What does Quran 53:43 mean by 'He makes laugh and weep'?

According to classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir, this means Allah is the sole creator of joy and sadness and their causes. He alone gives happiness to the people of Paradise and sorrow to the people of Hell, and similarly controls the emotional states of people in this world.

Does Allah control our feelings of happiness and sadness?

Yes, Islamic theology holds that Allah is the ultimate cause of all things, including the emotions of happiness (laughter) and sadness (weeping). As Tafsir Al-Sa'di explains, He created the very reasons for joy and grief, such as good and evil, and possesses perfect wisdom in doing so.

What is the wisdom behind Allah creating both joy and sadness?

Scholars explain the wisdom is to demonstrate Allah's absolute power over all opposites and to test humanity. These contrasting emotions encourage gratitude (shukr) during joy and patience (sabr) during sadness, both of which are acts of worship that allow a believer to draw closer to Allah.

Divine Power Over Joy and Sadness in Islam

brings about joy and sadness

Explore Verses Related to brings about joy and sadness

🕋An-Najm53:43

At a Glance

According to search-discovered classical Islamic scholarship, the Quranic statement 'And that it is He who brings about joy and sadness' (Quran 53:43) is a profound declaration of Allah's absolute omnipotence (Qudra). The great exegetes, including Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, explain that Allah is the sole and ultimate Creator of not only the emotional states of laughter and weeping but also of their underlying causes. This concept removes all intermediaries, affirming that just as Allah alone controls life and death, He alone controls the spectrum of human emotion. Interpretations range from the joy of the inhabitants of Paradise and the sorrow of the inhabitants of Hellfire, to the happiness and grief experienced in worldly life. This verse, situated within a powerful sequence in Surah An-Najm on divine power, serves to ground the believer's emotional experiences within the framework of divine will and wisdom, fostering reliance on Him in all states.

📖 Quranic Context

A key declaration of Allah's absolute omnipotence (Qudra) over all aspects of existence, specifically the creation of opposite states, including human emotions.

Establishes that the ultimate cause of happiness and sorrow is Allah, removing intermediaries and false deities.

References: Surah An-Najm (53:43)

💭 Theological Perspective

Highlights that joy and sadness are created states within humans, subject to divine will.

Forms the basis for understanding emotional resilience, grounding both happiness and grief in a divine framework.

Serves as a reminder that both emotional states are part of the divine plan and can be a means of drawing closer to Allah.

Encourages a response of gratitude (Shukr) in times of joy and patience (Sabr) in times of sadness, both being acts of worship.

📜 Hadith Perspective

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ acknowledged and experienced both joy and sadness, teaching that while believers might laugh, the reality of faith remains firm in their hearts.

A hadith narrated about the Prophet's companions asking if they used to laugh, to which the reply was 'Yes, and faith was more firmly established in their hearts than mountains.'
The Prophet's teaching: 'If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much.'

The concept that Allah is the ultimate creator of all things, including human actions and states like laughter and weeping, is a point of consensus in mainstream Sunni theology.

💎 Deeper Insights

The verse demonstrates Allah's power not just over external events, but over the most internal and intimate aspects of human experience: our emotions. This refutes any philosophy that separates the material world (controlled by God) from the psychological world (controlled by the self), affirming His total sovereignty.

— Synthesis of Ibn Kathir, Al-Qurtubi

Al-Qurtubi uniquely links this verse to a hadith about the companions laughing, with the Prophet ﷺ approving, because their faith was 'firmer than mountains.' This gem reframes the verse not as a call to fatalistic passivity, but as a source of strength that allows believers to experience human emotions fully without it shaking their core faith.

— Al-Qurtubi