Al-Hajj · Madani · ayah 59 of 78

Al-Hajj 22:59

لَيُدْخِلَنَّهُم مُّدْخَلًا يَرْضَوْنَهُۥ ۗ وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلِيمٌ حَلِيمٌ

“He will surely cause them to enter an entrance with which they will be pleased, and indeed, Allāh is Knowing and Forbearing.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah will bring the emigrants into an entrance that truly satisfies them, for He knows every heart fully and still holds back from haste.

A reflection

Knowing everything, and still not hurrying

The ayah closes with two names: ʿAlīm, All-Knowing, and Ḥalīm, Forbearing. Put together, they describe something rare. The One who knows every fault in full does not rush to punish it.

The lexicons trace ḥilm to leaving off haste. One defines it as holding oneself and one's nature back from the surge of anger. Another draws a fine line: every act of ḥilm involves a respite, but not every respite is ḥilm. A judge who postpones out of laziness is not forbearing. Forbearance is restraint chosen by someone fully able to act. These are established senses of the root.

Now watch how people behave with far less knowledge. A man reads one screenshot of a stranger's message, cropped and stripped of context. Within a minute he has posted a furious public reply. Hundreds share it. By evening the full conversation appears, and the stranger was not at fault. He knew a sliver of the picture and could not wait an hour.

This is where the ego is cut down to size. Our anger usually runs ahead of our knowledge. Allah's knowledge is complete, and still His ḥilm holds back. The commentaries say He does not hasten punishment on those who disobey; He leaves them time to turn back. One applies it to the emigrants' persecutors too. To the persecuted, that delay can feel like neglect. It is not. It is time given, and the record stays with the All-Knowing.

Why does He tell us He is forbearing, as if seeking praise? He gains nothing from our praise. The statement is for the reader who has fallen short and fears the door is shut. It is also a mirror. If the All-Knowing waits, the half-knowing has no excuse to rush.

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.