وَلَولا إِذ دَخَلتَ جَنَّتَكَ قُلتَ ما شاءَ اللَّهُ لا قُوَّةَ إِلّا بِاللَّهِ ۚ إِن تَرَنِ أَنا أَقَلَّ مِنكَ مالًا وَوَلَدًا
فَعَسىٰ رَبّي أَن يُؤتِيَنِ خَيرًا مِن جَنَّتِكَ وَيُرسِلَ عَلَيها حُسبانًا مِنَ السَّماءِ فَتُصبِحَ صَعيدًا زَلَقًا
Why did you not say, when you entered your garden: “[This is] as Allah has wished! There is no power except by Allah!”? If you see that I have lesser wealth than you and children,
maybe my Lord will give me [something] better than your garden, and He will unleash upon it bolts from the sky, so that it becomes a bare plain.
EXEGESIS
Tarani (you see that I), literally means ‘you see me’. Seeing could here be indicating consideration, meaning: you consider me to be less wealthy. Alternatively, it could be literally to see, as in: as you can see I am less wealthy.
Mā shāʾ allāh (as Allah has wished); this famous and oft-repeated statement is actually a phrase fragment, which involves either an elision, meaning ‘the matter is as God has wished’, or a conditional, meaning ‘whatever God has willed happens’, or a conjunctive, meaning ‘what has happened is what He willed’. That is, what He willed per His pre-eternal knowledge.
Ḥusbān (bolts) comes from the root of ḥasaba, meaning to count. It is said to be the plural of ḥisbānah, albeit some have claimed it is a verbal noun of ḥasaba. It is said to come from the same root as ḥisāb (to count) and is originally used for the arrows that have been shot by (horseback) archers at a single target. They are called ḥusbān because they are so many that they must be counted. As such, ḥusbān would mean bolts from the sky, possibly meaning lightning. Perhaps this is also the intended meaning of those who say it means a fire from the sky.
Others have claimed it means punishment. Hence, it could be in a general sense any sort of punishment sent from the sky, like hail, stones, dust storms, or suchlike. Some have understood it as a terrible rainstorm that destroys crops and trees.
Finally, some have said it is the same as ḥisāb and means an ‘amount counted’, that is, what God has decreed, like in the verse, He has made the night for rest, and the sun and the moon for calculation (ḥusbān) (6:96), or a more emphatic form of ḥisāb, meaning ‘a severe an exact accounting’. In this case, coming down from the sky should be understood figuratively to mean the coming down of God’s decree, whereby He ordains the destruction of the man’s gardens.
Ṣaʿīd (plain) was explained in the commentary of verse 8 to mean the surface of the earth. It is also used for a path that is without vegetation.
Zalaq (bare) was originally used for a ground on which one cannot get even footing, a sort of shifting sand. It is then used to refer to ground that has no vegetation. This is because the ground without vegetation does not have the roots of plants to hold it together and thus it becomes eroded and shifts.
EXPOSITION
Verse 39 is an important lesson in the true meaning of islām as submission to the will and power of God and the humility that it entails. Though brief, this advice given by the faithful man to his companion is full of wisdom.
Why did you not say, when you entered your garden: this is a reply to what the rich man had said when he entered his garden, proclaiming, I do not think that this will ever perish (verse 35). Instead, he should have realised that there is nothing independent from the power of God, and everything happens according to His will.
[This is] as Allah has wished: it has been said that it is good to say this phrase whenever one looks at their possessions and those which they claim to be theirs, and feels pleased; or even in general when looking at anything that is pleasing. This is in order that they should not be afflicted by amazement regarding that thing (as discussed in verse 28). This is why the statement has become habitual and ubiquitous amongst Muslims.
In any case, it means that nothing happens except by the will of God and therefore all that has happened is as He willed; any success that I had is only because He willed it. If He willed failure for me, do I really think I could escape it? This latter thought is soon explored in the next two verses. This attitude of humility in front of God’s unopposable, total, and absolute power is a key element of submission to Him. This is a type of thankfulness as well, since you are attributing your possession, position, or property not to yourself, but to God, so you innately feel thankful that He has granted it to you.
