Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Ma'idah Verse 54

Mufti Taqi Usmani

O you who believe, if anyone from you turns back from his Faith, then Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him, humble toward the believers, hard on the disbelievers, who fight in the way of Allah and are not afraid of the reproach of any critic. That is a grace of Allah. He confers it on whom He wills. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

O believers! Whoever among you abandons their faith, Allah will replace them with others who love Him and are loved by Him. They will be humble with the believers but firm towards the disbelievers, struggling in the Way of Allah; fearing no blame from anyone. This is the favour of Allah. He grants it to whoever He wills. And Allah is All-Bountiful, All-Knowing.

Ruwwad Translation Center

O you who believe, Whoever among you renounces his faith, Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him. They will be humble towards the believers but strict towards the disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah and fearing no reproach from any critic. This is Allah’s favor which He gives to whom He wills. And Allah is All-Bountiful, All-Knowing.

A. J. Arberry

O believers, whosoever of you turns from his religion, God will assuredly bring a people He loves, and who love Him, humble towards the believers, disdainful towards the unbelievers, men who struggle in the path of God, not fearing the reproach of any reproacher. That is God's bounty; He gives it unto whom He will; and God is All-embracing, All-knowing.

Abdul Haleem

You who believe, if any of you go back on your faith, God will soon replace you with people He loves and who love Him, people who are humble towards the believers, hard on the disbelievers, and who strive in God’s way without fearing anyone’s reproach. Such is God’s favour. He grants it to whoever He will. God has endless bounty and knowledge.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

O ye who believe! whosoever of you apostateth from his religion, then presently Allah shall bring a people whom He shall love and who shall love Him, gentle toward the believers, stern toward the infidels, striving hard in the way of Allah, and fearing not the reproof of any reprover. This is the grace of Allah; He bestoweth it on whomsoever He will. And Allah is Bountiful, Knowing.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

O ye who believe! if any from among you turn back from his Faith, soon will Allah produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him,- lowly with the believers, mighty against the rejecters, fighting in the way of Allah, and never afraid of the reproaches of such as find fault. That is the grace of Allah, which He will bestow on whom He pleaseth. And Allah encompasseth all, and He knoweth all things.

Abul Ala Maududi

Believers! If any of you should ever turn away from your faith, remember that Allah will raise up a people whom He loves, and who love Him; a people humble towards the believers, and firm towards the unbelievers; who will strive hard in the way of Allah and will not fear the reproach of the reproacher. This is the favour of Allah which He grants to whom He wills. Allah is vast in resources, All-Knowing.

Ahmed Ali

O believers, any one of you who turns back on his faith (should remember) that God could verily bring (in your place) another people whom He would love as they would love Him, gentle with believers, unbending with infidels, who would strive in the way of God, unafraid of blame by any slanderer. Such is the favour of God which He bestows on whomsoever He will. God is infinite and all-knowing.

Ahmed Raza Khan

O People who Believe! Whoever among you reneges from his religion, so Allah will soon bring a people who are His beloved ones and Allah is their beloved, lenient with the Muslims and stern towards disbelievers – they will strive in Allah’s cause, and not fear the criticism of any accuser; this is Allah’s munificence, He may give to whomever He wills; and Allah is the Most Capable, the All Knowing.

Ali Quli Qarai

O you who have faith! Should any of you desert his religion, Allah will soon bring a people whom He loves and who love Him, [who will be] humble towards the faithful, stern towards the faithless, waging jihad in the way of Allah, not fearing the blame of any blamer. That is Allah’s grace, which He grants to whomever He wishes, and Allah is all-bounteous, all-knowing.

Ali Ünal

O you who believe! Whoever of you turns away from his Religion, (know that) in time God will raise up a people whom He loves, and who love Him, most humble towards the believers, dignified and commanding in the face of the unbelievers, striving (continuously and in solidarity) in God’s cause, and fearing not the censure of any who censure. That is God’s grace and bounty, which He grants to whom He wills. God is All-Embracing (with His profound grace), All-Knowing.

Amatul Rahman Omar

O you who believe! if anyone of you should renounce his Faith (let him remember that) Allâh will bring forth (in his stead) a people (more zealous in faith) whom He will love and who will love Him, who will be kind and humble towards the believers, and mighty and firm against the disbelievers. They will strive hard in the cause of Allâh and will not fear the reproach of any fault-finder. (Remember) these (virtues) are (to be attained through) Allâh´s bounty which He bestows upon whomsoever He will. And Allâh is Bountiful, All-Knowing.

English Literal

You, you those who believed, who returns from you from his religion, so God will come with a nation, He loves/likes them, and they love/like Him, on the believers humble , more glorious/mighty on the disbelievers, they struggle in God`s sake , and they do not fear a blamer`s/reprimanders`s blame/reprimand, that (is) God`s grace/favour, He gives it (to) whom He wills/wants, and God (is) rich/abundant , knowledgeable.

Faridul Haque

O People who Believe! Whoever among you reneges from his religion, so Allah will soon bring a people who are His beloved ones and Allah is their beloved, lenient with the Muslims and stern towards disbelievers - they will strive in Allah’s cause, and not fear the criticism of any accuser; this is Allah’s munificence, He may give to whomever He wills; and Allah is the Most Capable, the All Knowing.

Hamid S. Aziz

Only Allah is your friend, and His Messenger and those who believe, who are steadfast in prayer and give alms, bowing down (in prayer).

