Al-Qur'an Surah An-Nisa Verse 72

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Among you there is one who shall invariably fall back; then, if some calamity befalls you, he would say, “Allah has shown His favor to me, as I was not present with them.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

There will be some among you who will lag behind so that if you face a disaster, they will say, “Allah has blessed us for not being there among them.”

Ruwwad Translation Center

There are some among you who lag behind [from the battle]; then if a calamity befalls you, he will say, “Allah has blessed me that I was not present with them.”

A. J. Arberry

Some of you there are that are dilatory; then, if an affliction visits you, he says, 'God has blessed me, in that I was not a martyr with them.'

Abdul Haleem

Among you there is the sort of person who is sure to lag behind: if a calamity befalls you, he says, ‘God has been gracious to me that I was not there with them,’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And verily there Is among you he who laggeth behind, and if an ill befalleth you, he saith: surely Allah hath bestowed favour on me in that I was not Present with them.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

There are certainly among you men who would tarry behind; If a misfortune befalls you, they say; "Allah did favour us in that we were not present among them."

Abul Ala Maududi

Among you there is such who lags behind, then if some affliction strikes you, he says: 'Indeed Allah bestowed His favour upon me that I was not present with them.'

Ahmed Ali

Someone among you will surely lag behind, and if calamity should befall you, will say: "God was gracious to me that I was not among them."

Ahmed Raza Khan

Indeed among you is one who will certainly loiter behind; then if some disaster were to befall you, he would say, “It was Allah’s grace upon me that I was not present with them!”

Ali Quli Qarai

Among you is indeed he who drags his feet, and should an affliction visit you, he says, ‘It was certainly Allah’s blessing that I did not accompany them!’

Ali Ünal

There are indeed among you such as him who lags behind. Then, if a disaster befalls you, he says: "Indeed God bestowed His favor upon me that I was not present with them."

Amatul Rahman Omar

And indeed there is among you who tarries behind (and does not leave to fight in the cause of Allâh). Then, if a calamity befalls you, he says, `Allâh has been gracious to me, indeed, since I was not present with them.´

English Literal

And that from you who (E) will slow/delay/linger (E) , so if a disaster struck you, he said: "God had blessed on me, when I was not present with them."

Faridul Haque

Indeed among you is one who will certainly loiter behind; then if some disaster were to befall you, he would say, "It was Allah’s grace upon me that I was not present with them!"

Hamid S. Aziz

Let those then fight in Allah´s way who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter; and whoever fights in Allah´s way, then, be he killed or be he victorious, We will give him a mighty reward.

Hilali & Khan

There is certainly among you he who would linger behind (from fighting in Allah's Cause). If a misfortune befalls you, he says, "Indeed Allah has favoured me in that I was not present among them."

Maulana Mohammad Ali

O you who believe, take your precautions, then go forth in detachments or go forth in a body.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And surely among you is he who would certainly hang back! If then a misfortune befalls you he says: Surely Allah conferred a benefit on me that I was not present with them.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Lo! among you there is he who loitereth; and if disaster overtook you, he would say: Allah hath been gracious unto me since I was not present with them.

Muhammad Sarwar

There are some among you who lag behind (in battle) and if you were to experience hardship, they would say, "It was certainly due to God's favors to us that we were not present with them,"

Qaribullah & Darwish

Surely, there are among you, he who lingers, then, if an affliction hits you, he would say: 'Allah has favored me, that I was not a martyr with them'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

There is certainly among you he who would linger behind. If a misfortune befalls you, he says, "Indeed Allah has favored me in that I was not present among them."

Wahiduddin Khan

Among you are some who lag behind and if you encounter a setback, they say, "God has been gracious to me; I was not present with them."

Talal Itani

Among you is he who lags behind. Then, when a calamity befalls you, he says, “God has favored me, that I was not martyred with them.”

Tafsir jalalayn

Verily, there are some of you who tarry, who indeed hesitate to join the fighting, such as `Abd Allh b. Ubayy, the hypocrite, and his companions -- counting him [the one who tarries] as one of them [the Muslims] is from the perspective of outward appearances -- (the lm in the verb [la-yubatti'anna, `verily ... who tarry'] is for oaths); then, if an affliction befalls you, such as slaughter or defeat, he says, `God has been gracious to me, for I was not a witness with them', present [at the fighting], lest I should be hurt.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

وَإِنَّ مِنكُمْ لَمَن لَّيُبَطِّيَنَّ

There is certainly among you he who would linger behind.

Mujahid and others said,

"this Ayah was revealed about the hypocrites."

Muqatil bin Hayyan said that,
لَّيُبَطِّيَنَّ
(linger behind) means,

stays behind and does not join Jihad.

It is also possible that this person himself lingers behind, while luring others away from joining Jihad. For instance, Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, may Allah curse him, used to linger behind and lure other people to do the same and refrain from joining Jihad, as Ibn Jurayj and Ibn Jarir stated. This is why Allah said about the hypocrite, that when he lingers behind from Jihad, then;

فَإِنْ أَصَابَتْكُم مُّصِيبَةٌ

If a misfortune befalls you,

death, martyrdom, or - by Allah's wisdom - being defeated by the enemy.

قَالَ قَدْ أَنْعَمَ اللّهُ عَلَيَّ إِذْ لَمْ أَكُن مَّعَهُمْ شَهِيدًا



he says, "Indeed Allah has favored me that I was not present among them."

meaning, since I did not join them in battle. Because he considers this one of Allah's favors on him, unaware of the reward that he might have gained from enduring war or martyrdom, if he was killed