Maryam · Makki · ayah 70 of 98

Maryam 19:70

ثُمَّ لَنَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ أَوْلَىٰ بِهَا صِلِيًّا

“Then, surely it is We who are most knowing of those most worthy of burning therein.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The sorting at the edge belongs to Allah, who knows exactly who drew nearest to the fire; no one else's list is consulted.

A reflection

We Ourselves know best

Thumma la-naḥnu aʿlamu: then We, We Ourselves, know best. The Arabic is emphatic. The pronoun naḥnu is stated outright and strengthened with an oath-like la. The sentence closes off every other claimant to this knowledge.

It comes as the third then in a sequence. Then We will bring them around Hell on their knees. Then We will pull out the most defiant from every faction. Then We know best who is most deserving to burn in it. One commentary notes that this last then links statement to statement rather than marking a later time. The point is not what happens next, but who knows.

The ego does not like this sentence, because it loves to sort. People rank one another constantly: who is more pious, who is worse, who is surely going to the fire. Whole conversations are spent placing others in the hereafter. The ayah quietly takes that job away from us. The ranking at the edge belongs to the One who knows every heart. Our guesses will not be consulted.

Some hear a boast in Allah declaring His own knowledge so emphatically. But a claim is only a boast when it overstates. This one is simply true, and it is said for our sake. For the wronged, it promises that nothing done to them was unseen. For the self-appointed judges, it is a warning to put the gavel down.

One commentary explains what the knowledge concerns: who among them is most deserving of the severest punishment. Another adds the levels of the fire, each person placed exactly. There is no clerical error in that sorting, and no appeal needed.

Humility here means leaving the list to its Author.

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.