The Believers — Verse 43
23:43 · al-Mu`minun
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مَا تَسۡبِقُ مِنۡ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلَهَا وَمَا یَسۡتَءۡخِرُونَ ٤٣
mā tasbiqu min ummatin ajalahā wamā yastakhirūn
The Believers / al-Mu`minun (23:43)
Connections 4 single-source 1 commentator
Multi-source connections
No verses on this ayah are cited by 2 or more commentators using numeric S:A notation. All extracted references come from a single source's commentary.
Single-source mentions (4) cited by only one commentator
By commentator who cites how many verses on this ayah
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Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) 4 verses
Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.
no community can advance or delay its time
mā tasbiqu min ummatin ajalahā wamā yastakhirūn
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Tafsir Commentary
Mention of Other Nations Allah says:
ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِمْ قُرُوناً ءَاخَرِينَ
(Then, after them, We created other generations.) meaning, nations and peoples.
مَّا تَسْبِقُ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلَهَا وَمَا يَسْتَـْخِرُونَ
(No nation can advance their term, nor can they delay it.) means, they are taken at the appropriate time, as decreed by Allah in His Book that is preserved with Him, before they were created, nation after nation, century after century, generation after generation, successors after predecessors.
ثُمَّ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا تَتْرَى
(Then We sent Our Messengers in succession.) Ibn `Abbas said, "(This means) following one another in succession." This is like the Ayah:
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُواْ الْطَّـغُوتَ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَّنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الضَّلَـلَةُ
(And verily, We have sent among every Ummah a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allah, and avoid Taghut (all false deities)." Then of them were some whom Allah guided and of them were some upon whom the straying was justified) 16:36.
كُلَّ مَا جَآءَ أُمَّةً رَّسُولُهَا كَذَّبُوهُ
(Every time there came to a nation their Messenger, they denied him;) meaning the greater majority of them. This is like the Ayah:
يحَسْرَةً عَلَى الْعِبَادِ مَا يَأْتِيهِمْ مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ
(Alas for mankind! There never came a Messenger to them but they used to mock at him.) 36:30
فَأَتْبَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ بَعْضاً
(so We made them follow one another,) means, `We destroyed them,' as Allah says:
وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِن بَعْدِ نُوحٍ
(And how many generations have We destroyed after Nuh!) 17:17
وَجَعَلْنَـهُمْ أَحَادِيثَ
(and We made them as Ahadith) meaning, stories and lessons for mankind, as Allah says elsewhere:
فَجَعَلْنَـهُمْ أَحَادِيثَ وَمَزَّقْنَـهُمْ كُلَّ مُمَزَّقٍ
(so, We made them as tales (in the land), and We dispersed them all totally) 34:19.
No community can precede its term by dying before it nor be deferred beyond it the person in the second verb yasta’khirūna ‘be deferred’ is masculine having been feminine in the first verb tasbiqu ‘precede’ because this masculine plural takes into account the plural masculine content of the term ‘community’.
ما تتقدم أي أمة من هذه الأمم المكذبة الوقت المحدد لهلاكها، ولا تتأخر عنه.
" ما تسبق من أمة أجلها وما يستأخرون " يعني بل يؤخذون على حسب ما قدر لهم تعالى في كتابه المحفوظ وعلمه قبل كونهم أمة بعد أمة وقرنا بعد قرن وجيلا بعد جيل وخلفا بعد سلف.
وقوله عز وجل - : ( مَا تَسْبِقُ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلَهَا وَمَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ ) بيان لمظهر من مظاهر قدرة الله - تعالى - وإحكامه لشئون خلقه . . .أى : ما تسبق أمة من الأمم أجلها الذى قدرناه لها ساعة من الزمان ، ولا تستأخر عنه ساعة ، بل الكل نهلكه ونميته فى الوقت الذى حددناه بقدرتنا وحكمتنا .و " من " فى قوله ( مِنْ أُمَّةٍ ) مزيدة للتأكيد : وفى هذا المعنى قوله - تعالى - : ( وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلٌ فَإِذَا جَآءَ أَجَلُهُمْ لاَ يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلاَ يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ ).
وقوله: ( مَا تَسْبِقُ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلَهَا ) يقول: ما يتقدم هلاك أمة من تلك الأمم التي أنشأناها بعد ثمود قبل الأجل الذي أجلنا لهلاكها، ولا يستأخر هلاكها عن الأجل الذي أجلنا لهلاكها ، والوقت الذي وقتنا لفنائها، ولكنها تهلك لمجيئه. وهذا وعيد من الله لمشركي قوم نبينا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم ، وإعلام منه لهم أن تأخيره في آجالهم ، مع كفرهم به وتكذيبهم رسوله، ليبلغوا الأجل الذي أجل لهم ، فيحلّ بهم نقمته، كسنته فيمن قبلهم من الأمم السالفة.
( ما تسبق من أمة أجلها ) أي : ما تسبق أمة أجلها أي : وقت هلاكها ، ( وما يستأخرون ) وما يتأخرون عن وقت هلاكهم .
مَا تَسْبِقُ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلَهَا وَمَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ (43)والسبق : تجاوز السائر وتركه مُسائرَه خلفه ، وعكسه التأخر . والمعنى واضح . والسين والتاء في { يستأخرون } زائدتان للتأكيد مثل : استجاب . وضمير { يستأخرون } عائد إلى { أمة } باعتبار الناس .
كل أمة في وقت مسمى، وأجل محدود، لا تتقدم عنه ولا تتأخر
ما تسبق من أمة أجلها من صلة ؛ أي ما تسبق أمة الوقت المؤقت لها ولا تتأخره ؛ مثل قوله تعالى : فإذا جاء أجلهم لا يستأخرون ساعة ولا يستقدمون .
After the advent of each prophet, the succeeding generations of his community were always led astray. In order to reform them, prophets were sent to them again and again. In Adam’s generation Noah appeared. In Noah’s generation (the ‘Ad), Hud appeared as a prophet. In Hud’s generation (the Thamud), Salih appeared. But on each occasion those who had accepted the prophet of the past without question, were the very same people who were not at all prepared to accept the prophet of their own times. The reason for this is that the prophet of the past, as a result of a wealth of traditions surrounding him, ultimately becomes a symbol of national pride, or national identity. He assumes the status of a national hero. By accepting him, one’s superiority complex is satisfied. Obviously, who will refuse to accept such a prophet? But, the case of the prophet during his lifetime is just the opposite. He has neither any halo of history around him nor any traditions of greatness to enhance his persona. Accepting him amounts to accepting an invisible reality. This is why those who accepted the prophet of the past have always refused to accept the prophet of their own times. ‘So away with the people who will not believe!’ Those referred to in this injunction are people who could recognize God’s emissary only when, as a result of historical process, he had become their national hero.
Commentary
وَآوَيْنَاهُمَا إِلَىٰ رَبْوَةٍ ذَاتِ قَرَارٍ وَمَعِينٍ (and We gave them shelter on a height, a place of rest and running springs). According to Bayan-ul-Qur’ an, this verse refers to the event that a tyrant was resolute to kill Sayyidna ` Isa and his mother (علیہما السلام) right from his childhood. They escaped from him and, with Allah's grace, found a place on a height where they enjoyed a peaceful life until Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) attained maturity and was entrusted with prophethood. (This commentary is taken from Khulasa-e-tafsir of Ma` ariful-Qur’ an).
(No nation can outstrip its term) no nation can bring forward the term appointed for its destruction, (nor yet postpone it) to a later date.