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qul ʾa-raʾaytum ʾin ʾahlakaniya llāhu wa-man maʿiya ʾaw raḥimanā fa-man yujīru l-kāfirīna min ʿadhābin ʾalīmin
Say, ‘Tell me, whether Allah destroys me and those who are with me, or He has mercy on us, who will shelter the faithless from a painful punishment?’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Mulk – Verses 28-29
28. Say: "If Allah destroys me and those with me or He bestows His Mercy on us, who can save the disbelievers from an excruciating torment?"
29. Say: "He is the Most Gracious, in Him we believe and in Him we put our trust. So you will come to know who it is that is in manifest error."
The blessed Verse which is one of the last Verses of the Chapter opening with
addressed to the Noble Prophet (S) resumes the discussions raised in the preceding Verses against the disbelievers and reflects the aspects reflected above. The blessed Verse addresses those who awaited oftentimes the death of the Noble Prophet (S) and his followers and the disappearance of his religion, saying:
According to some traditions, Meccan disbelievers cursed the Noble Prophet (S) and the Muslims and called for his death under the false impression that had he passed away, his Prophetic Call would disappear, but the blessed Verse was revealed to provide them with a reply. Some other Qur’an exegetes suggest another exegesis for the blessed Verse saying that addressed to the Noble Prophet (S), the blessed Verse is asking him to say:
However, the former exegesis sounds to be more accurate. In this light, the blessed Verse 29 is saying:
In other words, We believe in God Almighty and have chosen Him as our Guardian. The reason is crystal clear. He is the Most Gracious Lord. His Graciousness enwraps all things everywhere and friends and foes benefit from the Emanation of His Bounties. A brief glance at the world of existence bears testimony to the argument, but what have your objects of worship done for you? Your error is plain herein, but it will be more obvious to you on the Day of Resurrection or even in this world when the Islamic faith, supported by Divine Aids, conquers the hosts of the disbelievers by a miraculous triumph and the truth will be more evident to you.
The blessed Verse is actually a kind of consolation to the Noble Prophet of the Islamic faith (S) and the believers in order to assure them of the all encompassing triumph of the truth and the total defeat of falsehood whose followers are all alone, but the Most Gracious Lord provides the believers with Support and Assistance.