Al-Anbya · Makki · ayah 29 of 112

Al-Anbya 21:29

۞ وَمَن يَقُلْ مِنْهُمْ إِنِّىٓ إِلَـٰهٌ مِّن دُونِهِۦ فَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِيهِ جَهَنَّمَ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ

“And whoever of them should say, "Indeed, I am a god besides Him" - that one We would recompense with Hell. Thus do We recompense the wrongdoers.”

Saheeh International

Essence

No rank in creation, not even the angels', would survive the claim "I am a god": the measure is the same for all.

A reflection

No rank is high enough

The ayat before this one praised the angels as highly as any creature is praised. Honoured servants. Never running ahead of His word. Acting only by His command. Trembling with awe. Then, without a pause, comes this: whoever of them says "I am a god besides Him", We will repay him with Hell.

One classical commentator draws out what the turn shows. None of their lofty qualities and pleasing deeds would avail such a speaker. He would be repaid like any other criminal. And the ayah, he says, displays the strength of Allah's dominion and the might of His power.

Picture a chief constable, decorated for thirty years of service, his photograph on the wall of every station in the county. One day he stands in the dock of the same court where he once gave evidence against others. The usher calls his name in exactly the voice she uses for everyone. His medals are not mentioned. The rule he enforced for others is now applied to him, and his rank buys him nothing.

That is the shape of the ayah, but with a vast difference. The constable actually fell. The angels never would. The commentators are clear that this is stated as a supposition. And yet the supposition is made, about the highest beings there are, so that no one lower down imagines they could be the exception.

This is where our pride needs to hear it. Human beings rarely say "I am a god" in words. But we often act as if our rank, our learning or our record should exempt us from the rules we expect others to keep. The ayah answers that ego plainly. If the angels' perfect record would not exempt them, ours will not.

A sceptic might ask whether this is a God demanding exclusive glory for its own sake. But the ayah calls the claimant a wrongdoer, which the next reflection explores. The fault lies in putting worship where it does not belong. He is not short of worship, and needs none of 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.