Al-Qur'an Surah An-Nur Verse 55

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good deeds that He will certainly make them (His) vicegerents in the land, as He made those before them, and will certainly establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and will certainly give them peace in place of fear in which they were before; (provided that) they worship Me, ascribing no partner to Me. And those who turn infidel after that are the transgressors.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good that He will certainly make them successors in the land, as He did with those before them; and will surely establish for them their faith which He has chosen for them; and will indeed change their fear into security—˹provided that˺ they worship Me, associating nothing with Me. But whoever disbelieves after this ˹promise˺, it is they who will be the rebellious.

Ruwwad Translation Center

Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will make them successors in the land, as He made those who came before them, and He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and He will surely change their state of fear into security; that they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that, it is they who are the rebellious.

A. J. Arberry

God has promised those of you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely make you successors in the land, even as He made those who were before them successors, and that He will surely establish their religion for them that He has approved. for them, and will give them in exchange, after their fear, security: 'They shall serve Me, not associating with Me anything.' Whoso disbelieves after that, those - they are the ungodly.

Abdul Haleem

God has made a promise to those among you who believe and do good deeds: He will make them successors to the land, as He did those who came before them; He will empower the religion He has chosen for them; He will grant them security to replace their fear. ‘They will worship Me and not join anything with Me.’ Those who are defiant after that will be the rebels.-

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Allah hath promised those of you who believe and work the righteous works that he shall make them successors on the earth even as He had made those before them successors, and that he shall surely establish for them their religion which He hath approved for them, and that he shall surely exchange unto them after their fear a security, provided they worship Me, associating not aught with Me; and whosoever will disbelieve thereafter, then those! they are the transgressors.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion - the one which He has chosen for them; and that He will change (their state), after the fear in which they (lived), to one of security and peace; 'They will worship Me (alone) and not associate aught with Me. 'If any do reject Faith after this, they are rebellious and wicked.

Abul Ala Maududi

Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do righteous deeds, that He will make them successors in the land just as He made those who passed away before them, and that He will establish their religion, which He has approved for them, on strong foundations and will change their (present) state of fear into peace and security. Let them worship Me and associate none with Me; and the one who disbelieves after this," shall be of those who are perverse transgressors.

Ahmed Ali

God has promised to make those of you who believe and do the right, leaders in the land, as He had made those before them, and will establish their faith which He has chosen for them and change their fear into security. They will worship Me and not associate any one with Me. But those who disbelieve after this will be reprobates.

Ahmed Raza Khan

Allah has promised those among you who believe and do good deeds, that He will certainly give them the Caliphate in the earth the way He gave to those before them; and that He will certainly establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and will turn their prior fear into peace; they must worship Me and not ascribe anything as a partner to Me; and whoever is ungrateful after this – it is they who are the disobedient.

Ali Quli Qarai

Allah has promised those of you who have faith and do righteous deeds that He will surely make them successors in the earth, just as He made those who were before them successors, and He will surely establish for them their religion which He has approved for them, and that He will surely change their state to security after their fear, while they worship Me, not ascribing any partners to Me. Whoever is ungrateful after that—it is they who are the transgressors.

Ali Ünal

God has promised those of you who believe and do good, righteous deeds that He will most certainly empower them as vicegerents on the earth (in the place of those who are in power at present), even as He empowered those (of the same qualities) that preceded them, and that, assuredly, He will firmly establish for them their Religion, which He has (chosen and) approved of for them, and He will replace their present state of fear with security (so that they can practice their Religion freely and fully and in peace). They worship Me alone, associating none with Me as partners (in belief, worship, and the authority to order their life). Whoever turns ungrateful after that, such indeed are the transgressors.

Amatul Rahman Omar

Allâh has promised those of you who believe and do deeds of righteousness that surely, He will make them successors (vouchsafed with both spiritual and temporal leadership) on the earth as He made successors (from among) their predecessors, and that He will surely establish for them their Faith which He has approved for them, and that He will surely replace their state of fear with a state of security and peace. They will worship Me (alone) and they will not associate anything with Me. And those who show ingratitude for all the favours done to them after that (His promise is fulfilled), it is they who will be reckoned as the worst disobedient.

English Literal

God promised those who believed from you, and made/did the correct/righteous deeds, He makes them successors in the earth/Planet Earth, as He made successors those from before them, and to highly position/strengthen (E) for them their religion which He accepted/approved for them, He will exchange/replace them (E) safety/security from after their fear/fright, they worship Me, they do not share/made partners with Me a thing, and who disbelieved after that, so those are the debauchers .

