Al-Anbya · Makki · ayah 73 of 112

Al-Anbya 21:73

وَجَعَلْنَـٰهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْهِمْ فِعْلَ ٱلْخَيْرَٰتِ وَإِقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَإِيتَآءَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةِ ۖ وَكَانُوا۟ لَنَا عَـٰبِدِينَ

“And We made them leaders guiding by Our command. And We inspired to them the doing of good deeds, establishment of prayer, and giving of zakāh; and they were worshippers of Us.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah made them leaders, and the last thing said of them is not their power but this: they were servants, devoted to Us.

A reflection

Leaders are made; the badge is lent

Wa jaʿalnāhum aʾimmatan: and We made them leaders. The verb is Allah's. Ibrahim, Ishaq and Yaʿqub did not campaign, seize or inherit their leadership. They were made leaders, the way earlier in the passage they were made righteous. Every rank in this ayah is something given.

And notice how the ayah ends. Not "and they ruled", or "and they were honoured". It ends wa kānū lanā ʿābidīn: and they were worshippers, devoted to Us. One commentator reads that close as a covenant kept on both sides. Allah kept the covenant of Lordship by giving and blessing. They kept the covenant of servanthood by worship and obedience. The highest leaders of their age are summed up, finally, as servants.

Picture a sixth-former who has just been made head girl. The badge is enamel and gold. For the first week she wears it everywhere: to lessons, to the bus stop, to the corner shop on Saturday morning over her coat. She is not a bad person. She has simply started to believe the badge is part of her. In July it will go to someone else.

Our ego does the same with every title. Manager, director, chair, imam, elder. We forget it was given, and that it will be handed on. The ayah strips that pretence from even the greatest leaders in human history. If prophets were made leaders and remained servants, what is our badge?

A reader may ask whether describing them as "worshippers to Us" shows that Allah needs worship. He does not. Their worship added nothing to Him; their leadership took nothing from Him. The ayah tells us this for our sake. A leader who knows he is a servant is a safe leader. A leader who forgets is the most dangerous person in any room.

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.