There is no power except by Allah: this is an absolute and general declaration. No one but God has any power. There is no power that is independent of Him. This reality cannot be overstated; no being, no matter how seemingly powerful, intelligent, capable, or of high rank and status, spiritually or otherwise, has any power independent of God, or can oppose His will in any way. This is the absolute monotheism of Islam, where there is no room for partners or rivals for the All-Powerful.
This should not be understood as negating human free will or our capacity to be the agents of our actions. Rather, what it means is that a person chooses his own actions yes, but he can only perform them by the power given to him by God. Indeed, even his power of choosing is only possible by recourse to God’s will. This can be likened to the electronic device with which you are probably reading this at the moment. You may choose what to do with that device, read this or that, or watch something else, and so on, however none of that is possible without recourse to the electricity which powers the device.
As such, when it comes to a Muslim putting in effort and work to achieve things, his belief is not in contradiction with his actions. To say There is no power except by Allah does not mean to resign from expending effort and abandoning all exertion. Success and achievements generally require hard work and diligence, but this is all possible only through the grace and power of God, and if He so willed, He could also take it all away.
If you see that I have lesser wealth than you and children: continuing with the contrasting personalities, when the faithful man mentions himself he describes his own poverty; not complaining or lamenting, but simply stating it as it is. In fact, the expression sounds like he is quite content with what his share has been. This is also another important mindset that a Muslim should possess, namely being pleased with what God has willed for him, because what God wills is better, for He knows and we do not know.
The faithful friend finishes his exhortations by reminding his companion that the same God who is in control of all things and is the ultimate sovereign could easily change the situation from its current state. Maybe my Lord will give me [something] better than your garden: here he is apparently referring to the hereafter. In this case, the word maybe is once again indicative of the believer’s humility. Unlike his companion, he does not self-assuredly proclaim success to himself in the hereafter, yet meekly hopes for it.
It is also possible that it could mean in this world. There is no problem with God granting material blessings to faithful people in this world, For those who do good in this world there will be a good [reward], and the abode of the hereafter is better (16:30). Nor is there anything wrong with them wishing for it, Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the hereafter (2:201).
Nevertheless, the statement better than your garden is highly suggestive of the fact that what is talked about is the garden of the hereafter, paradise. Otherwise, the expression ‘like your garden’ would have been more fitting. This meaning is also more congruent with the earlier discussions about the denial of the Day of Judgement.
And He will unleash upon it bolts from the sky: the gardens which relied on the life-giving rays of the sun that descended from the sky could suddenly be destroyed from that very same direction. Just like in the next verse we read how the water which was at the moment gushing through them (verse 33) could suddenly sink down (verse 41). This is a strong reminder that all of this is the mercy of God and with a slight change it could turn from useful to harmful.
So that it becomes a bare plain: this is in stark contrast to the earlier description of the garden. There we were told of gardens fruitful, lush, and fertile, which represented the most beneficial of lands, whilst now we hear of stark, bare, and barren plains, the most valueless of lands.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- From Karrām ibn ʿAmr, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Four [recitals] are for four [things]. One for [protection from] bloodshed and defeat, and that is: Allah is sufficient for us, and He is an excellent trustee, for God has said: Those to whom the people said: ‘All the people have gathered against you; so fear them.’ That only increased them in faith, and they said: ‘Allah is sufficient for us, and He is an excellent trustee.’ So they returned with Allah’s blessing and grace, untouched by any evil [3:173-174]. The second is for [protection from] plots and evil: and I entrust my affair to Allah [40:44], for God has said: Then Allah saved him from their evil schemes, while a terrible punishment besieged Pharaoh’s clan [40:45]. The third is for [protection from] fire and drowning: [This is] as Allah has wished! There is no power except by Allah! This is because He has said: Why did you not say, when you entered your garden: ‘[This is] as Allah has wished! There is no power except by Allah!’ The fourth is for [protection from] sorrow and worry: There is no god except You! You are immaculate! I have indeed been among the wrongdoers! [21:87]. God, the exalted, has said: So We answered his prayer and delivered him from the agony; and thus do We deliver the faithful [21:88].’
- From ʿImrān al-Zaʿfarānī, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘No man would supplicate and then finish his supplication by saying, [This is] as Allah has wished! There is no power except by Allah! except that God would answer his prayer.’
Note: This has also been recommended in some reports to be said when leaving the house, or for travel, especially if traveling alone, or, according to some scholars, when entering the home.
