وَلا تَقولَنَّ لِشَيءٍ إِنّي فاعِلٌ ذٰلِكَ غَدًا

إِلّا أَن يَشاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ وَاذكُر رَبَّكَ إِذا نَسيتَ وَقُل عَسىٰ أَن يَهدِيَنِ رَبّي لِأَقرَبَ مِن هٰذا رَشَدًا

Do not say about anything: ‘I will indeed do it tomorrow,’

without [adding]: ‘If Allah wishes.’ And when you forget, remember your Lord, and say: ‘Maybe my Lord will guide me to [something] more akin to rectitude than this.’

EXEGESIS

Taqūlanna (say) has the attached suffix anna, which has no English equivalent, but serves to make the verb more emphatic. The verb is in the second person singular.

Ghad (tomorrow) is here used in a general sense to mean any future time.^{‎[1]Zamakhshari, 2/714.}

Aqrab (closer) is the comparative/superlative of qarīb meaning that which is closer.

Rashad (rectitude) means to achieve the desired and intended path,^{‎[2]Alusi, 8/202.}
and was discussed in the commentary on verse 10.

Nasīta (you forget) comes from nisyān, which is to forget something, either due to weak retention, being distracted, or perhaps even intentionally ignoring it until one forgets.^{‎[3]Raghib, p. 803.}

EXPOSITION

The last verse reminded the audience that My Lord knows best and it now expounds on that concept with an important reminder about God’s knowledge of what the future holds. It also acts as a sort of conclusion to the story of the People of the Cave who went to the cave not knowing what will happen, and similarly when they sent one of their number to the city to buy food. Perhaps they had some plans in mind, but God had a different plan for them. It also resonates with the massive change they witnessed in society and the Roman Empire, which they viewed as an insurmountable obstacle to the worship of God spreading amongst the people. They would never have guessed what the future was going to hold in store and how a Roman emperor would ever be Christian.

Do not say about anything: ‘I will indeed do it tomorrow,’ without [adding]: ‘If Allah wishes’: these verses are addressed to the second person singular, which is generally used for the Prophet. However, there are some exceptions to that. In any case, even if the Prophet is being addressed, it should be intending all the believers.^{‎[4]Tibyan, 7/28.}
God is ordering that one should not say he will do something without qualifying the intention with the conditional, ‘if God wills’.^{‎[5]Tibyan, 7/28; Tabari, 15/151; Nemuneh, 12/384-385.}

This raises the highly discussed and debated concept known as istithnāʾ, meaning to say in shāʾ allāh. According to that, a Muslim should never declare that he will do something in the near or far future, without making istithnāʾ; if God wills it, he will do it, if God does not will it, he cannot do it. Examples of this are given later in the surah, when Prophet Moses (a) says to the man he must travel with: You will find me, God willing, to be patient (verse 69);^{‎[6]In other surahs too, we find Prophet Shuʿayb (a) saying this to Moses (a) in 28:27, and Prophet Ishmael (a) to Prophet Abraham (a) in 37:102. See also 48:27, where God uses this when addressing the believers.}
and in a more subtle manner when the believer advises his friend who owned two gardens: Why did you not say, when you entered your garden: ‘[This is] as Allah has wished! There is no power except by Allah!’? (verse 39).

The istithnāʾ can be done about any action which is not reprehensible. However, doing it about sinful acts is not allowed, as that is being scornful towards God and belittling Him.^{‎[7]Tabrisi, 6/712.}

