Tafseer of The Prophets · Al-Anbiyaa · 21:42
Say, "Who can protect you at night or by day from the Most Merciful?" But they are, from the remembrance of their Lord, turning away.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted be His praise, says to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: Say — O Muḥammad — to those who hasten you with the punishment, who say: "When is this promise, if you are truthful": Who guards you, O people? — that is to say: who protects you and watches over you at night when you sleep, and by day when you are on your way, from the Most Merciful (al-Raḥmān)? — that is to say: from the command of the Most Merciful when it descends upon you, and from His punishment when it strikes you. The mention of "the command" was omitted and it says only "from the Most Merciful," because it was clear to the listener what was meant.
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes also spoke.
Mention of those who said this:
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said concerning the words قُلْ مَنْ يَكْلَؤُكُمْ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ مِنَ الرَّحْمَنِ : "That is to say: who keeps you safe."
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the words قُلْ مَنْ يَكْلَؤُكُمْ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ مِنَ الرَّحْمَنِ : "Say: who guards you by night and day from the Most Merciful?" One says: "I guarded the people" when one has guarded them (kalaʾtuhum aklaʾuhum), as Ibn Harma said:
"Indeed, Sulaymā — may Allah keep her safe (yaklaʾuhā) — refused something that did not make her stingy."
His words بَلْ هُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّهِمْ مُعْرِضُونَ — the word "bal" affirms a negation that the persons addressed know, even though it is not openly mentioned in this place.
The meaning of the words is: what prevents them from knowing that there is no one who guards them from Allah's command when it descends upon them — by night or by day? Rather, they turn away from the remembrance of their Lord and His proofs which He has employed against them; they do not reflect upon that nor take a lesson from it, out of ignorance and foolishness.