- From Jābir ibn Yazīd al-Juʿfī, that he asked Imam al-Bāqir (a) regarding the meaning of the statement, There is no power except by Allah, to which he replied: ‘It means that we have no capability (ḥawl) to avoid disobeying God, except by recourse to God’s aid; nor do we have any power to obey God, except by the succour (tawfīq) granted by God, mighty and glorious.’
- From Khālid ibn Najīḥ, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said to a man: ‘Be satisfied with what God has allotted for you and do not look to that which others have, and do not yearn for that which you will not get. Certainly the one who is satisfied is sated, and the one who is not satisfied is never sated. So take [instead] your appointed portion of your hereafter.’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
The Mutazilite scholars have generally interpreted [This is] as Allah has wished to mean that the fruits of the garden were as God had wished. This is because their views on free will vis-à-vis will of God was such that they did not wish to interpret the verse in a general sense.
Makārim Shīrāzī points out that eroded ground with no vegetation (especially after heavy rainfall) can often result in all kinds of problems. For example, buildings cannot be constructed because the ground shifts, so in order to combat soil erosion, vegetation with roots are often planted in it. In any case, such eroded soil would have made replanting the gardens a far harder task.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- God has spoken once, twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God.
- He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
- The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.
- Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
- I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
- For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor will the hope of the poor perish forever.
- Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
- The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.
- And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”
- For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
- The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honour and life.
[1] Mizan, 13/315.
[2] Razi, 21/464; Mizan, 13/314.
[3] Tustari, 1/98.
[4] Tibyan, 7/47; Zamakhshari, 2/723.
[5] Raghib, p. 232; Razi, 21/465; Tantawi, 8/520.
[6] Tabrisi, 6/727.
[7] Thalabi, 6/171; Baghawi, 3/193.
[8] Zamakhshari, 2/723.
[9] Tibyan, 7/47; Thalabi, 6/171; Suyuti, 4/224. Ṭabrisī says that according to a report (he does not say from whom) a fire was sent by God that burned the trees and then the water sunk into the earth (Tabrisi, 6/728).
[10] Tibyan, 7/47; Tabari, 15/163; Thalabi, 6/171; Suyuti, 4/224. This opinion is attributed to Ibn Abbas.
[11] Alusi, 8/267; Tantawi, 8/520.
[12] Ibn Kathir, 5/144; Mudarrisi, 6/417.
[13] Raghib, p. 232; Zamakhshari, 2/723; Razi, 21/465; Alusi, 8/266.
[14] This is also an example of ḥusbān being used as a verbal noun.
[15] Tahqiq, ḥ-s-b.
[16] Tibyan, 7/9-10; Tabrisi, 6/694; Mizan, 13/240. It is said that ṣāʿīdan zalaqan and ṣāʿīdan juruzan both share the meaning of a plain that has no vegetation (Tabari, 15/163
[17] Tabrisi, 6/727.
[18] Tabrisi, 6/727; Qurtubi, 10/408-409.
[19] Tibyan, 7/47; Raghib, p. 382.
[20] Mizan, 13/314.
[21] Alusi, 8/266.
[22] Thalabi, 6/171; Baghawi, 3/193.
[23] Razi, 21/465; Alusi, 8/266; Mizan, 13/315.
[24] See also Muhit, 7/180.
[25] Qurtubi, 10/408. See also Tabrisi, 6/728.
[26] Tahdhib, 6/170-171, h. 329; Wasail, 15/137, h. 20159. For quite a similar hadith see also Tabrisi, 6/728-729.
[27] Amali.S, p. 266; Thawab, p. 9; Wasail, 7/91, h. 8820.
[28] Nur, 3/261-262.
[29] Ahkam, 3/1239.
[30] Tawhid, p. 242; Maani, p. 22.
[31] Kafi, 8/243.
[32] Alusi, 8/265.
[33] Nemuneh, 12/434.
[34] Psalms 62:11.
[35] Colossians 1:17.
[36] 1 Samuel 2:7.
[37] Psalms 147:5.
[38] Philippians 4:13.
[39] Psalms 9:18.
[40] Proverbs 11:28.
[41] Proverbs 10:22.
[42] Luke 6:20.
[43] Mark 8:36.
[44] Proverbs 22:4.