Al-Baqarah · Madani · ayah 209 of 286

Al-Baqarah 2:209

فَإِن زَلَلْتُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَتْكُمُ ٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتُ فَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

“But if you slip [i.e., deviate] after clear proofs have come to you, then know that Allāh is Exalted in Might and Wise.”

Saheeh International

Essence

If you slip after the proofs have reached you, remember the Almighty, whom none escapes, and the Wise, whose every rule has a reason.

A reflection

Might with wisdom, wisdom with might

A technology founder tells an interviewer that his company has become too big to be regulated. He says it with a smile, as if it were a compliment to himself.

'Know that Allah is Almighty, Wise'. A classical commentator explains the first name: none who flees escapes Him, and none who resists overpowers Him. The second: He is wise in His rulings, in what He sets up and what He undoes. A modern commentary adds: He puts everything in its proper place.

The pairing matters. Might without wisdom is tyranny. Wisdom without might is only advice. Allah is both at once. His commands are not arbitrary, and they are not optional.

The root of ḥakīm has a striking picture. The lexicons describe the piece of the bridle that checks a galloping horse. Wisdom begins as a restraint that saves the rider.

This is a quiet blow to the ego. Every human being, at some point, feels too big for a rule. Too clever, too busy, too important, too exceptional. The ayah answers in two words. There is no one too big for the Almighty, and no rule of His without a reason.

Does He need us to acknowledge this? No. He is free of all need (35:15). The names are offered for our safety. The person who knows he cannot outrun Allah stops running. The one who trusts His wisdom stops arguing with every rule, and starts asking what it is protecting.

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.