Ash-Shu'ara · Makki · ayah 159 of 227

Ash-Shu'ara 26:159

وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

“And indeed, your Lord - He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The refrain of 26:9 closes Thamud's story: the Mighty levelled homes carved in mountains; the Merciful had fed them, waited, and saved the believers.

A reflection

Homes carved in rock, and the Mighty

This exact line was first met at 26:9, and its full treatment lives there. After Thamud's story it lands with a particular weight.

Thamud carved their homes out of mountains, fārihīn (26:149). The commentators give the word two edges. Skilled and expert at the carving; or exultant, pleased with themselves, proud. Probably both. These were people who could shape a mountain and live inside it. If any people had reason to feel secure, they did.

Then comes the refrain: your Lord, He is the Mighty. The pronoun huwa, He, makes it pointed. He, and not the carvers. Their skill was real, but it was borrowed. Every chisel stroke used strength He gave. When His command came, the rock that had sheltered them did not.

That is where the ego is meant to shrink. Whatever we build, earn or master, there is only one ʿAzīz. Pride in our own work forgets who lent the hands.

A reader may ask: why does Allah keep praising Himself? Does He need it? But look who is addressed. Your Lord: one commentator reads it as spoken to the Prophet ﷺ, grieving over his own people. Allah is free of all need (35:15). The refrain is not for Him. It steadies the one who hears it.

The full entry has 2 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.