Al-Anbya · Makki · ayah 86 of 112

Al-Anbya 21:86

وَأَدْخَلْنَـٰهُمْ فِى رَحْمَتِنَآ ۖ إِنَّهُم مِّنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ

“And We admitted them into Our mercy. Indeed, they were of the righteous.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The same words once said of Lut, now said of three patient men together: brought into Our mercy, for they were among the righteous.

A reflection

Where patience ends up

These words have appeared before. Eleven ayat earlier they were said of Lut, in the singular, after he was brought out of a corrupt town (21:75). The fuller reflection on the phrase is there. Here it returns in the plural, wa adkhalnāhum, and We brought them in. It closes the list of Ismaʿil, Idris and Dhul-Kifl.

What is different is what comes before. For Lut, the mercy followed rescue from a place. Here it follows a single word: ṣābirīn, the patient. The order quietly tells us where patience leads. Not necessarily to visible success in this life; Dhul-Kifl's name is barely known. But into mercy.

The commentators read the mercy in several ways. One concise commentary says it is prophethood. Another says prophethood and Paradise both. One great commentator records two views: prophethood, or the reward for every kind of good deed. One commentator notes that the reasoning here is exactly as in the earlier ayah.

The full entry has 2 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.