Surah Faatir (35) — Ayah 43

(Ayah 43) ➊ { اسْتِكْبَارًا فِي الْاَرْضِ :} That is, the reason for their denying the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), turning away from guidance, and fleeing far from it was not that they considered the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to be a liar, but one reason was that while living on earth—which is the lowest point in Allah’s universe—they wanted to live as exalted and great, which would not be possible if they accepted the obedience of the Prophet, because then they would have to abandon their own will and submit to Allah’s command, which they did not approve of.

➋ { وَ مَكْرَ السَّيِّئِ :} And the second reason for being even farther from the truth was that, despite knowing the truthfulness and trustworthiness of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), instead of believing in him, they adopted very evil schemes and terrifying conspiracies to block the path of truth and to harm the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). As a result, instead of accepting the truth, they became even more obstinate and distanced themselves from it, as mentioned in Surah Al-Anfal (30) regarding the plots of the disbelievers of Makkah to imprison, exile, or kill the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

➌ { وَ لَا يَحِيْقُ الْمَكْرُ السَّيِّئُ اِلَّا بِاَهْلِهٖ: ’’حَاقَ يَحِيْقُ‘‘} and {’’أَحَاطَ يُحِيْطُ‘‘} both mean to encompass, that is, an evil scheme may cause some harm to the one against whom it is plotted, but in reality, the scheme fully encompasses and surrounds the plotter himself. Just as the conspiracies against the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not harm him at all, rather, these conspiracies, in the battles of Badr, Uhud, Khandaq, and the conquest of Makkah, surrounded the disbelievers themselves and rendered them unsuccessful and disappointed.

➍ { فَهَلْ يَنْظُرُوْنَ اِلَّا سُنَّتَ الْاَوَّلِيْنَ:} That is, if they do not change their ways and continue to increase in their rebellion, then punishment will surely descend upon them just as it did upon the previous disbelievers.

➎ { فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّتِ اللّٰهِ تَبْدِيْلًا :} That is, Allah’s established practice from before is that He gives respite to the criminals, then seizes them. You will not find any change in this, that the rope of these criminals will always remain extended, or that instead of punishment, they will be rewarded. In this, there is a warning for the disbelievers and comfort and glad tidings for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the believers.

➏ { فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّتِ اللّٰهِ تَبْدِيْلًا :} Nor will it happen that Allah commands something to occur or intends to send punishment upon a people, and then the punishment does not descend, or that He intends punishment for a people and then diverts it to another people. As He said: « وَ اِذَاۤ اَرَادَ اللّٰهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوْٓءًا فَلَا مَرَدَّ لَهٗ » [ الرعد : ۱۱ ] “And when Allah intends evil for a people, there is no turning it back.”

43. 1. That is, instead of believing in your ﷺ prophethood, they chose the path of denial and opposition merely out of arrogance and rebellion.

43. 2. And they did so because of evil plotting, that is, trickery, deception, and vile actions.

43. 3. That is, people plot and scheme, but they do not know that the outcome of evil plotting is always bad, and its consequences ultimately fall upon those who plot and scheme.

43. 4. That is, by persisting in their disbelief and polytheism, opposition to the Messenger ﷺ, and causing harm to the believers, are they waiting to be destroyed in the same way as the previous nations were destroyed?

43. 5. Rather, this continues in the same way, and destruction is the fate of every denier, or the meaning of changing is that no one is capable of changing Allah's punishment into the shade of mercy.

43. 6. That is, there is no one to remove Allah's punishment or to turn it away, meaning that if Allah wants to afflict a nation with punishment, no one has the power to turn it towards another nation. No one is capable of changing this divine law, nor of turning away Allah's punishment.

43. This was because of their arrogance in the land and their plotting of evil schemes. But the evil plot only engulfs its own people. So, are they waiting for anything except the way of Allah that was followed with the peoples before them? You will never find any change [49] in Allah’s way, nor will you find any alteration [50].

[49] That is, the opposition of these chieftains and leaders to their Prophet was nothing new. Rebellious and disobedient nations in the past have always done the same. And Allah’s established practice has always been that He crushes such rebels, and He supports His Prophets and those who believe in them, granting them deliverance from these wrongdoers through His help. And this is such a way of Allah in which there can be no failure or change. Thus, in this verse, there is a warning and a prophecy for the opponents of the truth that if you do not change your hostile attitude, you too will face the same evil end that the previous nations faced.
[50] Allah’s way is that He breaks the backs of those who oppose His Prophets. There can never be such a change in this way that Allah, instead of punishing such criminals, would begin to bestow favors and honors upon them, or that He would give the punishment of these criminals to other people.