Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 78

(Ayah 78) ➊ {اَيْنَ مَا تَكُوْنُوْا يُدْرِكْكُّمُ الْمَوْتُ: ”بُرُوْجٍ“ } is the plural of {’’بُرْجٌ‘‘}, meaning a strong building, a fortress. { ”مُشَيَّدَةٍ“ } which are made of {’’ اَلشِّيْدُ ‘‘}, that is, made of lime. This is another point to encourage striving in Allah’s cause: when you cannot escape death in any situation, then why do you hesitate to strive in Allah’s way? There are many verses in the Noble Qur’an with this meaning, as He said: «{ قُلْ لَّنْ يَّنْفَعَكُمُ الْفِرَارُ اِنْ فَرَرْتُمْ مِّنَ الْمَوْتِ اَوِ الْقَتْلِ }» [ الأحزاب : ۱۶ ] “Say, fleeing will never benefit you if you flee from death or killing.” And He said: «{ قُلْ اِنَّ الْمَوْتَ الَّذِيْ تَفِرُّوْنَ مِنْهُ فَاِنَّهٗ مُلٰقِيْكُمْ }» [الجمعۃ : ۸ ] “Say, indeed the death from which you flee, it will surely meet you.” And He said: «{ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَآىِٕقَةُ الْمَوْتِ }» [آل عمران : ۱۸۵ ] “Every soul will taste death.”
➋ {وَ اِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ … :} Above, two blameworthy traits of the hypocrites were mentioned: one, shirking from striving, and the other, fearing death. Now here, another blameworthy trait of theirs is mentioned, which is worse than the first two: attributing misfortune to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Here, {”حَسَنَةٌ“} (good) means victory, help, dominance, prosperity, etc., and {’’ سَيِّئَةٌ ‘‘} means loss in battle, calamity, killing, and defeat, etc.
➌ {قُلْ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِنْدِ اللّٰهِ:} This is the answer to their statement: both evil and good are from Him and by His command; He alone is the Creator of everything. To declare calamity and misfortune as someone’s bad luck is absolutely wrong and the way of the previous disbelievers, as the people of Thamud said: «{ قَالُوا اطَّيَّرْنَا بِكَ وَ بِمَنْ مَّعَكَ }» [ النمل : ۴۷ ] “They said, we consider you and those with you a bad omen.” And in Surah Ya-Sin: «{ اِنَّا تَطَيَّرْنَا بِكُمْ }» [ یٰسٓ : ۱۸ ] “Indeed, we consider you a bad omen.” And about the people of Pharaoh: «{ وَ اِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَّطَّيَّرُوْا بِمُوْسٰى وَ مَنْ مَّعَهٗ }» [ الأعراف : ۱۳۱ ] “And if any harm befell them, they considered it a bad omen due to Moses and those with him.”
Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “This is about the hypocrites: if the war strategy succeeded and victory and spoils were gained, they would say it was from Allah, meaning it happened by chance. They did not acknowledge the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) strategy. And if it failed, they would blame the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) strategy. Allah the Exalted said that everything is from Allah, meaning the Prophet’s strategy is Allah’s inspiration, it is not wrong, and if it failed, do not consider it a failure; Allah is correcting you for your shortcomings. The next verse explains this clearly.” (Mawduh)
➍ {فَمَالِ هٰۤؤُلَآءِ الْقَوْمِ …:} That is, it is astonishing that even a reality that can be understood without any reflection or thought does not enter their understanding. (Razi)

78. 1 It is being said to explain to such weak Muslims that, firstly, this world is perishable and its benefit is temporary, for which you are seeking some respite. In comparison, the Hereafter is much better and everlasting, for which you will be deserving as a reward for obedience to Allah. Secondly, whether you fight in jihad or not, death will surely come at its appointed time, even if you sit enclosed in strong fortresses. Then what is the benefit of avoiding jihad? By strong towers are meant forts with strong and high walls.

78. 2 From here, the statements of the hypocrites are being mentioned again. Like the deniers of the previous nations, they also said that goodness (prosperity, abundance of crops, wealth, children, etc.) is from Allah, and evil (drought, decrease in wealth and property, etc.), O Muhammad ﷺ, is from you, meaning it has come as a result of adopting your religion. Just as Allah Almighty said about Musa (عليه السلام) and the people of Pharaoh: "When good came to them, they said, 'This is for us,' meaning we are deserving of it, and when any evil befell them, they blamed Musa (عليه السلام) and his followers, meaning, God forbid, they considered it the result of their misfortune." (Al-A'raf: 131)

78. 3 That is, both good and evil are from Allah alone, but due to their lack of understanding and knowledge and abundance of ignorance and injustice, these people are unable to comprehend this.

78. Wherever you may be, death will overtake you, even if you are in fortified towers. [108] And if any good befalls them, they say, "This is from Allah." But if a misfortune befalls them, they say, "This is because of you." [109] Say, "All is from Allah." So what is the matter with these people that they hardly understand any statement?

[108] Death will come only at its appointed time, and it will certainly come: This is a reality that neither a Muslim nor a disbeliever denies. The purpose of mentioning this reality here is that if these faint-hearted Muslims keep this fact in mind at all times, then there is no reason to fear fighting, because both the time and place of death are fixed. Therefore, if it has already been decreed for you, then it will certainly come to you even at home, and if your life is still remaining, then even on the battlefield, death will certainly not come. And according to some commentators, this address is to the hypocrites who, upon seeing defeat in the Battle of Uhud, used to say to their brethren that if you had listened to us, your loved ones would not have been killed in this battle. And this opinion seems correct in that, in the same verse ahead, the address is indeed to the hypocrites.

[109]
Those Who Attribute Calamity to the Messenger:

This address is to the hypocrites, in which their Jewish allies are also included. If they experienced any comfort or moments of ease and happiness, such as the abundance of grain or the acquisition of war booty, they would attribute it to Allah and say that this is Allah's grace and mercy. But if any pain or calamity befell them, then they would blame the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and say that this is the result of your poor planning or wrong strategy, as happened at the time of the defeat in the Battle of Uhud. And they would declare themselves completely free of any blame. If the hypocrites had understood that if victory occurs, it is also due to your good planning, through you, and by your blessing, then even this would have been somewhat correct. But the reality is that whether benefit or harm, everything is from Allah alone, and this is an important part of the Muslims' creed, and the clear proof of this is this very verse. It is also stated:

﴿وَاللّٰهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُوْنَ﴾ [37: 96]

Allah has created you and also those deeds which you do, meaning that even if benefit or harm is considered to be the result of actions, since the Creator of your actions is Allah Almighty, therefore, benefit and harm are also from Allah alone.