Ash-Shu'ara · Makki · ayah 50 of 227

Ash-Shu'ara 26:50

قَالُوا۟ لَا ضَيْرَ ۖ إِنَّآ إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا مُنقَلِبُونَ

“They said, "No harm. Indeed, to our Lord we will return.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Threatened with the stake, the new believers answer in five words: no harm; we are only going home to our Lord.

A reflection

"No harm" is not the same as "no pain"

The second half of this line returns at 7:125, and the fuller reflection on returning to the Lord belongs with that twin. What only this surah adds is the opening: lā ḍayr, no harm.

A sceptic hears denial in it. Hands and feet cut off is harm by any measure. Were they pretending?

One commentator answers directly. They did not mean it would not hurt. They meant it was no harm when weighed against what they now knew of the home of reward. Another reads it more boldly: there is no loss in it for us, only gain, since patience for Allah's sake wipes away sins. A third adds that his punishment would last an hour, and they would meet Allah as believers.

So the words are not numbness. They are arithmetic, done by people who had suddenly seen the whole sum.

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.