Al-Isra · Makki · ayah 53 of 111

Al-Isra 17:53

وَقُل لِّعِبَادِى يَقُولُوا۟ ٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنَ يَنزَغُ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنَ كَانَ لِلْإِنسَـٰنِ عَدُوًّا مُّبِينًا

“And tell My servants to say that which is best. Indeed, Satan induces [dissension] among them. Indeed Satan is ever, to mankind, a clear enemy.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah tells His servants to choose the best words, not merely good ones, because Satan works in the gap between people.

A reflection

Not a good word: the best one

The ayah does not say: tell My servants to speak well. It says allatī hiya aḥsan, the one that is best. The word is a comparative. Among all the true things you could say at this moment, choose the most beautiful.

The root of aḥsan has one meaning, beauty, the opposite of ugliness. The Arabs even named the two halves of the forearm by it. The half by the wrist was the beautiful one, the half by the elbow the ugly one. Beauty began with how things look, then spread to deeds and to speech.

One early scholar explained the ayah with a sentence that is easy to remember and hard to do. The best word, he said, is not to answer him with the like of what he said. Instead, say to him: may Allah have mercy on you, may Allah forgive you.

So the best word is usually not the first one that arrives. The first one is a reflex. The best one is a choice.

Picture a ticket inspector on the last train out of the city. A passenger without a ticket swears at him, loudly, in front of the whole carriage. The inspector writes out the penalty notice without hurrying. He hands it over and says: I hope you get home safely tonight. The carriage goes quiet. The passenger looks out of the window.

He did not pretend the swearing had not happened. He did not cancel the fine. He simply refused to let the other man choose his words for him.

That is the freedom inside this command. Whoever provokes you is trying to write your next sentence. Aḥsan takes the pen back. You decide what is said, and you decide it at the level of the best, not at the level of the insult.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.