Faridul Haque

Allah has promised those among you who believe and do good deeds, that He will certainly give them the Caliphate in the earth the way He gave to those before them; and that He will certainly establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and will turn their prior fear into peace; they must worship Me and not ascribe anything as a partner to Me; and whoever is ungrateful after this – it is they who are the disobedient.

Hamid S. Aziz

Say, "Obey Allah and obey the Messenger; but if you turn away then it is for him to do only that wherewith he has been charged, and for you to do only that wherewith you have been charged. If you obey him, you are rightly guided. But the Messenger has no other charge but to convey the message plainly."

Hilali & Khan

Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Say: Obey Allah and obey the Messenger. But if you turn away, he is responsible for the duty imposed on him, and you are responsible for the duty imposed on you. And if you obey him, you go aright. And the Messenger’s duty is only to deliver (the message) plainly.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

Allah has promised to those of you who believe and do good that He will most certainly make them rulers in the earth as He made rulers those before them, and that He will most certainly establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and that He will most certainly, after their fear, give them security in exchange; they shall serve Me, not associating aught with Me; and whoever is ungrateful after this, these it is who are the. transgressors.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Allah hath promised such of you as believe and do good work that He will surely make them to succeed (the present rulers) in the earth even as He caused those who were before them to succeed (others); and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He hath approved for them, and will give them in exchange safety after their fear. They serve Me. They ascribe no thing as partner unto Me. Those who disbelieve henceforth, they are the miscreants.

Muhammad Sarwar

God has promised the righteously striving believers to appoint them as His deputies on earth, as He had appointed those who lived before. He will make the religion that He has chosen for them to stand supreme. He will replace their fear with peace and security so that they will worship God alone and consider no one equal to Him. Whoever becomes an unbeliever after this will be a sinful person.

Qaribullah & Darwish

Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good works that He will indeed make them successors in the land as He made those who were before them successors, and that He will indeed establish their religion for them; that which He has approved for them, and will exchange safety for them after their fear. They worship Me and associate nothing with Me. After that, those who disbelieve are the impious.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession in the land, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion which He has chosen for them. And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear if they worship Me and do not associate anything with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the rebellious.

Wahiduddin Khan

God has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely grant them power in the land as He granted to those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them. He will cause their state of fear to be replaced by a sense of security. Let them worship Me and associate no other with Me. Whoever still chooses to deny the truth is truly rebellious.

Talal Itani

God has promised those of you who believe and do righteous deeds, that He will make them successors on earth, as He made those before them successors, and He will establish for them their religion—which He has approved for them—and He will substitute security in place of their fear. They worship Me, never associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that—these are the sinners.

Tafsir jalalayn

God has promised those of you who believe and perform righteous deeds that He will surely make them successors in the earth, in place of the disbelievers, just as He made those, Children of Israel, who were before them successors, in place of the [ruling] tyrants ([the verb may be] read as active istakhlafa, `He made [them] successors', or as passive istukhlifa, `were made successors') and He will surely establish for them their religion which He has approved for them, namely, [the religion of] Islam, by making it prevail over all religions and enrich them throughout the land, so that they become masters thereof, and that He will give them in exchange (read wa-la-yubdilannahum or wa-la-yubaddilannahum) after their fear, of disbelievers, security. And God fulfilled His promise to them in the way mentioned, and He praises them with His words; `They worship Me, without associating anything with Me' (ya`budnan l yushrikna b shay'an is an [independent] new sentence, standing as a justification [for His promise]). And whoever is ungrateful after that, bestowal of grace, from among them, [whoever is ungrateful] for it, those, they are the immoral. The first to show ingratitude for that [grace of God] were the murderers of `Uthmn [b. `Affn], may God be pleased with him, and they began to kill one another [henceforth] after having been brothers.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Allah's Promise to the Believers that He would grant them Succession

This is a promise from Allah to His Messenger that He would cause his Ummah to become successors on earth, i.e., they would become the leaders and rulers of mankind, through whom He would reform the world and to whom people would submit, so that they would have in exchange a safe security after their fear.

This is what Allah did indeed do, may He be glorified and exalted, and to Him be praise and blessings. For He did not cause His Messenger to die until He had given him victory over Makkah, Khyber, Bahrain, all of the Arabian Peninsula and Yemen; and he took Jizyah from the Zoroastrians of Hajar and from some of the border lands of Syria; and he exchanged gifts with Heraclius the ruler of Byzantium, the ruler of Egypt and Alexandria, the Muqawqis, the kings of Oman and An-Najashi of Abyssinia, who had become king after Ashamah, may Allah have mercy on him and grant him honor.

