Surah Ash-Shura Ayat 19 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 19
Allah is Subtle with His servants; He gives provisions to whom He wills. And He is the Powerful, the Exalted in Might.
Gracious is Allah to His servants: He gives Sustenance to whom He pleases: and He has power and can carry out His Will.
Allah is Most Gentle to His servants and grants sustenance to whomsoever He pleases. He is All-Strong, Most Mighty.
Allah is very Gracious and Kind to His slaves. He gives provisions to whom He wills. And He is the All-Strong, the All-Mighty.
Allah is gracious unto His slaves. He provideth for whom He will. And He is the Strong, the Mighty.
Allah is Ever-Kind to His bondmen; He provides whomever He decides; and He is The EverPowerful, The Ever-Mighty.
God is most subtle towards His creatures; He provides [bounti-fully] for whoever He will; He is the Powerful, the Almighty.
اللہ تعالیٰ اپنے بندوں پر بڑا ہی لطف کرنے واﻻ ہے، جسے چاہتا ہے کشاده روزی دیتا ہے اور وه بڑی طاقت، بڑے غلبہ واﻻ ہے
Quran 42 Verse 19 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Ash-Shura ayat 19, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(42:19) Allah is Most Gentle to His servants[34] and grants sustenance to whomsoever He pleases.[35] He is All-Strong, Most Mighty.[36]
34. The word “Subtle” cannot fully convey the meaning of the word Latif as used in the original. This word contains two meanings: First, that Allah is very Kind and Compassionate to His servants; second, that He is a subtle observer and keeps in view even their minutest and most ordinary needs, which none else can see, and He fulfills them in such ways that they themselves do not perceive as to which need of theirs has been fulfilled at what time and by whom. Then the slaves here does not imply only the believers but all slaves. That is, Allah is Kind and Compassionate to all His slaves.
35. It means: The demand of His general kindness and compassion is not this that all the slaves should be given everything equally. For, although He is providing for each and every one from His treasures, there is no equality and uniformity in the measure of His provisions. He has given one thing to one and another to another. He has provided someone with something in a greater measure and another with another thing more generously.
36. That is, His system of providence is functioning undo His own might. No one has the power to change it or take away something forcibly from Him, or prevent Him from providing for somebody.
Ibn-Kathir
19. Allah is very Gracious and Kind to His servants. He gives provisions to whom He wills. And He is the All-Strong, the Almighty. 20. Whosoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We give him increase in his reward, and whosoever desires the reward of this world, We give him thereof, and he has no portion in the Hereafter. 21. Or have they partners with Allah who have instituted for them a religion which Allah has not ordained And had it not been for a decisive Word, the matter would have been judged between them. And verily, for the wrongdoers there is a painful torment. 22. You will see the wrongdoers fearful of that which they have earned, and it will surely befall them. But those who believe and do righteous deeds (will be) in the flowering meadows of the Gardens. They shall have whatsoever they desire with their Lord. That is the supreme grace.
Here Allah speaks of His kindness towards His creation, in that He provides for every last one of them and does not forget anyone. When it comes to His provision, the righteous and the sinner are alike. Allah says:
(And no moving creature is there on the earth but its provision is due from Allah. And He knows its dwelling place and its deposit. All is in a Clear Book.) (11:6) And there are many similar Ayat.
(He gives provisions to whom He wills.) means, He gives generously to whomsoever He wills.
(And He is the All-Strong, the Almighty.) means, there is nothing that can overpower Him. Then Allah says:
(Whosoever desires the reward of the Hereafter,) means, whoever does things for the sake of the Hereafter,
(We give him increase in his reward, ) meaning, `We will give him strength and help him to do what he wants to do, and We will increase it for him. So for every good, We will multiply it and give him between ten and seven hundred good rewards,’ as much as Allah wills.
(and whosoever desires the reward of this world, We give him thereof, and he has no portion in the Hereafter.) means, whoever strives for the purpose of worldly gains, and never pays any heed to the Hereafter at all, Allah will deny him the Hereafter; and in this world, if He wills He will give to him and if He does not will, he will gain neither. So the one who strives with this intention in mind will have the worst deal in this world and in the Hereafter. The evidence for that is the fact that this Ayah is reinforced by the passage in Subhan (i.e., Surat Al-Isra’) in which Allah says: y
(Whoever desires the quick-passing, We readily grant him what We will for whom We like. Then, afterwards, We have appointed for him Hell; he will (enter) burn therein disgraced and rejected. And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it, with the necessary effort due for it while he is a believer — then such are the ones whose striving shall be appreciated. On each — these as well as those — We bestow from the bounties of your Lord. And the bounties of your Lord can never be forbidden. See how We prefer one above another (in this world), and verily, the Hereafter will be greater in degrees and greater in preferment.) (17:18-21) It was reported that Ubayy bin Ka`b, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The Messenger of Allah said:
(Give the glad tidings to this Ummah of sublimity, high status, victory and power in the land. But whoever among them does the deeds of the Hereafter for the sake of worldly gain, will have no portion of the Hereafter.)”
(Or have they partners with Allah who have instituted for them a religion which Allah has not ordained) means, they do not follow what Allah has ordained for you of upright religion; on the contrary, they follow what their devils (Shayatin), of men and Jinn, have prescribed for them. They instituted taboos, such as the Bahirah, Sa’ibah, Wasilah or Ham. They also permitted eating flesh and blood of animals not slaughtered for consumption, gambling and other kinds of misguidance, ignorance and falsehood. These are things that they invented during Jahiliyyah, when they came up with all kinds of false rulings on what was permitted and what was forbidden, and false rites of worship and other corrupt ideas. It was recorded in the Sahih that the Messenger of Allah said:
(I saw `Amr bin Luhayy bin Qama`ah dragging his intestines in Hell) — because he had been the first one to introduce the idea of the Sa’ibah. This man was one of the kings of the Khuza`ah tribe, and he was the first one to do these things. He was the one who had made the Quraysh worship idols, may the curse of Allah be upon him. Allah said:
(And had it not been for a decisive Word, the matter would have been judged between them.) means, the punishment would have been hastened for them, were it not for the fact that it had already been decreed that it would be delayed until the Day of Resurrection.
(And verily, for the wrongdoers there is a painful torment.) i.e., an agonizing torment in Hell, what a terrible destination.
(You will see the wrongdoers fearful of that which they have earned,) means, in the arena of Resurrection.
(and it will surely befall them.) means, the thing that they fear will undoubtedly happen to them. This is how they will be on the Day of Resurrection; they will be in a state of utter fear and terror.
(But those who believe and do righteous deeds (will be) in the flowering meadows of the Gardens. They shall have whatsoever they desire with their Lord.) What comparison can there be between the former and the latter How can the one who will be in the arena of resurrection in a state of humiliation and fear, deserving it for his wrongdoing, be compared with the one who will be in the gardens of Paradise, enjoying whatever he wants of food, drink, clothing, dwellings, scenery, spouses and other delights such as no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and has never crossed the minds of men. Allah says:
(That is the supreme grace.) means, the ultimate victory and complete blessing.
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