مَّا يَفْتَحِ ٱللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ مِن رَّحْمَةٍ فَلَا مُمْسِكَ لَهَا ۖ وَمَا يُمْسِكْ فَلَا مُرْسِلَ لَهُۥ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ 2
Translations
Whatever Allāh grants to people of mercy - none can withhold it; and whatever He withholds - none can release it thereafter. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
Transliteration
Mā yaftahu Allāhu li-an-nāsi min rahmatin falā mumsika lahā wa-mā yumsik falā mursilā lahū min ba'dihī wa-huwa al-'Azīzu al-Hakīm
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah emphasizes Allah's absolute sovereignty over mercy and provision: whatever mercy Allah opens for people, none can withhold it, and whatever He withholds, none can release it after Him. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir interpret this as affirming Allah's complete control over sustenance, forgiveness, guidance, and all forms of grace, while also establishing that no creature possesses independent power to grant or deny what Allah has decreed. The concluding names—Al-'Azīz (The Mighty) and Al-Hakīm (The All-Wise)—reinforce that His sovereignty is rooted in both absolute power and perfect wisdom.
Revelation Context
Surah Fatir is a Meccan chapter addressing the fundamental themes of tawhīd (monotheism) and Allah's unique attributes. This ayah appears early in the surah as part of its opening theological framework, establishing Allah's absolute authority and negating any partnership in His dominion—a crucial message for polytheistic Meccan society. The broader context emphasizes creation and Allah's lordship.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said in a du'ā': 'O Allah, there is no withholder of what You give, and no giver of what You withhold' (Sahih Bukhari 6373). This hadith directly echoes the meaning of Ayah 35:2, affirming that only Allah controls the opening and closing of provision.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that true reliance (tawakkul) must be placed solely in Allah, as no human intermediary, wealth, or power can secure provision or mercy independent of His will. It liberates the heart from anxiety about subsistence and encourages complete trust in Allah's decree, knowing that His control is both omnipotent and perfectly wise.
Related Ayahs
يَسْـَٔلُهُۥ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِى شَأْنٍ
Whoever is within the heavens and earth asks Him; every day He is in [i.e., bringing about] a matter.
فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَقُلْ حَسْبِىَ ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ ۖ وَهُوَ رَبُّ ٱلْعَرْشِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ
But if they turn away, [O Muḥammad], say, "Sufficient for me is Allāh; there is no deity except Him. On Him I have relied, and He is the Lord of the Great Throne."
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ وَقَالُوا۟ لِإِخْوَٰنِهِمْ إِذَا ضَرَبُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ أَوْ كَانُوا۟ غُزًّى لَّوْ كَانُوا۟ عِندَنَا مَا مَاتُوا۟ وَمَا قُتِلُوا۟ لِيَجْعَلَ ٱللَّهُ ذَٰلِكَ حَسْرَةً فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحْىِۦ وَيُمِيتُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
O you who have believed, do not be like those who disbelieved and said about their brothers when they traveled through the land or went out to fight, "If they had been with us, they would not have died or have been killed," so Allāh makes that [misconception] a regret within their hearts. And it is Allāh who gives life and causes death, and Allāh is Seeing of what you do.
رَّبِّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ۖ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْهُ خِطَابًا
[From] the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, the Most Merciful. They possess not from Him [authority for] speech.