Tafseer of The Overthrowing · At-Takwir · 81:29
And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds.
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.
His saying: وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ("And you will not will except that Allah wills, the Lord of the worlds"). The Exalted, whose praise be exalted, says: and you, O people, will not will to follow the right course upon the truth, unless Allah wills it.
And it has been mentioned that the occasion for which this verse was revealed is what Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, on the authority of Sulaymān ibn Mūsā: when لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ ("for whoever among you wills to go straight") was revealed, Abū Jahl said: that is up to us; if we will, we go straight. Then there was revealed: وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ("And you will not will except that Allah wills, the Lord of the worlds").
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, on the authority of Sulaymān ibn Mūsā, who said: when this verse لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ ("for whoever among you wills to go straight") was revealed, Abū Jahl said: the matter is up to us; if we will, we go straight, and if we will, we do not go straight. Then Allah revealed: وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ("And you will not will except that Allah wills, the Lord of the worlds").
Ibn al-Barqī related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Abī Salama related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Sulaymān ibn Mūsā, who said: when this verse لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ ("for whoever among you wills to go straight") was revealed, Abū Jahl said: that is up to us; if we will, we go straight, and if we will, we do not go straight. Then Allah revealed: وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ("And you will not will except that Allah wills, the Lord of the worlds").
End of the tafsīr of Surah إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ (At-Takwīr).