Al-Anbya · Makki · ayah 102 of 112

Al-Anbya 21:102

لَا يَسْمَعُونَ حَسِيسَهَا ۖ وَهُمْ فِى مَا ٱشْتَهَتْ أَنفُسُهُمْ خَـٰلِدُونَ

“They will not hear its sound, while they are, in that which their souls desire, abiding eternally.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Not even the faintest sound of the Fire reaches them, and they stay for ever in whatever their own souls desire.

A reflection

Safe from even the sound of it

The ayah could have said simply: the Fire will not touch them. It says something more tender. They will not even hear its ḥasīs.

The commentators explain ḥasīs as the faint sound that is sensed from a thing's movement: the stir and crackle of flames. The lexicons say the root means grasping a thing through the senses, as plainly as touching it. So the ayah promises more than safety from burning. It promises safety from even sensing the danger: no rustle, no distant roar, nothing to keep the heart on edge.

One commentator asks why this detail is mentioned at all. If they are safe, what difference would hearing make? His answer is that it emphasises how far away they are. Someone near a fire, even if unharmed, hears it.

That speaks to something people know well. Safety on paper is not the same as peace. Picture a couple who bring home a newborn after a difficult birth. Their next-door neighbour, a builder, quietly moves his noisy work to the far side of his own house for a month. He texts rather than ringing their doorbell. Nothing he did was required. He simply understood that real rest means not even hearing the noise.

Allah's care for His people in the Garden is described with that kind of thoroughness. Not only no harm, but no dread. Not only no fire, but no sound of fire.

For anyone who lives with a constant background hum of anxiety, the image is worth holding. The final rest Allah promises is not merely survival. It is the end of listening for danger.

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.