Then when the Messenger died, his successor (Khalifah) Abu Bakr As-Siddiq took over the reins of power and united the Ummah, preventing its disintegration. He took control of the entire Arabian Peninsula, and he sent the Islamic armies to the land of Persia, under the leadership of Khalid bin Al-Walid, may Allah be pleased with him, who conquered a part of it and killed some of its people. He sent another army under the leadership of Abu Ubaydah, may Allah be pleased with him, and the other commanders who came after him in the lands of Syria. He sent a third army under the leadership of Amr bin Al-`As, may Allah be pleased with him, to Egypt. Allah enabled the army sent to Syria to conquer Basra and Damascus and their provinces the land of Hawran and its environs. Then Allah chose for Abu Bakr to honor him with Him and he died.

The people of Islam were blessed that As-Siddiq was inspired to appoint Umar Al-Farooq as his successor, so he took the reins of power after him and did a perfect job. After the Prophets, the world never saw anyone like Umar in excellence of conduct and perfect justice. During his time, the rest of Syria and Egypt, and most of Persia, was conquered. Kisra was defeated and utterly humiliated, and he retreated to the furthest point of his kingdom. Mighty Caesar was brought low, his rule over Syria was overthrown, and he retreated to Constantinople. Their wealth was spent for the sake of Allah, as the Messenger of Allah had foretold and promised. May Allah's perfect peace and purest blessing be upon him.

During the rule of Uthman, the Islamic domains spread to the furthest points of the earth, east and west. The lands of the west were conquered as far as Cyprus and Andalusia, Kairouan and Sebta which adjoins the Atlantic Ocean. Towards the east, the conquests extended as far as China. Kisra was killed, his kingdom was utterly destroyed and the cities of Iraq, Khurasan and Al-Ahwaz were conquered. The Muslims killed a great number of Turks and Allah humiliated their great king Khaqan. Taxes were collected from the east and the west, and brought to the Commander of the faithful Uthman bin Affan, may Allah be pleased with him. This was a blessing brought by his recitation and study of the Qur'an, and his bringing the Ummah together to preserve and protect it.

In the Sahih it was recorded that the Messenger of Allah said;

إِنَّ اللهَ زَوَى لِيَ الاَْرْضَ فَرَأَيْتُ مَشَارِقَهَا وَمَغَارِبَهَا وَسَيَبْلُغُ مُلْكُ أُمَّتِي مَا زُوِيَ لِي مِنْهَا

Allah showed me the earth and I looked at the east and the west. The dominion of my Ummah will reach everywhere I was shown.

And now we are enjoying that which Allah and His Messenger promised us, for Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth. We ask Allah to give us faith in Him and His Messenger, and to help us to give thanks to Him in a manner that will earn us His pleasure.

Allah tells;

وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ امَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُم فِي الاَْرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا


Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession in the land, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practice their religion which He has chosen for them. And He will surely, give them in exchange a safe security after their fear...

Ar-Rabi` bin Anas narrated that Abu Al-Aliyah said,

"The Prophet and his Companions were in Makkah for nearly ten years, calling people in secret to worship Allah Alone with no partner or associate. They were in a state of fear and were not instructed to fight until after they were commanded to migrate to Al-Madinah. When they came to Al-Madinah, then Allah instructed them to fight. In Al-Madinah they were afraid and they carried their weapons morning and evening. This is how they remained for as long as Allah willed..."

Then Allah revealed this Ayah. He caused His Prophet to prevail over the Arabian Peninsula, and then they felt safe and put down their weapons. Then Allah took His Prophet and they remained safe throughout the time of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, until what happened happened, and fear again prevailed over them, so they instituted a police force and guards. They changed, so their situation changed.

One of the Salaf said,

"The Khilafah of Abu Bakr and Umar was true and adhered to the Book of Allah. Then he recited this Ayah."

Al-Bara' bin `Azib said,

"This Ayah was revealed when we were in a state of extreme fear."

This Ayah is like the Ayah;

وَاذْكُرُواْ إِذْ أَنتُمْ قَلِيلٌ مُّسْتَضْعَفُونَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ

And remember when you were few and were reckoned weak in the land) Until His statement;
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
so that you might be grateful. (8;26)

كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ

as He granted succession to those before them,

This is like the Ayah where Allah tells us that Musa said to his people;

عَسَى رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ

"It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors on the earth..." (7;129)

And Allah says;

وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ

And We wished to do a favor to those who were weak in the land, until the two Ayat there after. (28;5-6)

وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ


and that He will grant them the authority to practice their religion which He has chosen for them...

