Ash-Shu'ara · Makki · ayah 191 of 227

Ash-Shu'ara 26:191

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 the last story: the Mighty was not cheated by the cheats, and the Merciful had the final word.

A reflection

No one shortchanges the Mighty

This exact line was first met at 26:9, and its full treatment lives there. Here it is heard for the last time, after the people of the thicket.

They were clever traders. They had made a craft of taking a little more than was theirs. But al-ʿAzīz is the One who cannot be overpowered, outwitted or shortchanged. Their cleverness reached the edge of the canopy and stopped.

That should humble every ego that trusts its own cunning. No margin we hide is hidden from Him. No skill of ours outruns His might.

Yet He does not declare this because He needs our admiration. Nothing we feel adds to Him. The refrain is for us: a warning to the clever, and a refuge for anyone who has been cheated.

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.