qurtubī: refutes dualism. Ibn Kathīr: pairs with 4 : 79 “Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, whatever evil from yourself” to balance decree & agency. | 57 : 22 pre-written events. 64 : 11 no affliction except by leave. 3 : 154 battle of Uḥud—misfortune from selves yet by permission. 42 : 30 calamity due to hands of people. 2 : 156 acknowledgment “to Allah we belong.” |
| (91 : 7-10) وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا * فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا * قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا * وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا <br>ওয়ানাফ্সিঁ ওয়া মা সাওয়্বাহা… <br>“By the soul and Him who fashioned it, and inspired it with its wickedness and its piety. Successful is the one who purifies it; ruined is the one who corrupts it.” | • سَوَّى (s-w-y) “proportion.” <br>• أَلْهَم (l-h-m) “inspire”; Geʿez ləḥam “teach.” <br>• فُجُور (f-j-r) “licentiousness”; cf. fajr “bursting.” <br>• تَقْوَى (w-q-y) “piety, God-wariness.” <br>• زكّى (z-k-w) “purify, cause to grow.” <br>• دسّى (d-s-s) “bury, conceal; foul.” | Makkan oaths. Mujāhid: ilhām = fitra guiding to both paths. Sufyān: natural disposition plus intellect. Maqātil: angels whisper good, Shayṭān bad. Zamakhsharī: Muʿtazilī proof of moral capacity; ilhām as cognition. Rāzī: interface between jabr & ikhtiyār—potentialities, not compulsion. | 76 : 2 created to be tested. 90 : 10 two highways. 18 : 29 truth from Lord—let him believe or disbelieve. 49 : 7 Allah made faith beloved, hatred for defiance. 33 : 72 trust offered to humans. |
| (2 : 155) وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ… <br>ওয়া লানাবলুয়ান্নাকুম্… <br>“We shall surely test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits; give glad tidings to the patient.” | • خَوْف (kh-w-f) fear. • جُوع (j-w-ʿ) hunger. • أَمْوَال (m-w-l) wealth. • ثَمَرَات (th-m-r) fruits/produce. | Madanī, after Hijra hardships. Mujāhid: refers to early expeditions. Ṭabarī: gradation “شيء” mitigates burden. Ibn Kathīr: sabr rewarded (2 : 156-157). | 3 : 142 “Did you think you would enter Paradise…” 29 : 2 tested claims of faith. 8 : 28 wealth & children trial. 64 : 15 possessions as fitna. 57 : 22 decree of calamities. |
| (10 : 107) وَإِن يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ… <br>যা ইম্ইয়াম্সাস্কল্লাহু বিদুর্… <br>“If Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He; and if He intends good for you, none can repel His grace.” | • ضُرّ (ḍ-r-r) “harm, distress.” • كَاشِف (k-š-f) remover. • رَحْمَة (r-ḥ-m) mercy. | Makkan. Early: Mujāhid links to helplessness before famine. Ṭabarī: emphasizes tawḥīd in ʿulūhiyya & rubūbiyya. Zamakhsharī: rhetorical conditional balancing maqdurāt. | 6 : 17 identical wording. 39 : 38 idols cannot avert harm. 16 : 53 every blessing from Allah. 35 : 2 none can withhold His mercy. 13 : 11 no changer of people’s state but themselves by Allah’s leave. |
| (14 : 4, part) يُضِلُّ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ… <br>যুদিল্লু মান্ যাশা’… <br>“He leaves astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills; He is the Mighty, the Wise.” | • ضَلّ / أَضَلَّ (ḍ-l-l) lead astray. • هَدَى (h-d-y) guide. • عَزِيز, حَكِيم see 31 : 27. | Makkan (universal proclamation in prophets’ tongues). Ṭabarī: misguidance as justice for obstinacy. Rāzī: compatibilist—creation of hidāya with human kasb. Ibn Kathīr: cites 6 : 88 “Had Allah willed, He would have made them one community.” | 16 : 93 variation in communities. 18 : 17 guidance/straying. 28 : 56 “You cannot guide whom you love.” 74 : 31 increase of guidance/misguidance. 76 : 30 “You will not will except that Allah wills.” |
| (16 : 93) وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً… <br>ওয়ালাও শা’আল্লাহু… | • أُمَّة (ʾ-m-m) community. • اِخْتِلَاف (implicit): diversity. | Makkan. Maqātil: addresses pagan complaint of prophetic plurality. Qurtubī: diversity = arena for ibtilāʾ. Modern: Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd—pluralism encoded. | 5 : 48 plurality as test. 11 : 118-119 willed divergence. 42 : 8 capable of one umma. 2 : 213 mankind one community then differed. 64 : 2 some believers, some deniers by will. |
