Ash-Shu'ara · Makki · ayah 15 of 227

Ash-Shu'ara 26:15

قَالَ كَلَّا ۖ فَٱذْهَبَا بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَآ ۖ إِنَّا مَعَكُم مُّسْتَمِعُونَ

“[Allāh] said, "No. Go both of you with Our signs; indeed, We are with you, listening.”

Saheeh International

Essence

One word, kallā, stops a frightened man's fear; then both brothers are sent with His signs and a promise: We are with you, listening.

A reflection

A throne room with an unseen Listener

Pharaoh's court was built to make one man the centre of every conversation. Who spoke, when, and for how long, was his to decide. The guards, the pillars, the silence before he answered: all of it said one thing. Here, only I am listening.

Into that room Allah sends two men with a sentence: innā maʿakum mustamiʿūna. We are with you, listening.

Consider what that does to the room. Every word Pharaoh would say, every sneer and every threat, would be spoken in the hearing of the Lord of the worlds. The god-king thought he was holding court. In truth he was being heard.

Allah speaks of Himself here as 'We', as He does throughout the Quran. One commentator notes simply that He means Himself, glorified and exalted. The sentence does not argue with Pharaoh's grandeur. It surrounds it.

This cuts the ego down on both sides of the room. Pharaoh's pride said: I decide what happens here. Musa's fear, in its own way, said something similar: what happens here depends on my tongue, my record, my courage. Both put a human being at the centre. The ayah moves the centre.

That is humbling, and it is also a relief. The tyrant is smaller than he thinks. So are you. Neither of you is running this meeting.

Think of the rooms where you feel smallest: a disciplinary hearing, a tense family gathering, a meeting with a powerful client. Someone there seems to own the conversation. This ayah quietly corrects that. Every word in that room is also heard by Allah.

The arrogance of the powerful and the panic of the frightened shrink together. Only One is great in that room.

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.