Hilali & Khan

O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allah, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And those who believe will say: Are these they who swore by Allah with their most forcible oaths that they were surely with you? Their deeds will bear no fruit, so they will be losers.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

O you who believe! whoever from among you turns back from his religion, then Allah will bring a people, He shall love them and they shall love Him, lowly before the believers, mighty against the unbelievers, they shall strive hard in Allah's way and shall not fear the censure of any censurer; this is Allah's Face, He gives it to whom He pleases, and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

O ye who believe! Whoso of you becometh a renegade from his religion, (know that in his stead) Allah will bring a people whom He loveth and who love Him, humble toward believers, stern toward disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah, and fearing not the blame of any blamer. Such is the grace of Allah which He giveth unto whom He will. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.

Muhammad Sarwar

Believers, whichever of you turns away from his faith should know that God will soon raise a people whom He loves and who love Him, who are humble towards the believers, dignified to the unbelievers, who strive hard for the cause of God, and who have no fear of anyone's accusations. This is a favor from God. He bestows His favors upon whomever He wants. God is Munificent and All-knowing.

Qaribullah & Darwish

Believers, whosoever of you turns from his religion, Allah will bring a nation whom He loves and they love Him, humble towards the believers and stern towards the unbelievers, striving for the Path of Allah and fearless of anyone's blame. Such is the Bounty of Allah; He bestows it on whom He will. He is the Embracer, the Knower.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the way of Allah, and never fearing the blame of the blamers. That is the grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower.

Wahiduddin Khan

Believers, if any among you renounce the faith, God will replace them by others who love Him and are loved by Him, who will be kind and considerate towards believers and firm and unyielding towards those who deny the truth. They will strive hard for the cause of God and will in no way take to heart the reproaches of the fault finder. Such is God's bounty, which He gives to anyone He wishes. God is bountiful and all-knowing.

Talal Itani

O you who believe! Whoever of you goes back on his religion—God will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him, kind towards the believers, stern with the disbelievers. They strive in the way of God, and do not fear the blame of the critic. That is the grace of God; He bestows it upon whomever He wills. God is Embracing and Knowing.

Tafsir jalalayn

O you who believe, whoever of you apostatises (read either yartadid, with separation [of the two dl letters], or yartadd, with assimilation [of one of the dl letters with the other]), turns back, from his religion, to disbelief -- this is a notification of what God knew would happen, for some of them apostatised upon the death of the Prophet (s) -- God will assuredly bring, in their place, a people whom He loves and who love Him; the Prophet (s) said, `They are people like him', and he pointed to Ab Ms al-Ash`ar, as reported by al-Hkim [al-Naysbr] in his Sahh; humble, sympathetic, towards believers, stern, severe, towards disbelievers, struggling in the way of God, and fearing not the reproach of any reproacher, therein, in the way that the hypocrites fear the reproach of the disbelievers. That, description mentioned, is God's bounty; He gives it to whom He will; and God is Embracing, of abundant bounty, Knowing, of those who deserve it.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Threatening to Replace the Believers With Another People if They Revert from Islam

Allah emphasizes His mighty ability and states that whoever reverts from supporting His religion and establishing His Law, then Allah will replace them with whomever is better, mightier and more righteous in Allah's religion and Law.

Allah said in other Ayat,

وَإِن تَتَوَلَّوْاْ يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْماً غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَكُونُواْ أَمْثَـلَكُم

And if you turn away, He will exchange you for some other people and they will not be your likes. (47;38)

and,

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالَارْضَ بِالْحقِّ إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ وَيَأْتِ بِخَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ


وَمَا ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٍ


Do you not see that Allah has created the heavens and the earth with truth If He will, He can remove you and bring (in your place) a new creation! And for Allah that is not hard or difficult. (14;19-20)

Verily this is not difficult or hard on Allah.

Allah said here,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُواْ مَن يَرْتَدَّ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِ

O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion...,

and turns back from the truth to falsehood, from now until the commencement of the Last Hour.

فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ

Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him;

Allah said next,

أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى الْمُوْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ

humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers.

These are the qualities of perfect believers, as they are humble with their believing brothers and allies, stern with their enemies and adversaries. In another Ayah, Allah said,

مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَأءُ بَيْنَهُمْ


Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. And those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves. (48;29)

The Prophet is described as the smiling fighter, smiling to his allies and fighting his enemies.

Allah's statement,

يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لايِمٍ

Fighting in the way of Allah, and never fearing the blame of the blamers.

Nothing prevents them from obeying Allah, establishing His Law, fighting His enemies, enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil. Certainly, nothing prevents them from taking this path, neither someone who seeks to hinder them, nor one who blames or chastises them.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Dharr said,

"My Khalil (intimate friend, the Messenger) has commanded me to do seven deeds.

He commanded me to love the poor and to be close to them.

He commanded me to look at those who are less than me and not those who are above me.

He commanded me to keep the relations of the womb, even if they cut it.

He commanded me not to ask anyone for anything,

to say the truth even if it was bitter, and

to not fear the blame of anyone for the sake of Allah.

He commanded me to often repeat, La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah (There is no strength or power except from Allah)', for these words are from a treasure under the Throne (of Allah)."

It is confirmed in the Sahih;

مَا يَنْبَغِي لِلْمُوْمِنِ أَنْ يُذِلَّ نَفْسَه

The believer is not required to humiliate himself.

He was asked; "How does one humiliate himself, O Messenger of Allah?"

So he replied;

يَتَحَمَّلُ مِنَ الْبَلَءِ مَا لَا يُطِيق

He takes on tests that he cannot bear.

ذَلِكَ فَضْلُ اللّهِ يُوْتِيهِ مَن يَشَاء

That is the grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He wills.

meaning, those who have these qualities, acquired it by Allah's bounty and favor and because He granted them these qualities.

وَاللّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ



And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower.

His favor is ever extending, and He has perfect knowledge of those who deserve or do not deserve His favor and bounty.

Allah's statement