Surah Al-Hadid · The Divine Record
مَا أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مِّن قَبْلِ أَن نَّبْرَأَهَا ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ
“No calamity strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a book before We bring it into being. Indeed that, for Allah, is easy”.
Every external and personal affliction is encompassed.
Every event was recorded before creation and occurrence.
This complete recording is effortless for Allah alone.
Worldly experience
Calamity reaches societies and individuals
The ayah continues the treatment of what people experience in the life of this world. Some calamities occur upon the earth and affect many people, while others strike a person internally or individually.
In or among yourselves
Language · أَصَابَ
Reaching the appointed target
أَصَابَ (Asaaba) carries the core meaning of something reaching its target or hitting its mark.
Rainfall
Rain reaches the earth and brings goodness and benefit.
A targeted strike
An arrow reaches its target and can bring harm, injury, calamity and misfortune.
The verb can describe being struck by something bad like an arrow or by something good like rainfall. It is most often used in the Qur’an for harmful events, but it also appears for good.
نُصِيبُ بِرَحْمَتِنَا مَن نَّشَاءُ
“We strike (Nuseebu) with Our mercy whomever We will”
Yusuf: 56مُصِيبَة (Museebah) is the thing that strikes and reaches the target appointed for it.
Language · مِنَ الاِسْتِغْرَاقِيَة
Not one calamity is excluded
In مَا أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ, the word مِنْ is مِنَ الاِسْتِغْرَاقِيَة. It encompasses everything that falls beneath the statement and conveys the meaning of “any” or “at all.”
وَمَا مِنْ إِلَٰهٍ إِلَّا اللَّهُ
“And there is no deity except Allah”
Aal ‘Imran: 62أَن تَقُولُوا مَا جَاءَنَا مِن بَشِيرٍ وَلَا نَذِيرٍ
“Lest you say: “There came not to us any bringer of good tidings or a warner”
Al-Ma’idah: 19No calamity at all
No Museebah at all strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is recorded in a Book.
Every appointed occurrence
Nothing that afflicts, whether good or bad, falls outside the divine record.
فِي كِتَابٍ
Recorded before creation and occurrence
فِي كِتَابٍ means that every affliction has been recorded. The Book is identified as Al-Lawh ul-Mahfoozh, the Preserved Tablet.
The complete record
Everything that would afflict human beings throughout their lives was already documented in the Book.
Before the earth
The record preceded the creation of the earth upon which general calamities occur.
Before human beings
The record preceded the creation of the selves among whom personal calamities occur.
Before the affliction
The event was recorded before it was brought into being and reached its appointed target.
Language · نَّبْرَأَ
Bringing an original creation into being
نَّبْرَأَ (Nabra’a) comes from بَرَأَ (Bara’a), meaning “to create.”
Sound
The creation is brought into being soundly.
Pure
The creation carries the sense of purity.
Distinct
The creation is original and distinct from its beginning.
This distinguishes it from خَلَقَ (Khalaqa), another verb meaning “to create.” One of Allah’s names is البارئُ (Al-Baari’), the One who creates from the beginning an original creation.
The Qur’an also uses خَلَقَ for other than Allah, as in the statement of ‘Isa (as):
أَنِّي أَخْلُقُ لَكُم مِّنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ
“That I will create for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird”
Aali ‘Imran: 49Concerning His statement: فِي الْأَرْضِ “In the earth”, then it indicates to the general calamities such as drought, flooding from torrents, the death of livestock, and the destruction of wealth. And His statement: وَلَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ “And not in yourselves” points to the calamities that befall human beings personally in terms of illnesses, the loss of limbs, being taken captive in war, the death of loved ones, and a person’s own death. As for البَرْءُ (Al‑Bar’u) (i.e., in نَّبْرَأَ), it means creation, and among His Most Beautiful Names is البارئُ (Al-Baari’). The object‑pronoun in نَّبْرَأَهَا (Nabra’ahaa) “We bring ‘it’ into being” refers either to the earth or to the selves.
Language · يَسِيرٌ
Smooth, unresisting and effortless
يَسِيرٌ (Yaseer), “easy,” comes from يُسْر (Yusr), meaning “ease.” The fundamental meaning of the root ي‑س‑ر is to become smooth, unresisting and yielding, so that something can flow or proceed easily.
Ease and compliance
A human or horse described as Yaseer has become easy to deal with and compliant. Softness and smoothness carry the sense of ease.
Abundance and plenty
The same root extends to plentiful milk, fertile land, abundant growth, wealth and comfortable living.
- حَسَن التَّيْسُور — A well-fattened horse, connecting softness and smoothness with ease.
- اليَسَرَة — The fatty flesh between creases or lines on the palm or face.
- يَسَّرَتِ الإبلُ — The camel had a lot of milk.
- تَيَسَّرَتِ البلاد — The land became fertile for abundant plant or crop growth.
- المَيْسُرَة — Abundant wealth and ease through very comfortable living.
In this ayah, يَسِيرٌ describes something that faces no resistance and is therefore entirely easy.
إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ
“Indeed, that, for Allah, is easy”
The matter described as easy is the writing in the Book. Everything was recorded in the Preserved Tablet and encompassed by Allah’s knowledge before the earth and human beings were created.
Allah’s power is never incapable of anything.
Nothing escapes Allah’s all-encompassing knowledge.
Recording every event across all human existence is effortless for Allah.
The name Allah is brought forward from its usual position in the sentence. This placement emphasizes that such complete and effortless recording is easy for Allah alone. Only Allah possesses the capability to record everything that will happen to every human being throughout existence before existence itself is created.