An-Naml · Makki · ayah 93 of 93

An-Naml 27:93

وَقُلِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ سَيُرِيكُمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ فَتَعْرِفُونَهَا ۚ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

“And say, "[All] praise is [due] to Allāh. He will show you His signs, and you will recognize them. And your Lord is not unaware of what you do."”

Saheeh International

Essence

The surah closes with praise: Allah will show His signs until they are recognised, and nothing anyone does escapes His attention.

A reflection

Praise handed upward at the end of the task

The surah has delivered its last warning. The Prophet ﷺ has said what he was commanded to say. Now, at the very end, he is told one more thing: say, praise belongs to Allah.

Not 'I have done my part'. Not 'judge me by my results'. Praise, handed upward.

The commentaries name what the praise is for. One says it is for the blessings poured on him, chief among them prophethood, and for being enabled to bear it. Another says it is for knowledge and wisdom, and for being able to deliver the message. A third hears praise for being guided to the truth, while those who mocked stayed blind to it.

Picture a heart surgeon at her retirement dinner. Colleagues stand to list her achievements: thousands of operations, new techniques, lives saved. When her turn comes, she holds up her hands. These were lent to me, she says, and so were the steadiness and the hours. She praises Allah first, and sits down.

That is the ego at its proper size. The one who achieved most in human history ends his greatest task by giving the credit away. If he does that, what claim do we have on the credit for our smaller things?

Does Allah need this praise? He does not. Al-ḥamd belongs to Him whether anyone says it or not. He was the Praiseworthy before the first tongue moved. The command to say it is for the one who says it. Praise keeps the line clear between Giver and gift, so that the gift does not turn into pride.

When you finish something today, a meal, a report or a hard conversation, end it the way this surah ends. Say al-ḥamdu lillāh, and mean that it was never only yours.

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.