Ash-Shu'ara · Makki · ayah 169 of 227

Ash-Shu'ara 26:169

رَبِّ نَجِّنِى وَأَهْلِى مِمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ

“My Lord, save me and my family from [the consequence of] what they do."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Done arguing with a town that will not hear, Lut turns to his Lord: lift me and my family clear of what they do.

A reflection

From arguing with them to speaking with Him

Read the last three ayat in a row and listen to who is being addressed. In 26:167 the people speak to Lut. In 26:168 Lut speaks to the people. Then, with no bridge at all, he speaks to someone else. Rabbi: my Lord.

One commentary describes the turn exactly. Lut showed that their threat did not move him. He turned away from debating them, and faced Allah. The conversation with the town was over. The conversation that mattered had begun.

Notice how short the address is. There is no 'O', no title, no preface. Just Rabbi, the One who has raised and kept him all his life. It is how someone speaks who has spoken to his Lord many times before.

A shopkeeper spends an hour on the phone with his landlord's agent. The rent is going up again, and every argument he makes is met with the same script. At last he puts the phone down. He pulls the shutter halfway, rolls out a mat behind the counter, and prays. When he stands up, nothing about the rent has changed. Something in him has.

Many of us do this the other way round. We argue with people for hours, and turn to Allah only when every argument has failed. Lut had argued, as a messenger must. But his reply shows where his real hope lay.

There is a practical lesson in the order. When a conversation with people has reached its end, do not keep replaying it. Turn your face. Say Rabbi, and begin the conversation that can actually change things.

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.