Al-Anbya · Makki · ayah 109 of 112

Al-Anbya 21:109

فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَقُلْ ءَاذَنتُكُمْ عَلَىٰ سَوَآءٍ ۖ وَإِنْ أَدْرِىٓ أَقَرِيبٌ أَم بَعِيدٌ مَّا تُوعَدُونَ

“But if they turn away, then say, "I have announced to [all of] you equally.[911] And I know not whether near or far is that which you are promised.”

Saheeh International

Essence

If they turn away, he has told them all alike, hiding nothing; and even he does not know if the promise is near or far.

A reflection

Told to everyone, in the same words

Ādhantukum ʿalā sawāʾ: I have informed you all, equally. The commentators explain 'equally' in a striking way. One says: I did not single out any one of you over another. Another quotes an early grammarian. I made known to you what is revealed to me, equally; I showed no one what I hid from others.

The lexicons picture sawāʾ as rough ground levelled flat: evenness, with no high places and low places. Everyone stood on the same ground when the message reached them.

That is unusual. Human power almost always works through tiers of knowing. Those near the top hear first, hear more, hear the real version. Those at the edges hear later, or a softened version, or nothing at all.

Picture the founder of a family firm who has decided which of his six children will run the business after him. He could phone them one by one, adjusting his words for each. Instead he gathers all six around the same kitchen table on a Sunday afternoon. He tells them together, in the same words, and answers every question in front of everyone. Some are disappointed. None can say they were told something different from the others.

The Messenger's mission had that shape. The same Quran recited in the marketplace and in his home. The same message to the powerful and to slaves. Whatever people later did with it, no one could say they had been given a lesser version.

It is a model for anyone who leads. Tell people the truth together. Let no one be an insider to a message that belongs to all.

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.