Quran Universe
9:51

قُل لَّن يُصِيبَنَآ إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوۡلَىٰنَاۚ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلۡيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ

Qul lan yuseebana illa ma kataba Allahu lana huwa mawlana waAAala Allahi falyatawakkali almuminoona

Say, "Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us; He is our protector." And upon Allah let the believers rely.

Word by word
  1. قُلSay
  2. لَّنNever
  3. يُصِيبَنَآwill befall us
  4. إِلَّاexcept
  5. مَاwhat
  6. كَتَبَAllah has decreed
  7. ٱللَّهُAllah has decreed
  8. لَنَاfor us
  9. هُوَHe
  10. مَوۡلَىٰنَاۚ(is) our Protector
  11. وَعَلَىAnd on
  12. ٱللَّهِAllah
  13. فَلۡيَتَوَكَّلِ[so] let the believers put (their) trust
  14. ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ[so] let the believers put (their) trust
At-Tawbah · 9:51Madinah

Nothing reaches us except what Allah has written.

The answer to I told you so

The reply
you should have stayedlike us
answered by
what Allah wroteonly that reaches us
He is our Mawlaprotector
What gives safety
my precautions alone
trust in Allahthe believers rely on Him

To those who mocked the believers' hardships and praised their own caution, the Prophet ﷺ was told to say: nothing will strike us except what Allah has decreed for us. He is our protector. And upon Allah let the believers rely.

"I told you not to quit that job." "You should never have moved." When things go wrong after a sincere choice, the I-told-you-sos pile up. What reached you was written, and He is your Mawla.

If something bad happened, I must have chosen wrong.

Only what Allah wrote reaches me, and He is my protector in it.

Try this

Say this verse once today about something that went wrong: lan yusibana illa ma kataballahu lana.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 9:50)

If good befalls you, it grieves them, but if a calamity overtakes you, they say: "We took our precaution beforehand," and they turn away rejoicing (50)Say: "Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us. He is our Mawla (protector)." And in Allah let the believers put their trust (51)

Allah emphasizes the enmity that the hypocrites have for the Prophet ﷺ.

If a blessing, such as victory and triumph over the enemies, is given to the Prophet ﷺ, thus pleasing him and his Companions, it grieves the hypocrites,

وَإِن تُصِبْكَ مُصِيبَةٌ يَقُولُوا قَدْ أَخَذْنَا أَمْرَنَا مِن قَبْلُ

(but if a calamity overtakes you, they say: "We took our precaution beforehand,"), they say, we took precautions when we did not join him,

وَيَتَوَلَّوا وَّهُمْ فَرِحُونَ

(and they turn away rejoicing.) Allah directed His Prophet ﷺ to reply to the perfect enmity they have towards him,

قُل

(Say), to them,

لَّن يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا

(Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us.) for we are under His control and decree,

هُوَ مَوْلَانَا

(He is our Mawla.), Master and protector,

وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ

(And in Allah let the believers put their trust)[9:51], and we trust in Him. Verily, He is sufficient for us and what an excellent guardian.