The reasons for doing the istithnāʾ are twofold. Firstly, when the statement of intent is qualified in this manner, it safeguards a person’s reputation for honesty. If he declares in an absolute manner that he will do something and then he does not do it, he has made a liar of himself,^{‎[8]See the commentary on verse 5 for more on the nature of lies. Lie here would mean speaking that which is not true.}
whereas if he qualifies it, and then for some reason is not able to do it, he has remained truthful. Secondly, and more importantly, it is an act of submission to God and a show of humility, a vocalisation of the fact that he knows nothing happens except by the will of God.^{‎[9]Nemuneh, 12/385.}
A person never knows what the future holds for him. It may be that he plans to do something tomorrow, but some obstacle might prevent him from doing that, or even that he is no longer alive tomorrow. It is admitting the fact that the ultimate decision maker in every effort is God, since of the myriads of factors only a few are under our control. The Quran is replete with reminders that nothing happens without divine leave and permission: Whatever palm trees you cut down or left standing on their roots, it was by Allah’s will (59:5); No affliction visits [anyone] except by Allah’s leave (64:11); The good land – its vegetation comes out by the permission of its Lord (7:58); No soul may die except by Allah’s leave (3:145); No soul may have faith except by Allah’s leave (10:100).

Whatever actions one performs it is by recourse to God’s power. This does not mean that we cannot attribute actions to the person doing them and should instead only attribute them to God. On the contrary, the Quran repeatedly does so itself: my deeds belong to me and your deeds belong to you (10:41), and, our deeds belong to us and your deeds belong to you (42:15). Attributing actions to the person performing them is not something that the Quran proscribes, rather what it warns against is to think that a person has done those actions independently of God (tafwīḍ).^{‎[10]See Mizan, 13/270-272. Tabatabai also uses the verse to criticise the Mutazilite view on this matter, who only accept God’s legislative will (irādah tashrīʿiyyah) with regards to people’s actions.}

From all this we understand that what is most important is not the outward act of saying ‘if God wills’, but rather the internal act of submission to God’s will that it signifies. A believer should understand and internalise this. To understand the verse as simply referring to the outwards act of saying ‘if God wills’ is to look at it rather superficially. A better understanding is to say that what is intended is not just saying ‘if God wills’, but rather to comprehend it and truly believe it.

This is not just relevant for the Mutazilites of the past, but even today one might hear motivational speakers using phrases such as ‘if you believe in yourself you can do it’, ‘just visualise it and you can achieve it’, ‘the only thing holding you back is yourself’, and so on, whereas it is important for a Muslim to keep in mind that God’s will and plan supersedes all. Perhaps that thing one wished to do was not in his own interest, perhaps God had a different plan, or wished to teach him a lesson. Overconfidence and a view that one is independent of God is a pathway to pride and disbelief. This of course relates directly to the surah’s main theme and is good to keep in mind as it is soon explored further in the next story of this surah, when God relates the tale of the two men and their gardens.

None of this of course means that a person cannot or should not make plans for the future, or prepare for what is to come, or should not be motivated in life, or learn any expertise, or venture into things that they do not have knowledge of, but rather that while doing so he should keep in mind and factor in the will of God and His plan and that he is not in control of everything.

In summary, the two aspects we have mentioned are not necessarily contradictory and there is no need to argue on them like some exegetes have done, but rather to see that the outward act is meant to convey the internal belief, just like the declaration of faith.

All of this is also meant to draw the reader’s attention to the main theme of the surah. As God knows the truth of all things and knows what is hidden to His servants, they should submit themselves to His will and never fool themselves into thinking that they know what the future has in store for them or that they are in control of it. Rather, they should realise that everything unfolds as God has intended and planned. This is the manifestation of that which God knows to be true. This is explored later in the surah in different examples.

And when you forget, remember your Lord: there are two possibilities to this statement; it may either be related to what came before it, or it may be a separate exhortation.^{‎[11]See the Review of Tafsīr Literature section for more on the second possibility.}
What is more apparent is that it is related to what came before it. In that case it may mean if you have forgotten to say If Allah wishes – and all the meaning entailed in that – then you should say it once you remember, and remind yourself of that reality.^{‎[12]Tibyan, 7/29; Mizan, 13/274; Nemuneh, 12/385-386.}
Or perhaps that if you forgot to say istithnāʾ then remember God and do dhikr of Him afterwards.^{‎[13]Zamakhshari, 2/715.}
Or that if you did not make istithnāʾ and things unfolded against your desire, remember your Lord and the fact that He is the ultimate decision maker.

