Ash-Shu'ara · Makki · ayah 130 of 227

Ash-Shu'ara 26:130

وَإِذَا بَطَشْتُم بَطَشْتُمْ جَبَّارِينَ

“And when you strike, you strike as tyrants.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Hud's third charge: whenever ʿĀd seized anyone, they seized with the full, merciless force of tyrants.

A reflection

One word that sets bones and breaks them

The word jabbār has a surprising family. The lexicons say jabartu al-ʿaẓm means 'I set the broken bone'. The wooden splint bound round it is the jibāra. The same root names a palm grown so tall no picker's hand can reach it. From that came the tall, powerful man, beyond anyone's reach, and from him the overbearing one.

So the word holds two directions of force. One force straightens what is broken. The other breaks what was whole. One classical theologian points out that the same quality is praise when said of Allah and blame when said of a servant. Allah calls Himself al-Jabbār among His most beautiful names (59:23). No one reaches Him, and His compelling is perfect. A human being who claims that height has taken something that does not belong to him.

Another ayah draws the line clearly. When Musa moved to seize a man, he was told he wanted only to be a jabbār in the land. He did not want, the man said, to set things right (28:19). The jabbār is the opposite of the one who mends. And the Prophet ﷺ himself was told, you are not a jabbār over them (50:45). Even he was not given that kind of force over people's hearts.

That is a humbling thought for the ego. Whenever you are tempted to crush someone, you are reaching for a quality that belongs to Allah alone. The human share in this root is the splint, not the hammer. Your strength was given to set bones, not to break them.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.