Quran Universe
28:68

وَرَبُّكَ يَخۡلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ وَيَخۡتَارُۗ مَا كَانَ لَهُمُ ٱلۡخِيَرَةُۚ سُبۡحَٰنَ ٱللَّهِ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشۡرِكُونَ

Warabbuka yakhluqu ma yashao wayakhtaru ma kana lahumu alkhiyaratu subhana Allahi wataAAala AAamma yushrikoona

And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses; not for them was the choice. Exalted is Allah and high above what they associate with Him.

Word by word
  1. وَرَبُّكَAnd your Lord
  2. يَخۡلُقُcreates
  3. مَاwhat
  4. يَشَآءُHe wills
  5. وَيَخۡتَارُۗand chooses
  6. مَاNot
  7. كَانَthey have
  8. لَهُمُfor them
  9. ٱلۡخِيَرَةُۚthe choice
  10. سُبۡحَٰنَGlory be
  11. ٱللَّهِ(to) Allah
  12. وَتَعَٰلَىٰand High is He
  13. عَمَّاabove what
  14. يُشۡرِكُونَthey associate (with Him)
Al-Qasas · 28:68Makkah

He creates what He wills, and He chooses.

The choice that is not ours

Who decides
your Lordcreates what He wills
and choosesnone can reverse it
while
theyhave no choice in it
Where my control ends
I choose everythingmy life, my rules
Allah choosesexalted above partners

Ibn Kathir explains that Allah alone creates and makes decisions; no one can dispute with Him or reverse His judgement. What He wills happens and what He does not will does not. He links it to "It is not for a believer... to have any option" once Allah has decreed.

You did not choose your parents, your height, the year you were born, the illness that showed up. Some choices were never yours. That can feel like a loss, or a relief: the Wise One chose them.

If I did not choose it, it must be a mistake.

Allah creates and chooses, and what He chose for me came from His wisdom.

Try this

Name one thing about your life you did not choose. Say alhamdulillah for it once today.

Related33:36
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

And your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses, no choice have they. Glorified is Allah, and exalted above all that they associate (68)And your Lord knows what their breasts conceal, and what they reveal (69)And He is Allah; La ilaha illa Huwa, His is the praise in the first and in the last, and His is the decision, and to Him shall you be returned (70)

Allah Alone is the One Who has the Power of Creation, Knowledge and Choice

Allah tells us that He is the only One Who has the power to create and make decisions, and there is no one who can dispute with Him in that or reverse His judgement. His saying:

وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَيَخْتَارُ ۗ 

(And your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses,) means, whatever He wills, for what He wills, happens; and what He does not will, does not happen. All things, good and bad alike, are in His Hands and will return to Him.

مَا كَانَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ ۚ

(no choice have they.) is a negation, according to the correct view. This is like the Ayah,

وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ ۗ 

(It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision)(33:36). Then Allah says:

وَرَبُّكَ يَعْلَمُ مَا تُكِنُّ صُدُورُهُمْ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ

(And your Lord knows what their breasts conceal, and what they reveal.) He knows what is hidden in their hearts, just as He knows what they do openly.

سَوَاءٌ مِنْكُمْ مَنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَنْ جَهَرَ بِهِ وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِاللَّيْلِ وَسَارِبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ 

(It is the same whether any of you conceals his speech or declares it openly, whether he be hid by night or goes forth freely by day.)(13:10).

وَهُوَ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ 

(And He is Allah; La ilaha illa Huwa,) meaning, He is unique in His divinity, for none is to be worshipped besides Him, and there is no lord who can create what he wills and chooses besides Him.

لَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِي الْأُولَىٰ وَالْآخِرَةِ ۖ 

(His is the praise, in the first and in the last,) in all that He does, He is to be praised for His justice and wisdom.

وَلَهُ الْحُكْمُ

(His is the decision,) that none can put back, because of His might, power, wisdom and mercy.

وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ 

(and to Him shall you be returned.) means, all of you on the Day of Resurrection, and everyone will be rewarded or punished according to his deeds, good and evil alike, and absolutely none of their deeds will be concealed from Him.