Surah Ar-Rahman 55:33
سُورَةُ الرَّحۡمَٰن · Medinan · Verse 33 of 78
يَٰمَعْشَرَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلْإِنسِ إِنِ ٱسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَن تَنفُذُوا۟ مِنْ أَقْطَارِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ فَٱنفُذُوا۟ ۚ لَا تَنفُذُونَ إِلَّا بِسُلْطَٰنٍۢ
Translation
Jinn and mankind, if you can pass beyond the regions of heaven and earth, then do so: you will not pass without Our authority.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'O company of jinn and men, if you are able to pass beyond the zones of the heavens and the earth, then pass! You will not pass except by an authority.' Ibn Ashur and al-Razi note the challenge: there is no fleeing His dominion, not even to the furthest edges of the cosmos, for you have no 'sultan', no power to break past what He owns and holds. Ask yourself: I harbour a fantasy of escape, that with enough distance, cleverness, or resources I could get outside the reach of consequence, of accountability, of Him. This verse addresses that fantasy directly and closes it: the very fabric of space is His, and I carry no authority to exit it. No amount of running relocates me outside His dominion. So the only real move is not escape, but return.
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Razi, al-Saadi.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Ar-Rahman 55:33 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.