Ash-Shu'ara · Makki · ayah 110 of 227

Ash-Shu'ara 26:110

فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ

“So fear Allāh and obey me."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Nuh repeats his call word for word, but on new ground: a man who wants nothing from you has a second claim on your hearing.

A reflection

Same words, a new 'so'

Read quickly, 26:110 looks like an echo of 26:108. The words are identical: fa-ttaqū Allāha wa-aṭīʿūn. But the little fa, 'so', points back to something different each time. The first time it rests on 'I am to you a trustworthy messenger'. This time it rests on 'I ask you for no wage; my wage is only with the Lord of the worlds'.

Classical commentators noticed this and would not call it mere repetition. One explains that each command is tied to its own reason: the first to his trustworthiness, the second to his freedom from greed. Another offers a picture from family life. A man speaks to a son who wrongs him. Will you not fear Allah in how you treat me, when I raised you as a child? Will you not fear Allah in how you treat me, when I taught you as a man? Same request, two debts.

Picture a father whose teenage daughter will not wear her cycle helmet. One evening he shows her the cracked shell of the helmet that saved his friend on the ring road. 'So wear it.' A week later he takes her to the shop and lets her choose any helmet she likes, at any price. 'So wear it.' The words have not changed. What stands behind them has doubled.

That is how a wise repetition works. It does not wear the listener down with volume. Each time it says the same thing, it brings a new reason the listener cannot easily wave away. If you find yourself repeating a request, ask what new ground you have given it. If the answer is none, you are only getting louder.

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.