Some have also understood this to mean that you should say ‘God willing’ for that thing about which you forgot to say it.^{‎[14]See the discussion in Alusi, 8/237.}
So, for example, if you said ‘I will eat this apple’, then if you remembered later that you forgot to say ‘God willing’, you should say ‘I will eat this apple, God willing’. Although this is not a very reasonable way of looking at the issue, especially if that action has already passed, but rather if we wish to understand it to refer to saying ‘God willing’, it should be referring to the next time such an issue presents itself, meaning next time try to remember to say it.

It has also been suggested that it means ‘and when you forget, remember the determined will (mashīʾah) of your Lord’.^{‎[15]Alusi, 8/237.}

And say: ‘Maybe my Lord will guide me to [something] more akin to rectitude than this’: this should be referring to remembering, that is remembering after forgetting. That which is better, and more akin to rectitude than remembering God after forgetting Him, is to remember Him constantly, And remember your Lord within your heart beseechingly and reverentially, without being loud, morning and evening, and do not be among the heedless (7:205).^{‎[16]Mizan, 13/274.}

Obviously, attributing this to the Prophet is against all evidence and other verses of the Quran. That is why this statement should be taken as a general ethical instruction addressed to the reader or listener, like, Your Lord has decreed that you shall not worship anyone except Him, and [He has enjoined] kindness to parents. Should they reach old age at your side – one of them or both – do not say to them: ‘Fie!’ And do not chide them, but speak to them noble words (17:23); and we know that the Prophet was orphaned at a very young age.

For a discussion on whether or not prophets and infallibles can forget, see the commentary on verse 61.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Maymūn, from Imām al-Ṣādiq (a), that Imam Ali (a) said: ‘If a man swears (ḥalafa) by God [and says in shāʾ allāh] he can break it up to forty days. This is because a group of Jews asked the Prophet (s) about something and he said: “Come to me tomorrow,” – and did not make istithnāʾ – “so that I will inform you.” So it was that Gabriel was withheld from him for forty days and then came to him and said: “Do not say about anything: ‘I will indeed do it tomorrow,’ without [adding]: ‘If Allah wishes.’ And when you forget, remember your Lord.”’^{‎[17]Ayyashi, 2/324.}
   

Note: ‘Swearing’ in this report should mean a person saying he will do something.^{‎[18]Mizan, 13/290.}
The hadith has a broken chain and has apparent omissions and cannot be relied upon.

2. From ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Maymūn, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘A person is allowed to make istithnāʾ up to forty days if he had forgotten to do so. Verily, Jews came to the Messenger of God (s) and asked him about some things and he said to them: “Come tomorrow and I will tell you about them,” and he did not make istithnāʾ. So it was that Gabriel (a) was kept from him for forty days. He then came to him and said: Do not say about anything: ‘I will indeed do it tomorrow,’ without [adding]: ‘If Allah wishes.’ And when you forget, remember your Lord.’^{‎[19]Faqih, pp. 362-363, h. 4284. The beginning of this report is also in Tahdhib, 8/281, h. 1028, 1029.}
   
3. From Zurārah and others, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said regarding these verses: ‘If a man swears (ḥalafa) and forgets to make istithnāʾ, he should do so when he remembers.’^{‎[20]Kafi, 7/447; Tahdhib, 8/281, h. 1027.}
   

Note: As it is apparent, these narrations are unclear and jumbled and cannot be relied upon, and are different from our understanding of the verse.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Zamakhsharī says there are two possible ways to understand the verses. The first is that ‘do not say I will do something tomorrow, except that God wills you to say it’, meaning ‘except that He permits it’. The second is ‘do not say it except by the will of God’, that is without relying on and taking recourse in the will of God.^{‎[21]Zamakhshari, 2/714.}

Rāzī proposes that a possible meaning is that you should not say you will do something tomorrow except if God allows you to say that, meaning He has permitted you to inform others of your intentions.^{‎[22]Razi, 21/450.}

The scholars have differed over saying in shāʾ allāh later for something that one said before. For example, if one forgot to say it, until when would it be acceptable for him to say it once he remembers:

