Transliteration:( 'A hum yaqsimoona rahmata Rabbik; Nahnu qasamnaa bainahum ma'eeshatahum fil hayaatid dunyaa wa rafa'naa ba'dahum fawqa ba'din darajaatin li yattakhiza ba'duhum ba'dan sukhriyyaa; wa rahmatu Rabbika khairun mimmaa yajma'oon )
"What! Is it they who distribute the Mercy of your Lord? It is We Who apportion their livelihood among them in the present life and We raise above others in rank, so that some of them may take the others in their service. And the Mercy of your Lord is better than what they amass." [49–54]
Allah firmly rejects the disbelievers’ assumption by asking: Do they control the distribution of divine mercy—like Prophethood? Certainly not. Prophethood is a gift granted only by Allah’s grace, not something earned through status, wealth, or lineage.
Allah grants wealth and poverty to whomever He wills. No one has the right to question His decisions regarding sustenance—then how can they object to His choice of a Prophet?
Just as Allah elevates some people in material matters, He also elevates others in spiritual rank, such as Prophets and their companions, far above ordinary people.
These differences in rank allow mutual service—the rich rely on the poor for labor, and in turn, the poor benefit from the support of the wealthy. This is part of a divinely structured balance in society.
True mercy is not in wealth or social standing. It lies in receiving divine guidance, gaining knowledge of Allah, serving His Prophet ﷺ, and ultimately being blessed with Paradise.
All material possessions—wealth, children, status—are temporary. But the mercy of Allah, His spiritual gifts and the rewards of the Hereafter, are everlasting and far superior.
The tafsir of Surah Zukhruf verse 32 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Zukhruf ayat 26 which provides the complete commentary from verse 26 through 35.
(43:32) Is it they who distribute the Mercy of your Lord? It is We Who have distributed their livelihood among them in the life of this world, and have raised some above others in rank that some of them may harness others to their service.[31] Your Lord’s Mercy is better than all the treasures that they hoard.[32]
31. This is the answer to their objection, which briefly mentions many important things:
First, it asks: Since when do these people become responsible for distributing the mercy of your Lord? Is it for them to decide whom Allah should favor with His mercy and whom He should not? (Here, by Allah’s mercy is implied His general mercy from which everyone has a share).
Second, Allah says: Prophethood is a great blessing. We have even kept the distribution of the common means of life in the world in Our own hand, and have not entrusted it to anyone else. We create someone beautiful and another ugly, someone with a sweet voice and another with a harsh voice, someone robust and strong and another weak and frail, someone intelligent and another dull, someone with a strong memory and another forgetful, some with healthy limbs and another a cripple, or blind or deaf and dumb, someone in a rich family and another among the poor, someone in an advanced country and another in a backward community. No one can do anything about this destiny concerning birth. One is compelled to be what We have made him. And it is in no one’s power to avert the impact his circumstances of birth have on his destiny. Then it is We our self Who are distributing provisions, power, honor, fame, wealth, government, etc. among men. No one can degrade the one whom We have blessed with good fortune, and no one can save from ruin the one whom We have afflicted with misfortune. All plans and schemes of man become ineffective against Our decrees. In this universal divine system, therefore, how can these people decide as to whom should the Master of the universe make His Prophet and whom He should not?
Thirdly, an abiding principle that We have kept in view in this divine system is that everything should not be given to one and the same person, or everything should not be given to everybody. If you look around carefully, you will see that great differences exist between the people in every respect. We have given one thing to one person but deprived him of another, and given the same to another one. This is based on the wisdom that no human being should become independent of others, but everyone should remain dependent on the other in one way or the other. Now if would be foolish on your part to think that We should have given the Prophethood also to the same person whom We had blessed with wealth and nobility. Likewise, will you also say that wisdom, knowledge, wealth, beauty, power, authority and all other excellences should be assembled in one and the same person, and the one who has not been given one thing, should not be given anything else?
32. Your Lord’s mercy: the Prophethood. It means: Your leaders and chiefs whom you regard as big people because of their wealth and dignity and chiefship, are not worthy of this wealth, which has been given to Muhammad bin Abdullah (peace be upon him). This wealth is far superior to that and for this the criterion is different. If you think that every noble and rich man is worthy of becoming a prophet, it would only show your own thinking. Why do you expect Allah to be so ignorant and simple?
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