Appearance
Verses 120–123
The verses succinctly convey to the Prophet the central message of this chapter whose verses were revealed to him. They inform him that this chapter elucidates the truth about the origin and the return to God, as well as God’s modus operandi in dealing with His servants. In relation to the Prophet , it serves as an instruction of true knowledge; for the believers, it is a reminder and an admonition; and for the disbelievers who are reluctant to embrace faith, it is a decisive argument. Therefore, God instructs the Prophet to say to them at the end of your debate: And say to those who do not have faith, ‘Act according to your ability; we too are acting. And wait! We too are waiting for the fulfilment of what God has told us about His established decree in His creation: The felicity of the righteous and the misery of the corrupt.’ The chapter concludes by commanding the Prophet to worship God and to place his trust in Him, for all matters return to Him.
وَكُلًّا نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنْبَاءِ الرُّسُلِ مَا نُثَبِّتُ بِهِ فُؤَادَكَ ۚ وَجَاءَكَ فِي هَٰذِهِ الْحَقُّ وَمَوْعِظَةٌ وَذِكْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ١٢٠
(11:120) Whatever We relate to you of the accounts of the messengers are those by which We strengthen your heart, and there has come to you in this the truth and an advice and admonition for the faithful.
This means that every narrative is detailed to you, whether in depth or in summary. The phrase, the accounts of the messengers, specifies what is encompassed by the general term, ‘whatever’. His words, by which We strengthen your heart, indicate the specific purpose of these narratives, pointing to the benefit of these stories for the Prophet , which is to fortify his heart and dispel any anxieties and worries he may have harboured.
The essence of this verse’s meaning is as follows: ‘The accounts of these messengers are conveyed to you so as to solidify your heart and to anchor your determination in the path of advocating truth, tearing out the roots of corruption, and enduring persecution at the hands of your people.’
God then highlights the benefits of the chapter that encompass both the Prophet , the community of believers, and the disbelievers. Regarding the benefit the Prophet receives from the revelation of the chapter, God says, and there has come to you in this the truth. The demonstrative pronoun ‘this’ refers to the present chapter of the Qur’an, or to the verses revealed within it, or to the accounts of the messengers in some manner. At the same time, the coming of the truth in it relates to what God has expounded within the narratives and both before and after them. This encompasses the truths about the origin, the return to God, and God’s modus operandi in sending messengers, spreading the divine call, then rewarding the believers in this life with salvation and in the hereafter with paradise, and punishing the wrongdoers with worldly consequences and eternal torment in the next.
Regarding the benefits that pertain to the believers, God says: and an advice and admonition for the faithful. This is because the truths mentioned in this chapter contain a reminder for the believers, reminding them of their innate knowledge concerning the origin, the return, and whatever pertains to them. And the stories and lessons therein serve as an admonition from which they can draw moral lessons.
وَقُلْ لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ اعْمَلُوا عَلَىٰ مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنَّا عَامِلُونَ ١٢١ وَانْتَظِرُوا إِنَّا مُنْتَظِرُونَ ١٢٢
(11:121-122) And say to those who do not have faith, ‘Act according to your ability; we too are acting. And wait! We too are waiting.’
This pertains to the disbelievers. God commands His Prophet to conclude his arguments with them and decisively refute them after recounting these narratives by saying: ‘If you do not believe and continue in your ways of idolatry and corruption, despite the reminders and lessons given to you, and if you do not acknowledge the accounts of past communities and God’s unchanging decree concerning them, then continue in your current state and what you deem best for yourselves. We too are acting. Await the consequences of your actions as we too are waiting. You will soon recognise the truth of God’s divine news and its falsehood.’
This statement is a decisive refutation and a kind of warning, which God has included in the past stories, such as the tales of Noah, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, and in the account of Shuʿayb, , where God quotes him as saying: O my people! Act according to your ability; I too am acting. Soon you will know who will be overtaken by a punishment that will disgrace him, and who is a liar. So be on the watch; I too will be watching along with you ().
وَلِلَّهِ غَيْبُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُ الْأَمْرُ كُلُّهُ فَاعْبُدْهُ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ ۚ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ ١٢٣
(11:123) To Allah belongs the Unseen of the heavens and the earth, and to Him all matters are returned. So worship Him and trust in Him. Your Lord is not oblivious of what you do.
Given that God’s command to His Prophet was to instruct the disbelievers to act as they please and to wait for the outcome, and informed them that both he and those who believed with him were also acting and waiting, it means that following His command to act and await. This is emphasized with two statements to reassure the Prophet and establish firmness in his heart, knowing that ultimately, events will turn in the Prophet’s favor against the disbelievers.
Therefore, the meaning here is: ‘Act and await, you and those who follow you. For the Unseen of the heavens and the earth, which encompasses the outcomes of both your and their affairs, is solely in the dominion of your Lord, who is God the Exalted, not in their deities that they associate with Him, nor in the means they rely upon to turn the tides in their favor and alter outcomes for their benefit. The entire affair returns to your Lord, who is God, revealing from the Unseen the outcomes as He wills and as He has foretold. Thus, things will turn in your favor against them. This is a wondrous form of exposition.
This shows the reason for replacing the repeated term ‘your Lord’ in these verses with the name ‘Allah.’ It imbues a sense of His encompassing everything, great and small, in a manner not found in any other term. The context requires reliance and refuge in an entity that no one else can hope to overpower or surpass, and that is God Almighty. Therefore, you will note that after this statement, the verse returns to using the descriptor previously and repeatedly used, ‘your Lord’, in His statement: Your Lord is not oblivious of what you do.
… So worship Him and trust in Him—It is evident that this command follows logically from His statement: and to Him all matters are returned. This means, if the entire matter returns solely to Him and no one besides Him possesses or controls anything, then you should worship Him alone and take Him as the trustee in all affairs. Do not rely on any cause apart from Him, for they are merely causes by His decree and cannot operate independently of Him. To rely on any of them is ignorance. And your Lord is not unaware of what you do; thus, it is imperative to remain devoted in your worship of Him and reliance upon Him.