Surah Ya-Sin 36:45
سُورَةُ يسٓ · Meccan · Verse 45 of 83
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ ٱتَّقُوا۟ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَمَا خَلْفَكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
Translation
Yet when they are told, ‘Beware of what lies before and behind you, so that you may be given mercy,’
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'And when it is said to them: Beware of what is before you and behind you, that you may receive mercy, they turn away.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the two dangers named: what lies ahead (the Hereafter and its reckoning) and what lies behind (the fate of the nations before them). The warning is offered precisely so that mercy might reach them, and the response is a turned back. Ask yourself: a warning given for my own protection can feel like an attack, and my instinct is to turn from it rather than toward it. This verse notes the tragedy that the very thing meant to bring me mercy is what I avoid. When guidance warns me, do I lean in to be protected, or turn away to stay comfortable?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Ya-Sin 36:45 is discussed in 2 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Ya-Sin 36:45 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.