إِنِّى تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ رَبِّى وَرَبِّكُم مَّا مِن دَآبَّةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ ءَاخِذٌۢ بِنَاصِيَتِهَآ إِنَّ رَبِّى عَلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ · فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُم مَّآ أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِۦٓ إِلَيْكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفُ رَبِّى قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ وَلَا تَضُرُّونَهُۥ شَيْـًٔا إِنَّ رَبِّى عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ حَفِيظٌ
innī tawakkaltu ʿalā'llāhi rabbī wa rabbikum, mā min dābbatin illā huwa ākhidhun bi-nāṣiyatihā, inna rabbī ʿalā ṣirāṭin mustaqīm · fa-in tawallaw fa-qad ablaghtukum mā ursiltu bihī ilaykum, wa yastakhlifu rabbī qawman ghayrakum wa lā taḍurrūnahū shayʾā, inna rabbī ʿalā kulli shayʾin ḥafīẓ
"'I have put my trust in God, my Lord and your Lord. There is no creature that moves but He holds it by its forelock. My Lord is indeed on a straight path.' · 'If you turn away, I have delivered to you what I was sent with. My Lord will put another people in your place, and you will do Him no harm at all. My Lord is indeed the Keeper of everything.'"
And the fifty-sixth verse uses the same pattern as the sixth verse of the sūra. I set the two sentences side by side:
| Verse | Expression | What it reports |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | wa mā min dābbatin fi'l-arḍi illā ʿalā'llāhi rizquhā | Provision |
| 56 | mā min dābbatin illā huwa ākhidhun bi-nāṣiyatihā | Being held |
The same pattern (mā min … illā), the same word (dābba), two different predicates. This is an overlap that can be verified from the text.
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the verbal overlap between the two verses: the sūra says two things with the same sentence pattern — the feeding is His, and so is the holding. And the second comes in Hūd's mouth immediately after a challenge: it is the ground of the sentence "plot against me".
The root ن-ص-و: nāṣiya — the hair over the forehead, the forelock. The word was treated at al-ʿAlaq 96/15-16 (la-nasfaʿan bi'l-nāṣiya · nāṣiyatin kādhibatin khāṭiʾa), and I rely on that treatment.
And the concrete background of the idiom must be recorded: in Arabic, to take someone by the forelock means to bring him wholly under one's command; in war a captive is held by the forelock, and so is a mount. The idiom, that is, reports an absolute mastery.
And the work of the idiom here: to the people's claim that their gods can do something to him, Hūd answers by saying that every living thing is held by its forelock. This is a link that can be read from the text.
| Explanation | What it says |
|---|---|
| 1 | "My Lord is upon justice" — there is no swerving in His judgement |
| 2 | "My Lord stands at the head of the road that is travelled" — everyone comes to Him; no one escapes |
| 3 | "My Lord's work is upon rightness" — there is no departure from wisdom in His acts |
All three are transmitted; I do not impose a preference. Per the method (Method): no description of place is to be drawn from this; the principle of al-Shūrā 42/11 holds.
The construction ṣirāṭin mustaqīm was worked out in al-Fātiḥa.
And the drawing of the messenger's limit with the word balāgh was treated at al-Aḥqāf 46/35, and I rely on that treatment.
And the mood of the verb must be recorded: qad ablaghtukum — perfect plus qad. In Arabic qad plus a perfect reinforces the completion of the act. Hūd, that is, is announcing that his task is done.
The root خ-ل-ف: to come after, to take the place of. The root was treated at Ṣād 38/26 and al-Nūr 24/55.
And the side of the sentence that must be recorded is this: the replacement is given not as a threat but as a way things work. And the same line was treated at Muḥammad 47/38 (wa in tatawallaw yastabdil qawman ghayrakum). I rely on that treatment.