Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:93

"Say, 'My Lord, if You should show me...'"

The grammatical structure: The ma and the nun are emphatic. It means: If it is inevitable that You show me what You have promised them of punishment—whether in this world or the Hereafter—"then do not place me" among the wrongdoing people, and do not punish me with their punishment.

Al-Hasan said: God informed His Prophet that there would be a retribution upon his nation, but He did not inform him whether it would be during his lifetime or after his death. Thus, He commanded him to make this supplication.

If you ask: How is it permissible for God to place His infallible Prophet among the wrongdoers, such that he must ask not to be placed with them?

I reply: It is permissible for a servant to ask his Lord for what he knows He will do, and to seek refuge in Him from what he knows He will not do, as a manifestation of servitude, humility before his Lord, and devotion to Him. This is like the Prophet (peace be upon him) seeking forgiveness seventy or one hundred times when rising from a gathering. How excellent is the statement of Al-Hasan regarding the words of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may God be pleased with them both): "I have been put in charge of you, and I am not the best of you." He knew he was the best of them, but the believer humbles himself.

Variant readings: It is read as tar'innihum with a hamza instead of turinni, similar to the readings of fa-imma tar'inna and la-tar'unna al-jahim, though this is weak.

The repetition: His saying, "My Lord, if You should show me what they are promised," appearing twice—once before the condition and once before the response—is an encouragement toward the virtue of supplication and crying out.

Context: They used to deny the promise of punishment and mock it, hastening it for that reason. It was said to them: "God is capable of fulfilling what He has promised if you would only reflect; so what is the basis for this denial?"