Tafheem ul Quran
Surah 3 Ali 'Imran, Ayat 156-156
يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا لَا تَكُوۡنُوۡا كَالَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡا وَقَالُوۡا لِاِخۡوَانِهِمۡ اِذَا ضَرَبُوۡا فِى الۡاَرۡضِ اَوۡ كَانُوۡا غُزًّى لَّوۡ كَانُوۡا عِنۡدَنَا مَا مَاتُوۡا وَمَا قُتِلُوۡا ۚ لِيَجۡعَلَ اللّٰهُ ذٰ لِكَ حَسۡرَةً فِىۡ قُلُوۡبِهِمۡؕ وَاللّٰهُ يُحۡىٖ وَيُمِيۡتُؕ وَ اللّٰهُ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُوۡنَ بَصِيۡرٌ
﴿3:156﴾
(3:156) Believers, do not behave like those who disbelieved and say to their
brothers (who meet some mishap) in the course of their journey for fighting:
'Had they remained with us, they would not have died nor been slain.' Allah
makes such thoughts the cause of deep regrets in their hearts.113
For in truth it is Allah alone who grants life and deals death. Allah sees all
that you do.
Notes
113. Such ideas had no solid ground. God's decree regarding the time of one's
death cannot be deferred. Those who lack faith in God and think that everything
is dependent on their own scheming and effort rather than on the overpowering
Will of God become victims of perpetual remorse, since they never cease to reflect
how a slightly different circumstance or slightly altered strategy could have
led to an altogether different and wholesome result.