An-Naml · Makki · ayah 30 of 93

An-Naml 27:30

إِنَّهُۥ مِن سُلَيْمَـٰنَ وَإِنَّهُۥ بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

“Indeed, it is from Solomon, and indeed, it is [i.e., reads]: 'In the name of Allāh, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,”

Saheeh International

Essence

The queen names the sender, then reads the first line aloud: a king's ultimatum that opens with two names of mercy before it asks anything.

A reflection

Mercy named before the demand

The basmala is treated in full in the entry on 1:1. Here it does something particular, because of what follows it.

The next ayah carries the letter's only demand: do not rise above me, and come in submission. It is the firmest line in the whole story. Yet before it come two names of mercy, al-Raḥmān and al-Raḥīm. The ultimatum stands inside them, the way a hard sentence stands inside a kind voice.

A headteacher writes to parents about their son's suspension. The decision is not up for debate. But the letter opens by naming two things the boy does well. The family reads to the end, and comes to the meeting.

Firmness and mercy are not rivals. Sulayman's letter shows the order: mercy is said first, so the demand is heard as care.

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.