Taha · Makki · ayah 31 of 135

Taha 20:31

ٱشْدُدْ بِهِۦٓ أَزْرِى

“Increase through him my strength”

Saheeh International

Essence

Musa asked his Lord to tie his back tight through his brother, the way a labourer knots his waist-cloth before a heavy lift.

A reflection

Knotting the waist-cloth before the lift

In the old markets of hot cities, porters still carry sacks on their backs. Before the first lift of the morning, many do the same small thing. They pull the cloth at the waist tight and knot it hard. It braces the lower back. It tells the body that something heavy is coming.

The first hearers of this ayah knew that gesture. The lexicons say the izār was the wrapper tied round the waist. The azr was the place where it was knotted: the back, the loins. To say 'I tightened my azr' meant I braced myself for effort. One commentator records an early linguist's explanation of the related word for mutual support. It comes, he says, from the izār, the place a man ties firmly when he prepares to do something hard.

Now listen to Musa's request again. Ushdud bihi azrī: tighten my back through him. Bind my waist hard by means of my brother. He is about to lift the heaviest load of his life: a message to a king who killed baby boys and called himself lord. He knows his own back is not enough. So he asks Allah to tie it tight, and to make Harun the knot.

The verb carries the same picture. The lexicons say the first image of shadd is tying a knot firmly, and from there it means strength and firmness of every kind.

There is honesty in this. Musa does not pretend the weight is light. He does not ask for the load to be taken away. He asks to be braced for it. That is often the right prayer. Not 'remove this from me', but 'make me ready to carry it, and send me what will hold me together while I do'.

Whatever is in front of you today, the gesture is available. Knot your back before the lift. Ask Allah to be the One who ties it.

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.