| (17 : 54) رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِكُمْۖ إِن يَشَأْ يَرْحَمْكُمْ أَوْ إِن يَشَأْ يُعَذِّبْكُمْ… <br>রাব্বুকুম্ আ‘লামু বিকুম্… | • رَحْم (r-ḥ-m) mercy. • عَذَّب (ʿ-ḏ-b) punish. | Makkan. Ṭabarī: context—prophet urged to distance from polytheists. Ibn Kathīr: divine prerogative tempered by knowledge. | 6 : 54 mercy precedes wrath. 39 : 53 vast mercy vs punishment. 10 : 107 harm/benefit dichotomy. 29 : 21 He punishes whom He wills. 3 : 129 for Him is what’s in heavens & earth; forgives/punishes whom He wills. |
| (18 : 17, part) مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِي وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُ وَلِيًّا مُرْشِدًا <br>মান্ ইয়াহ্দিল্লাহু… | • مُهْتَدٍ (h-d-y) rightly-guided. • وَلِيّ (w-l-y) protector. • مُرْشِد (r-š-d) guiding friend. | Makkan (story of the Cave). Mujāhid: uttered by Prophet describing Ashāb al-Kahf’s state. Ṭabarī: universal axiom. | 10 : 25 guides to dār al-salām. 7 : 178 whom Allah guides. 39 : 23 hearts soften only by guidance. 28 : 56 no guidance by personal wish. 42 : 52 Spirit of revelation guides. |
| (67 : 2) الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا… <br>আল্লাযী খালাকাল্-মাওতা ওয়াল্-হায়াতা… <br>“(He) who created death and life to test you as to which of you is best in deed; He is the Mighty, the Forgiving.” | • مَوْت (m-w-t) death. • حَيَاة (ḥ-y-y) life. • يَبْلُوَكُمْ (b-l-w) test. • أَحْسَن (ḥ-s-n) best. | Makkan opening of al-Mulk. Early: Mujāhid: death created before life. Maqātil: test refers to obedience in secret. Zamakhsharī: qualitative “best”, not quantitative. Rāzī: ontology of death as creation, rebutting dualism. | 21 : 35 taste of death. 2 : 156 to Him return. 29 : 2 trials. 18 : 7 adornment as test. 57 : 25 sending messengers & scales for test. |
| # | Verse | Transliteration | Etymology | Exegesis | Parallels | Analogues |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (21:35) كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ… | কুল্লু নাফসিন যায়িকাতুল্-মাউতি… “Every soul shall taste death…” | • نَفْس n-f-s “breath, self”; Syr. ܢܰܦܫܳܐ nafšā; Heb. נֶפֶשׁ. • ذَائِقَة < ذوق dh-w-q “to taste”; Eth. ዳውቅ dawq “experience”. • فِتْنَة f-t-n “smelting-test”; South-Arab. fnn “to refine metal”. | Early: Mujāhid & Qatādah—verse revealed at Uhud reminding mortality. Maqātil notes the object of testing is “الشَّرّ والْخَيْر” meaning adversity & prosperity. Ṭabarī: tests expose gratitude or impatience; death = entrance into recompense. Modern (Wansbrough, Izutsu): polarity of خير/شر frames moral phenomenology. | Heb 9:27 “It is appointed for men once to die, then judgment.” Jas 1:2–3 “testing of faith produces steadfastness.” | Gilg. XI 194 “Which of the gods shall test mankind?”; Stoic Epictetus Diss. I.24 “We are tried by pleasure and pain.” |
| 2 | (113:1-2) قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ … | কুল্ আঊযু বিরাব্বিল্-ফালাক… “Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of daybreak from the evil of what He created.” | • فَلَق f-l-q “split, dawn”; Akk. pilaqu “cleave”. • شَرّ š-r-r “ill, harm”; Heb. רַע raʿ. | Asbāb: per Ibn Saʿd, revealed when Labīd’s sorcery harmed Prophet. Early Kufan school links “ما خَلَق” to universal evil potential. Zamakhsharī: خَلَق indicates ontic dependence; evil is relative, not attributable to God’s essence. | Ps 91:5-6 “terror of night… pestilence in darkness,” invoked in Jewish bedtime prayer like this sūrah. | Egyptian Coffin-Text, spell 300: plea to “Lord of Horizon” for protection at dawn. |
| 3 | (4:78, segment) قُلْ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ | কুল্ কুল্লুম্ মিন্ ইন্দিল্লা-হ। “Say: All is from Allah.” | • كُلّ kull “totality”; cogn. Ugar. kl; Heb. כֹּל. | Ibn ʿAbbās: reply to hypocrites who blamed God only for misfortune. Ṭabarī: both prosperity & calamity constitute divine decree; human accountability arises from response. Rāzī analyses causal levels—خلق (origination) vs. اكتساب (acquisition). | Lam 3:38 “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and calamity come?” | Avestan Yasna 30.3: Ahura creates both “benefit and harm” as moral tests. |
| 4 | (91:7-8) وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا … | ওয়া নাফ্সিন… “By the soul and the One Who fashioned it, then inspired it with its wickedness and its piety.” | • سَوَّى s-w-y “to proportion”; Akk. šû “make level”. • أَلْهَم a-l-h-m “to inspire”; Syr. ܐܠܗܡ. • فُجُور f-j-r “rupture, debauch”; cf. Heb. פָּרַץ. | Early exegetes (Mujāhid, Maqātil): oath sequence affirms moral intuition (ḥujjah). Qushayrī: ilhām ≠ waḥy, generic to mankind. Modern: Toshihiko Izutsu—binary embedded in Qurʾānic semantic field of “taqwā/fujūr.” | Rom 2:14-15 “Law written on their hearts, conscience bearing witness.” DSS 1QS III.17 “God created the spirits of light and darkness.” | Plato, Rep. IX 588–589: tripartite soul judges just/unjust impulses. |
