Transliteration:( Ayna maa takoonoo yudrikkumul mawtu wa law kuntum fee buroojim mushai yadah; wa in tusibhum hasanatuny yaqooloo haazihee min indil laahi wa in tusibhum saiyi'atuny yaqooloo haazihee min 'indik; qul kullum min 'indillaahi famaa lihaaa 'ulaaa'il qawmi laa yakaadoona yafqahoona hadeesaa )
“Wherever you may be, death will overtake you, even if you should be in strong forts [251]. If some good reaches them, they say: ‘This is from Allah,’ and if some evil befalls them, they say: ‘This has come from you’ [252]. Say: ‘Everything is from Allah.’ Then what has happened to these people that they fail to understand any statement? [253]”
This verse reminds believers that death is unavoidable, regardless of where one may be—even if hidden in strong, fortified places.
Therefore, it is better to die as a martyr on the battlefield than to suffer a prolonged illness and die in bed.
According to a Hadith, the pain of death for a martyr is as light as the sting of an ant, highlighting the honor and ease granted to those who die in the path of Allah.
The hypocrites falsely claimed that since the arrival of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in Madina, calamities had increased.
God forbid, they blamed the Prophet ﷺ for causing harm.
In truth, after his arrival:
Yathrib (Madina) became a sacred city.
It turned into a center of blessings and healing.
Even the sand of Madina gained the quality of cure.
Thus, such accusations were baseless and rooted in disbelief.
From this we understand that:
All blessings and trials come with the knowledge and will of Allah Almighty.
Sometimes, our own actions become the cause of those outcomes.
Piety leads to peace and ease,
While sin becomes the cause of calamities.
There is no contradiction between this verse and the earlier verse:
“From your soul” (Surah An-Nisa, 4:79)
Both are correct in their respective contexts:
One describes the cause (human action),
The other emphasizes divine knowledge and control.
The tafsir of Surah Nisa verse 78 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Nisa ayat 77 which provides the complete commentary from verse 77 through 79.
(4:78) Wherever you might be, death will overtake you even though you be in massive towers. And when some good happens to them, they say: ‘This is from Allah’; whereas when some misfortune befalls them, they say: ‘This is because of you’.[109] Say: ‘All is from Allah.’ What has happened to this people that they seem to understand nothing?
109. When such people encounter success and victory, they attribute it to the grace of God. They allow themselves to forget that this grace came to them through no one but the Prophet (peace be on him). When they are either beaten or face setbacks because of their own faults and weaknesses they gratuitously exonerate themselves and place the blame squarely on the Prophet (peace be on him).
[200]- Addressing the Prophet (ﷺ).
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