مَآ أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِىٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا فِى كِتَـٰبٍ مِّن قَبْلِ أَن نَّبْرَأَهَآ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ 22
Translations
No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being - indeed that, for Allāh, is easy -
Transliteration
Mā aṣāba min muṣībatin fī al-arḍi wa-lā fī anfusikum illā fī kitābin min qabli an nabra'ahā. Inna dhālika ʿalā Allāhi yasīr.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms Allah's complete knowledge and predestination (qadar), stating that no calamity befalls the earth or your souls except that it is recorded in the Preserved Tablet (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz) before creation itself was brought into being. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this emphasizes that all occurrences—both external (in the earth) and internal (in our bodies/souls)—are encompassed by Allah's eternal knowledge and divine decree, and that for Allah to inscribe and execute these matters is easy (yasīr).
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Hadid is a Medinan chapter revealed during the period of consolidation of the Islamic community. This ayah appears in the broader context of the surah's discussion of faith, spending in the way of Allah, and understanding the relationship between divine predestination and human responsibility. The ayah serves to console believers facing difficulties by reminding them of Allah's all-encompassing knowledge and control.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The first thing Allah created was the Pen, and He said to it: Write. So it wrote all that would happen until the Day of Resurrection' (Jami' At-Tirmidhi, Sunan Abu Dawud). Additionally, 'Nothing happens in this world or the next except as Allah has willed it' relates to the concept of qadar discussed in this ayah (Sahih Muslim).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches Muslims to find solace in the belief that all trials and hardships are recorded in Allah's eternal knowledge and serve divine wisdom, encouraging acceptance and patience (sabr) during difficulties while maintaining that nothing escapes Allah's awareness or control.
Related Ayahs
إِنَّ ٱلْمُصَّدِّقِينَ وَٱلْمُصَّدِّقَـٰتِ وَأَقْرَضُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا يُضَـٰعَفُ لَهُمْ وَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ كَرِيمٌ
Indeed, the men who practice charity and the women who practice charity and [they who] have loaned Allāh a goodly loan - it will be multiplied for them, and they will have a noble reward.
وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ ۙ وَٱلرَّسُولُ يَدْعُوكُمْ لِتُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِرَبِّكُمْ وَقَدْ أَخَذَ مِيثَـٰقَكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
And why do you not believe in Allāh while the Messenger invites you to believe in your Lord and He has taken your covenant, if you should [truly] be believers?
ثُمَّ قَفَّيْنَا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَـٰرِهِم بِرُسُلِنَا وَقَفَّيْنَا بِعِيسَى ٱبْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ ٱلْإِنجِيلَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِى قُلُوبِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوهُ رَأْفَةً وَرَحْمَةً وَرَهْبَانِيَّةً ٱبْتَدَعُوهَا مَا كَتَبْنَـٰهَا عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَّا ٱبْتِغَآءَ رِضْوَٰنِ ٱللَّهِ فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا ۖ فَـَٔاتَيْنَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَـٰسِقُونَ
Then We sent following their footsteps [i.e., traditions] Our messengers and followed [them] with Jesus, the son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel. And We placed in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy and monasticism, which they innovated; We did not prescribe it for them except [that they did so] seeking the approval of Allāh. But they did not observe it with due observance. So We gave the ones who believed among them their reward, but many of them are defiantly disobedient.
ءَامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَأَنفِقُوا۟ مِمَّا جَعَلَكُم مُّسْتَخْلَفِينَ فِيهِ ۖ فَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مِنكُمْ وَأَنفَقُوا۟ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ
Believe in Allāh and His Messenger and spend out of that in which He has made you successive inheritors. For those who have believed among you and spent, there will be a great reward.