| 5 | (2:155) وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ… | ওয়া লানাবলুয়ান্নাকুম্… “We shall surely test you with a touch of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives, and fruits; give glad-tidings to the patient.” | • بَلَا b-l-w “to assay, test”; Aram. בלא. • صَبْر ṣ-b-r “endurance”; Eth. ṣabr “remain”. | Revealed after Hijrah hardships (Ibn Kathīr). Early tafsīr enumerates five archetypal tribulations. Tabarī: “شيء” minimises to console believers. Legal implication: sabr obligatory (Qurtubī). | Job 1:21-22 trials; Jas 1:12 “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial.” | Babylonian theodicy dialogue: righteous suffer, urged to patience. |
| 6 | (10:107) وَإِن يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ… | ওয়া ইন্ ইয়ামসস্কাল্লা-হু বিদুররিন্… “If God touches you with harm, none can remove it but He…” | • ضُرّ ḍ-r-r “injury”; Heb. צרר ṣrr “distress”. • كَاشِف k-š-f “uncover, remove”. | Context: polemic vs. Meccan idols. Sufyān al-Thawrī: verse grounds tawakkul. Rāzī: exclusivity clause (لَا كَاشِفَ) negates causal intermediaries absolutely. | Deut 32:39 “None can deliver out of My hand.” Mk 1:40 “If You will, You can make me clean.” | Ugaritic Krt 1.3 “Only El heals the king.” |
| 7 | (14:4, segment) فَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ مَن يَشَاءُ… | ফাইউদিল্লুল্লাহু মান্ ইয়াশা-ঊ… “God leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills; He is Mighty, Wise.” | • ضَلّ ḍ-l-l “to stray”; Heb. תעה. • هَدَى h-d-y “to guide”; Sabaic hdn “road marker”. | Muʿtazilite vs. Ashʿarite debate: real or judicial dalāl. Tabarī: causative via abandonment (خَذْلان). Ibn Taymiyyah: guidance proportionate to receptivity. | Rom 9:18 “He has mercy on whom He wills, and hardens whom He wills.” | Mesopotamian “Erra” myth: gods withdraw guidance, mankind errs. |
| 8 | (16:93) وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً… | ওয়ালাও শা-আ’ল্লাহু… “Had God willed, He would have made you one community…” | • أُمَّة ʾ-m-m “group with common aim”; Ugar. ʾmt. | Early reports (Ibn Jurayj): addresses Jewish-pagan polemics at Mecca. Zamakhsharī: verse affirms ikhtiyār within divine mashīʾah; accountability clause counters determinism. | Jn 10:16 “One flock, one shepherd” (conditional). | Achaemenid edicts: “Ahura Mazda could have made all men think alike but did not.” |
| 9 | (17:54) رَّبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِكُمْ… | রাব্বুকুম্ আআ’লামু বিকুম… “Your Lord knows you best; if He wills He shows mercy, or if He wills He punishes…” | • رَحْمَة r-ḥ-m “compassion”; cogn. Syr. ܪܚܡ. | Maqātil: revealed regarding Bedouins claiming virtue. Guidance-mercy correlate (Bukhārī, Tafsīr). Rāzī: knowledge (ʿilm) tied to hikma in apportioning mercy. | Ex 33:19 “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy.” | Oracle of Amun to Cambyses: “god knows hearts; grants or withholds favor.” |
| 10 | (18:17, segment) مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ… | মান্ ইয়াহদিল্লাহু… “Whom God guides is rightly guided; whom He lets stray—you will find no protector for him.” | • وَلِيّ w-l-y “ally, patron”; Heb. גואל go’el “redeemer”. | Situated in story of the Cave; Ibn Kathīr: demonstrates futility of coercion. Ashʿarites cite for doctrine of ʿaql-based guidance insufficiency. | Prov 3:5–6 “He will make your paths straight.” | Epicurus, Letter to Menoec.: “No providence leads the foolish.” |
| 11 | (67:2) الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ… | আল্লাজি খালাকাল্-মাওতা… “He Who created death and life that He may test you as to which of you is best in deed.” | • مَوْت m-w-t “death”; Ug. mt (deity Mot). • بَلَا see #5. • أَحْسَن ḥ-s-n “fairest”; Heb. חן. | Early Meccan consolatory verse. Ṭabarī: death precedes life in wording to remind ultimacy. Qushayrī: “أحسن عملاً” = إخلاص + موافقة السنّة. Modern: “created death” = mortality as existential condition (Neuwirth). | 2 Tim 1:10 “abolished death, brought life.” DSS 4QInstruction: life as test (מבחן). | Zoroastrian Dadistan: “Life is given as a trial so deeds may be weighed.” |