What Does Verse 65:2–3 Mean?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

What does this verse mean? (“Whoever has mindfulness of Allah, Allah grants a way out and provides for them in ways they could never imagine…” [Quran, 65.2-3])

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Allah Most High says, “And whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make a way out for them, (…)” [Quran; 65:2-3]

The commentaries of the Quran are replete with applicable meanings for the above verse. Amongst them is the following:

‘Umar bin ‘Uthman al-Sadafi mentioned:

“‘And whoever is mindful of Allah’ i.e., whoever keeps Allah’s limits and abstains from His disobedience, Allah will take him away from that which is forbidden to that which is permissible, from constriction to expansion, and from the Hellfire to Paradise.” [Qurtubi, al-Jam‘i li Ahkam al-Quran]

A Related Story

Jabir bin ‘Abdullah narrated, saying, “This verse was revealed about ‘Awf bin Malik al-Ashja‘i. The polytheists captured his son, Salim.

So he came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) and complained of desperation. He said, ‘Indeed, the enemy has captured my son, and his mother is grieved. What do you command?’ He (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, ‘Be mindful of Allah and patient. I command you and her to recite abundantly the statement: there is no power or might save through Allah.’

He returned to his home and informed his wife. ‘Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) commanded you and me to say in abundance: there is no power or might save through Allah.’ She replied, ‘What a great command he has given.’ They began implementing the invocation. The enemy became heedless of their son, so he (the son) herded away their sheep and went home to his father. There were 4,000 sheep. This verse was then revealed, and the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) gave them the sheep.” [Ibid.]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.