aṣāba + muṣība: misfortune that reaches
أَصَٰبَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ
aṣābathum muṣībatun — a misfortune reaches them
Across these verses, the verb aṣāba and its active participle muṣība from the same root repeatedly frame misfortune as something that arrives at a person, and the paired occurrences show the word covering everything from losses in a conflict to death itself, with the cause variously left unstated, attributed to people's own hands, or subordinated to God's leave.
The expression pairs the Form IV verb aṣāba, "to reach/strike," with its own active participle muṣība, so the noun names the event by the very act of arriving. In the verses given, the grammar varies while the pairing holds. In (2:156), (3:165), (4:62), (4:72) and (5:106) the verb is a 3rd feminine perfect, agreeing with muṣība as its subject, with the victims as a suffixed pronoun; in (9:50) and (28:47) the verb is imperfect (jussive or subjunctive) inside a conditional or counterfactual clause; in (42:30), (57:22) and (64:11) the verb is 3rd masculine singular with min muṣībatin, "of an affliction," as its partitive object. Reading the occurrences side by side shows three things no single verse shows. First, the scope of muṣība is wide: in (3:165) it is a setback in a conflict in which the addressees had already struck twice as much, and in (4:72) a misfortune that strikes a group one of whom has held back; in (5:106) it is specified as muṣībatu l-mawti, "the blow of death"; in (57:22) it extends to anything in the earth or in the selves. Second, the expression repeatedly invites a causal question that the surrounding words answer differently: unstated in (2:156), "from your own selves" in (3:165), "because of what their own hands have sent ahead" in (4:62) and (28:47), "what your own hands have earned" in (42:30), and "except by Allah's leave" in (64:11). Third, the expression marks a moment of reaction: those described say, exult, or swear when the muṣība strikes — while in (4:72) one who has already held back counts his absence as favor when it strikes.
Where it occurs
- 2:156 Opens a description of people whose response to a misfortune reaching them is to say they belong to God and are returning to Him.
- 3:165 Sets a misfortune striking the addressees against the twice-as-much they had already struck others with, and answers their question "from where is this?" with "from your own selves."
- 4:62 Poses a rhetorical question about what certain people will do when a misfortune strikes them because of what their hands sent ahead, driving them to swear an excuse.
- 4:72 Describes one who holds back from the group and, if a misfortune strikes them, counts his absence as favor bestowed on him.
- 5:106 Specifies the misfortune as "the blow of death" striking travelers who have struck out in the land, occasioning the witnessing procedure.
- 9:50 Contrasts a good thing reaching the addressee, which grieves certain people, with a misfortune reaching him, at which they exult and turn away.
- 28:47 States counterfactually that a calamity striking people for what their hands sent ahead would lead them to ask why no messenger was sent.
- 42:30 Asserts that whatever affliction reaches the addressees is because of what their hands earned, while much is overlooked.
- 57:22 Declares that no affliction in the earth or in the selves occurs except in a written register before it is brought into existence.
- 64:11 Asserts that no affliction reaches except by Allah's leave, and that God guides the heart of whoever has faith in Him.
All Qur'anic expressions