Al-Mu'minun · Makki · ayah 67 of 118

Al-Mu'minun 23:67

مُسْتَكْبِرِينَ بِهِۦ سَـٰمِرًا تَهْجُرُونَ

“In arrogance regarding it,[964] conversing by night, speaking evil.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Proud of their holy house and empty of its worship, they spent moonlit nights talking nonsense about the very words that could save them.

A reflection

Keepers of the keys, strangers to the house

In one village, a single family has held the keys of the mosque for generations. They open it, lock it, and decide who may speak there. Few of them pray in it. They talk about it often.

Mustakbirīna bihi: proud because of it. Most early authorities, recorded by several commentators, say "it" is the sacred sanctuary of Makkah. They would say: we are the people of the sanctuary; no one can overcome us here. One commentator notes they believed their link to the House gave them the greatest rights over everyone.

Another commentator adds a sharp line. Their only claim to glory was that they were its custodians and attendants.

Al-Sunan al-Kubrā of al-Nasāʾī, quoted in one commentary, records a Companion explaining it. They were proud of the House, saying: we are its people. They held their night talk there, but they did not maintain it with worship. They abandoned it.

That is the trap of inherited holiness. A sacred place, a scholarly family, a mosque committee, a famous lineage. Each can become a reason for pride rather than a call to devotion. The keys are held tightly. The prayer mat stays rolled up.

Other commentators record that "it" may be the Quran or the Prophet ﷺ. The lesson holds on every reading. The very thing that should have humbled them became their badge.

Turn the mirror. Which holy association do you lean on? Your family's piety, your years in a study circle, your role at the mosque, your knowledge of the right terms? Are you its keeper, or its worshipper?

The keys are an honour. They are also a test. A house of Allah is not glorified by the family that holds its keys. It is glorified by the foreheads that touch its floor.

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.