As the Messenger of Allah said to Adiyy bin Hatim when he came to him in a delegation;

أَتَعْرِفُ الْحِيرَةَ

Do you know Al-Hirah?

He said, "I do not know it, but I have heard of it."

The Messenger of Allah said;

فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَيُتِمَّنَّ اللهُ هَذَا الاَْمْرَ حَتَّى تَخْرُجَ الظَّعِينَةُ مِنَ الْحِيرَةِ حَتَّى تَطُوفَ بِالْبَيْتِ فِي غَيْرِ جِوَارِ أَحَدٍ وَلَتَفْتَحُنَّ كُنُوزَ كِسْرَى بْنِ هُرْمُزَ

By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, Allah will make this matter (i.e., Islam) prevail until a woman riding a camel will come from Al-Hirah and perform Tawaf around the House without needing the protection of anybody, and the treasures of Kisra the son of Hurmuz will be opened.

He said, "Kisra the son of Hurmuz!"

He said,

نَعَمْ كِسْرَى بْنُ هُرْمُزَ وَلَيُبْذَلَنَّ الْمَالُ حَتَّى لَا يَقْبَلَهُ أَحَدٌ

Yes, Kisra the son of Hurmuz, and wealth will be given until there will be no one who will accept it.

Adiyy bin Hatim said;"Now it is happening that

a woman riding a camel comes from Al-Hirah and performs Tawaf around the House without needing the protection of anybody, and

I was among those who opened the treasure of Kisra the son of Hurmuz.

By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, the third thing will also come to pass, because the Messenger of Allah said it."

يَعْبُدُونَنِي لَا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْيًا

if they worship Me and do not associate anything with Me.

Imam Ahmad recorded from Anas that Mu`adh bin Jabal told him,

"While I was riding behind the Prophet on a donkey, with nothing between me and him but the back of his saddle, he said,
يَا مُعَاذُ بْنَ جَبَلٍ
(O Mu`adh bin Jabal).

I said, `Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.'

Then a while passed, then he said,
يَا مُعَاذُ بْنَ جَبَلٍ
(O Mu`adh bin Jabal).

I said, `Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.'

Then a while passed, then he said,
يَا مُعَاذُ بْنَ جَبَلٍ
(O Mu`adh bin Jabal).

I said, `Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.'

He said,

هَلْ تَدْرِي مَا حَقُّ اللهِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ

Do you know the rights that Allah has over His servants?

I said, `Allah and His Messenger know best.'

He said,

فَإِنَّ حَقَّ اللهِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ أَنْ يَعْبُدُوهُ وَلَاإ يُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْيًا

The rights that Allah has over His servants are that they should worship Him and not associate anything with Him.

Then a while passed, then he said,
يَا مُعَاذُ بْنَ جَبَلٍ
(O Mu`adh bin Jabal).

I said, `Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.'

He said,

فَهَلْ تَدْرِي مَا حَقُّ الْعِبَادِ عَلَى اللهِ إِذَا فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ

Do you know the rights that people have over Allah if they do that?

I said, `Allah and His Messenger know best.'

He said,

فَإِنَّ حَقَّ الْعِبَادِ عَلَى اللهِ أَنْ لَاإ يُعَذِّبَهُمْ

The rights that people have over Allah is that He will not punish them."

This was also recorded in the Two Sahihs.

وَمَن كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَأُوْلَيِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ



But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the rebellious.

means, `whoever then stops obeying Me after that, has stopped obeying the command of his Lord, and that is a great sin.'

The Companions -- may Allah be pleased with them -- were the most committed of people after the Prophet to the commands of Allah and the most obedient to Allah. Their victories were in accordance with their level of commitment. They caused the Word of Allah to prevail in the east and the west, and Allah supported them so much that they governed all the people and all the lands.

When the people subsequently fell short in their commitment to some of the commandments, their strength and victory fell short accordingly, but it is confirmed through more than one route in the Two Sahihs that the Messenger of Allah said;

لَاا تَزَالُ طَايِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ لَاا يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَذَلَهُمْ وَلَاا مَنْ خَالَفَهُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ


There will remain a group of my Ummah adhering to the truth, and those who forsake them or oppose them will not harm them until the Day of Resurrection.

According to another report;

حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللهِ وَهُمْ كَذَلِكَ

.. until the command of Allah comes to pass and they are like that.

According to another report;

حَتَّى يُقَاتِلُوا الدَّجَّالَ
until they fight the Dajjal.

According to another report;

حَتَّى يَنْزِلَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَهُمْ ظَاهِرُونَ
until `Isa bin Maryam comes down and they are prevailing.

All of these reports are Sahih, and there is no contradiction between them