Al-Isra · Makki · ayah 9 of 111

Al-Isra 17:9

إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانَ يَهْدِى لِلَّتِى هِىَ أَقْوَمُ وَيُبَشِّرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَبِيرًا

“Indeed, this Qur’ān guides to that which is most suitable and gives good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a great reward”

Saheeh International

Essence

This Quran guides to what is most upright in every matter, and brings news that lights the faces of believers who act on it.

A reflection

Whose sense of straight?

A car with its wheels slightly out of alignment pulls gently to one side. The driver does not notice. Over months his hands learn to hold the wheel a fraction off centre, and that feels straight. Then a mechanic takes it on a test drive, lets go of the wheel on an empty road, and the car drifts towards the verge.

Every one of us drives like that. Our sense of what is upright has been set by our own habits, our family, our feed and our wants. It feels straight because we have been compensating for so long. The ego's first belief is that its own compass is true.

This ayah sets a standard outside us. 'This Quran guides to that which is aqwam', most upright. One classical commentary opens its explanation simply: here Allah praises His own Book. Another notices the word 'this'. Pointing to it this way gives weight to what the Prophet ﷺ brought.

A sceptic may ask: isn't it arrogant to praise your own book? When a person praises his own work, he wants something: approval, sales, a reputation. Allah wants nothing from us. Two ayat earlier, the surah said our good is for ourselves (17:7). His praise of the Book is not a request for applause. It is information. It tells the driver where straight actually is.

That is humbling, and it is meant to be. To accept a standard outside yourself is to admit that your hands have been pulling to one side. Pride resists that more than anything. It would rather keep driving into the verge than admit the wheel was never true.

So test one conviction this week against the Book rather than against your feelings. Take your hands off the wheel for a moment. Let the Quran show you which way you have been drifting.

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.