Transliteration:( Wa innaaa ilaa Rabbinaa lamunqaliboon )
"And surely we are to return to our Lord [22]."
This verse reminds the traveler that every journey ultimately ends with the return to Allah. The Prophet ﷺ, when beginning a journey on a camel or ship, would recite the dua:
“Embark therein in the name of Allah; it is moving and it is breathing. No doubt, my Lord is assuredly Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surah Hud 11:41)
This shows the spiritual etiquette of travel. Reciting this dua before departure protects one from hardships and reflects a deep awareness that life itself is a journey toward our Lord.
The tafsir of Surah Zukhruf verse 14 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Zukhruf ayat 9 which provides the complete commentary from verse 9 through 14.
(43:14) It is to our Lord that we shall eventually return.”[14]
14. That is, while embarking on every journey one should remember that there is ahead a longer and final journey also. Besides there is the possibility in the use of every conveyance that an accident may turn that very journey into one’s last journey; therefore, every time one should remember his return to his Lord so that if something unexpected happens, he does not die unaware.
Let us pause here for a while and consider the moral results of this teaching. Can one imagine that a person who while sitting on a conveyance starts his journey consciously with full remembrance of Allah and his return and accountability before Him, would commit sins and injustices and tyrannies on the way? Can a person think or utter these words from his mouth when he intends to go to meet a prostitute, or to visit a club for the purpose of drinking and gambling? Can a ruler, or a government official, or a merchant who has stepped out of his house with such thoughts and such words at his lips, usurp the rights of others when he reaches his destination? Can a soldier utter these words while boarding his aircraft or tank when he goes out to shed blood of the innocent and deprive the weak of their freedom? If not, then this one thing alone is enough to bar every movement undertaken for the commission of a sin.
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