1. According to Ibn Abbas, he should say it even if it is a year later.^{‎[23]Tibyan, 7/28; Tabari, 15/151; Zamakhshari, 2/715.}
   
2. According to Hasan al-Baṣrī, he should say it if he has not left the session in which it was said.^{‎[24]Tibyan, 7/28-29; Zamakhshari, 2/715.}
   
3. Some have said that as long as you are still talking you have the chance to say it.^{‎[25]Tabrisi, 6/712.}
   

According to Ṭūsī, the purpose of this late istithnāʾ is that the person gets the reward of the one who had said it.^{‎[26]Tibyan, 7/29.}
Perhaps the point is to instil a spirit of submission in the believer, that even if he forgot it at that moment, if he were to remember it later he should say it, even to himself, as a type of reminder.

There is a discussion amongst the scholars regarding saying in shāʾ allāh about actions which are not permissible. Can one, for example, say ‘I will commit such-and-such sin, in shāʾ allāh’? Certainly, that is not allowed and would be a type of mockery of God. Having said that, the verse can also be understood as God exhorting the believers to only declare that they will strive to perform actions which are pleasing to God. In effect, the verse could mean: Do not say you will do something except that it is what God wills and desires, and is allowed by Him.^{‎[27]Mizan, 13/272.}

This discussion has also led to some debate about the nature of oaths and their relation to istithnāʾ. If one makes an oath to do something, and then does not do it, they should pay expiation (kaffārah) for it as per 5:89. However, apparently if they make istithnāʾ when swearing an oath and then do not act according to it, there is no expiation. Ṭūsī relates a report in his Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām attributed to Imam Ali (a) to this effect.^{‎[28]Tahdhib, 8/282, h. 1031: ‘Whoever makes istithnāʾ in their oath (yamīn), would not be an oath breaker, nor does he need to make istithnāʾ.’}

Now, some might then argue that if one makes an oath to do something, and then later adds ‘if God wills it’, he also does not need to pay expiation for breaking it. Ṭūsī argues that this of course is wrong and he would be responsible for paying expiation. In fact, he argues that istithnāʾ does not remove the purport of what you are saying, otherwise a person might swear, or enter into a contract, or give testimony about something, and then later do istithnāʾ and nullify the judicial consequences of his words.^{‎[29]Tibyan, 7/29. In Tahdhib, 8/281, h. 1026, Ṭūsī narrates a report that suggests the opposite of this. There is also the report in Kafi we quoted earlier. Tantawi, 8/500, has similar conclusions to Ṭūsī.}

In this regard, Zamakhsharī relates that the Abbasid caliph Manṣūr heard that Abū Ḥanīfah opposed the opinion attributed to Ibn Abbas, which claimed that it is permissible to do istithnāʾ in an oath, even after a year. He invited Abū Ḥanīfah to him in order to debate him on the matter. Abū Ḥanīfah told the caliph: ‘You allow people to give you the oath of allegiance (bayʿah). Would you find it acceptable that they do so and then when they have left they make istithnāʾ and rebel against you?’^{‎[30]Zamakhshari, 2/715.}
In another story two merchants in Baghdad are discussing this issue and one remarks to another that if performing istithnāʾ later in oaths to escape its consequence was permissible, then God could have ordered Job (a) to do that instead of saying, take a bundle in your hand and then strike [your wife] with it, but do not break [your] oath (38:44).^{‎[31]Alusi, 8/237.}

Those scholars who have said And when you forget, remember your Lord is a separate and general exhortation and does not relate to what came before it, have suggested different meanings for it:

1. From ʿIkramah: if you get angry then remember your Lord, so that your anger may subside.^{‎[32]Tabrisi, 6/712; Alusi, 8/238.}
   
2. From Jubbāʾī: if you forgot something, remember God so that you may remember that thing.^{‎[33]Tabrisi, 6/712; Razi, 21/452.}
   
3. From al-Ḍaḥḥāk: it means forgetting prayer. If you forgot your prayer, then pray it as soon as you remember.^{‎[34]Tabrisi, 6/712; Razi, 21/452; Muhit, 7/163. Abū Ḥayyān attributes this opinion to Qatādah.}
   
