Al-'Ankabut 29:56–60

Commentary

From the very beginning of this Surah until now the enmity of the infidels toward Muslims, their rejection of the Oneness of God and prophethood of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، and putting hurdles in the way of truth and believers were described. In the above verses a way out of this entanglement is suggested in order to come out of the turmoil and spread and propagate the truth, and establish justice - the common name for this action is hijrah (migration).It means to leave the hometown and land where one is forced to speak and act against the truth.

Command in connection with hijrah and removal of doubts encountering in its way

إِنَّ أَرْ‌ضِي وَاسِعَةٌ فَإِيَّايَ فَاعْبُدُونِ (Surely My earth is vast. So, Me alone you worship - 29:56). Allah Ta’ ala has made it clear that His land is very vast and no one should have the excuse that he could not observe the Oneness of Allah, and could not worship Him because in a certain city or country the infidels were in power. It is made clear in these verses that the Muslims should leave the land for the sake of Allah where they are forced to get involved in infidelity and sin, and should try to find out a place for living where they could abide by the commands of Allah Ta’ ala, and persuade others also to follow the same. This is what hijrah is all about.

During the course of migration one is likely to encounter, as a rule, two types of risks, which may hold him back from migration. The first risk is to his life in that the infidels and his adversaries would come in his way, and in order to obstruct his move might take up arms to finish him. In addition, there could be a possibility of his being caught by adversaries on his way out. Hence, there is yet another risk to his life.

The answer to this problem is given in the next verse: كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ (Every person has to taste death - 29:57) that is, no one has any escape from death anywhere in any situation. Therefore, it should not be the trait of a Muslim to be afraid of death, because despite all possible defenses one may arrange for himself, death will overcome him. And it is also part of a believer's faith that death cannot come before the time Allah has determined. Therefore, fear of death should not be an impediment in one's decision about his staying at a certain place or leaving it. If death comes during the course of following a command from Allah Ta’ ala, it would bring eternal blessings and comforts, which one will get in the Hereafter, as stated in the next two verses:

وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُم مِّنَ الْجَنَّةِ غُرَ‌فًا تَجْرِ‌ي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ‌ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا (And those who believe and do righteous deeds, We shall accommodate them in mansions of the Paradise beneath which rivers flow, where they will live forever - 29:58).

The other risk involved in hijrah (migration) is about the arrangement of sustenance in the strange land. One does manage the sustenance at one's own place through employment, trade, cultivation, or inherited land, but on migration all that is left behind. So, how would he manage the sustenance in the new environment? Answer to this apprehension is given in the next three verses by saying that you regard the mundane possessions and arrangements as the cause of your sustenance, but who has given you all this? It is your mistake to consider that you have arranged it all on your own. Without the help and will of Allah nothing could be procured. If He wills, one gets unlimited sustenance without any visible means, and if He does not, then despite all sorts of visible means, one does not get anything. For elaborating this point first it is said:

وَكَأَيِّن مِّن دَابَّةٍ لَّا تَحْمِلُ رِ‌زْقَهَا اللَّهُ يَرْ‌زُقُهَا وَإِيَّاكُمْ (And how many an animal there is that does not carry its provision. Allah gives provision to it as well as to you, - 29:60), that is, ` You should ponder over the fact that there are innumerable animals on earth who do not collect and store their sustenance, nor do they worry about its collection. But Allah Ta’ ala provides them their sustenance daily by His grace'. This applies to almost all animals, except a few. For instance, ants and rats are two such animals that store their food. Ants do not come out of their holes in winter; hence store the food during the summer season. Among the birds crow is the only one that collects food in its nest, but then forgets it. Thus, all the countless animals living on earth are those who neither collect their food for the next day, nor do they have means to do so. It is stated in a hadith that all the birds set off from their nests at dawn in a state of hunger, and return in the evening satiated. They all get their sustenance daily from the bounty of Allah Ta’ ala, and the practice goes on throughout their lifetime.