Al-Isra · Makki · ayah 55 of 111

Al-Isra 17:55

وَرَبُّكَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَلَقَدْ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۖ وَءَاتَيْنَا دَاوُۥدَ زَبُورًا

“And your Lord is most knowing of whoever is in the heavens and the earth. And We have made some of the prophets exceed others [in various ways], and to David We gave the book [of Psalms].”

Saheeh International

Essence

He knows every soul in the heavens and the earth, and gives each prophet his own gift: to King Dāwūd, a book of praise.

A reflection

Who decides who is worthy?

Some of the loudest objections in Makkah were not about God at all. They were about whom He had chosen. One classical commentator records the complaint plainly. How could the orphan raised in Abū Ṭālib's house be a prophet? And why were his companions the hungry and the half-clothed, men like Bilāl, Ṣuhayb and Khabbāb, and not the great men of the city?

The ayah answers without arguing the merits of any candidate. Wa-rabbuka aʿlamu bi-man fī l-samāwāti wa-l-arḍ: your Lord knows best everyone in the heavens and the earth. Another commentator notes why both are named. The heavens answer those who said angels should have been sent down instead. The earth answers those who wanted the Quran sent to a great man of the two cities (43:31).

Picture a supermarket chain announcing its new regional director. She started on the tills at seventeen. Two senior managers grumble in the car park that she 'doesn't have the background'. What they mean is that she does not have theirs.

We all keep a private committee that decides who deserves honour. It meets quickly. It counts accent, family, money and the right school. The ayah quietly dissolves it. One commentator puts it simply: He made people different in form, character and state, and He knows the state of each.

That is humbling twice. It humbles my verdicts on others. And it humbles my hope that He will judge me by my polish rather than my heart.

Is it arrogant for God to say that He knows best? From a man it would be, because no man does. From the Creator it is simply true. And the sentence is spoken for the Prophet's comfort. One commentator hears in this passage a gentle word to him: let this not weigh on you. He gains nothing by being right. The weight lifted is ours, and so is the pride that has to shrink.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.