4. In a general sense if you forget something that God has commanded you, remember Him post-haste.^{‎[35]Tabari, 15/151.}
   

Some have suggested the following understanding: When you forget something, then you remember it, remember your Lord and thank Him for helping you remember, and if you try to remember it but cannot, then say: ‘Maybe my Lord will guide me to [something] more akin to rectitude than this.’^{‎[36]Tibyan, 7/29.}
Abū Ḥayyān says it means that perhaps it was better you forgot and you should pray and hope that God intends to give you something better in the stead of what you forgot.^{‎[37]Muhit, 7/163.}

Ṭūsī and others have said that Maybe my Lord will guide me to [something] more akin to rectitude than this means that God would give the Prophet signs (āyāt) greater than that of the People of the Cave.^{‎[38]Tibyan, 7/30; Razi, 21/452; Alusi, 8/238.}
This would echo what was said in verse 9.

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit,” whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? It is just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”^{‎[39]James 4:13-15.}
   
2. I must by all means attend this upcoming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return to you if God wills.^{‎[40]Acts 18:21.}
   

[1] Zamakhshari, 2/714.
[2] Alusi, 8/202.
[3] Raghib, p. 803.
[4] Tibyan, 7/28.
[5] Tibyan, 7/28; Tabari, 15/151; Nemuneh, 12/384-385.
[6] In other surahs too, we find Prophet Shuʿayb (a) saying this to Moses (a) in 28:27, and Prophet Ishmael (a) to Prophet Abraham (a) in 37:102. See also 48:27, where God uses this when addressing the believers.
[7] Tabrisi, 6/712.
[8] See the commentary on verse 5 for more on the nature of lies. Lie here would mean speaking that which is not true.
[9] Nemuneh, 12/385.
[10] See Mizan, 13/270-272. Tabatabai also uses the verse to criticise the Mutazilite view on this matter, who only accept God’s legislative will (irādah tashrīʿiyyah) with regards to people’s actions.
[11] See the Review of Tafsīr Literature section for more on the second possibility.
[12] Tibyan, 7/29; Mizan, 13/274; Nemuneh, 12/385-386.
[13] Zamakhshari, 2/715.
[14] See the discussion in Alusi, 8/237.
[15] Alusi, 8/237.
[16] Mizan, 13/274.
[17] Ayyashi, 2/324.
[18] Mizan, 13/290.
[19] Faqih, pp. 362-363, h. 4284. The beginning of this report is also in Tahdhib, 8/281, h. 1028, 1029.
[20] Kafi, 7/447; Tahdhib, 8/281, h. 1027.
[21] Zamakhshari, 2/714.
[22] Razi, 21/450.
[23] Tibyan, 7/28; Tabari, 15/151; Zamakhshari, 2/715.
[24] Tibyan, 7/28-29; Zamakhshari, 2/715.
[25] Tabrisi, 6/712.
[26] Tibyan, 7/29.
[27] Mizan, 13/272.
[28] Tahdhib, 8/282, h. 1031: ‘Whoever makes istithnāʾ in their oath (yamīn), would not be an oath breaker, nor does he need to make istithnāʾ.’
[29] Tibyan, 7/29. In Tahdhib, 8/281, h. 1026, Ṭūsī narrates a report that suggests the opposite of this. There is also the report in Kafi we quoted earlier. Tantawi, 8/500, has similar conclusions to Ṭūsī.
[30] Zamakhshari, 2/715.
[31] Alusi, 8/237.
[32] Tabrisi, 6/712; Alusi, 8/238.
[33] Tabrisi, 6/712; Razi, 21/452.
[34] Tabrisi, 6/712; Razi, 21/452; Muhit, 7/163. Abū Ḥayyān attributes this opinion to Qatādah.
[35] Tabari, 15/151.
[36] Tibyan, 7/29.
[37] Muhit, 7/163.
[38] Tibyan, 7/30; Razi, 21/452; Alusi, 8/238.
[39] James 4:13-15.
[40] Acts 18:21.