Translation of the meanings Ayah 46 Surah An-Nahl - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia

Ayah: 46

أَوۡ يَأۡخُذَهُمۡ فِي تَقَلُّبِهِمۡ فَمَا هُم بِمُعۡجِزِينَ

(46) Or that it should betake them during their goings hither and thither^[3299]; never will they outdo ˹Allah˺!

[3299] Taqallubihim (lit. their constant turning from one side to another) means their recurrent travels between lands and going about their lives (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr). The word qalb originally means flipping something over from one side to the other (cf. Ibn Qutaybah, Gharīb al-Qur’ān, Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lughah): “Do the townspeople feel secure that Our Might would not come to them at night while they are sleeping? *Do the townspeople feel secure that Our Might would not come to them in the forenoon while they are playing? *Do they feel secure from the planning of Allah? Verily none feels safe from the planning of Allah except the losers” (7: 97-99); “But those who denied Our Signs, We will lure them ˹gradually˺ whereof they know not; *I will allow them time—verily My Machination is robust” (7: 182-183); “Let not those who Deny think that the rein We give them is better for them. We only give them allowance so that they would accumulate sins; theirs is a humiliating Punishment” (3: 178).