Al-Qasas · Makki · ayah 37 of 88

Al-Qasas 28:37

وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰ رَبِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن جَآءَ بِٱلْهُدَىٰ مِنْ عِندِهِۦ وَمَن تَكُونُ لَهُۥ عَـٰقِبَةُ ٱلدَّارِ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ

“And Moses said, "My Lord is more knowing [than we or you] of who has come with guidance from Him and to whom will be succession in the home.[1102] Indeed, wrongdoers do not succeed."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Called a magician, Musa traded no insults; he handed the verdict to his Lord, who knows who brought guidance and whose end is good.

A reflection

Handing the verdict upward

Two business partners are dissolving the firm they built together. The email chain has run to forty messages. Each one answers the last, point by point, with longer and colder replies. One evening, one partner opens a new reply and deletes everything he had drafted. He writes three lines. He lists the documents he has already sent. Then he writes: 'Allah knows which of us dealt fairly. I will leave it with Him.' He stops replying.

Musa had just been called a forger and a magician in front of Pharaoh's whole court. He had every right to answer in kind. One classical commentator draws attention to what he did not say. He did not say: no, you are the one who has deceived your people, ruined your soldiers and misled your followers. He said: Rabbī aʿlamu, my Lord knows best. The commentator calls it a beautiful way of answering.

This is where the ego must bow. Wanting the last word is one of the oldest forms of pride. We want to be seen to win, and we want the other person to admit it. Musa let go of that desire in a single phrase. He did not need Pharaoh's admission. The One whose knowledge is complete already knew.

That is the majesty in this short sentence. Every human judgement is partial. We see the words, not the hearts. We see the moment, not the ending. Only Allah knows who truly came with guidance and whose ending will be good. Placing a dispute before Him is not weakness. It is acknowledging the only court whose verdict cannot be wrong.

Some ask whether a sentence like 'my Lord knows best' is said to flatter Him. It is not. Allah needs no informing and no praise. The sentence is for the speaker. It returns him to his proper size.

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.