Ash-Shu'ara · Makki · ayah 40 of 227

Ash-Shu'ara 26:40

لَعَلَّنَا نَتَّبِعُ ٱلسَّحَرَةَ إِن كَانُوا۟ هُمُ ٱلْغَـٰلِبِينَ

“That we might follow the magicians if they are the predominant?"”

Saheeh International

Essence

The crowd came to watch a contest about truth, but had already chosen their side: we will follow the magicians, if only they win.

A reflection

They named the side before the evidence

Listen to what the crowd did not say. They did not say: let us see who is right. They did not even say: let us follow whoever wins. They said: perhaps we will follow the magicians, if they are the winners.

One classical commentary reads the sentence as an indirect way of saying something else. Their real aim was never to follow the magicians. It was not to follow Musa. Speaking of the magicians was simply the polite way to say it.

Picture a planning inquiry in a market town. Residents file into the hall carrying placards printed the week before. The developer's drawings have not yet been put on the easel. Nobody has seen the flood report or the traffic figures. But the verdict is already laminated and held above their heads.

That is the posture of this ayah. A crowd gathers in the morning light for a public contest. The language is the language of open inquiry: we will see who prevails. Underneath, the conclusion has been fixed. Only one result will be allowed to count as a result.

The question for us is uncomfortable. Where have I already printed my placard? On which questions of faith, family or money have I arrived at the hall with the answer in my hands? The honest test is simple. Would you accept the result if it came from the other direction? If not, then you have not come to watch. You have come to cheer.

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.