Al-Qasas · Makki · ayah 83 of 88

Al-Qasas 28:83

تِلْكَ ٱلدَّارُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا فَسَادًا ۚ وَٱلْعَـٰقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

“That home of the Hereafter We assign to those who do not desire exaltedness upon the earth or corruption. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The home everyone hopes for is given to those whose hearts have stopped sending out scouts for height over others or for spoiling the earth.

A reflection

Height has an Owner, and He hands out the home

The ayah opens with a pointing word: tilka, 'that'. It is the word for something far off. The classical commentators say it is used here to magnify. That home, the one you have heard of, whose description has reached you. It is pointed at as if you could see it on the horizon. And dār, home, comes from a root of encircling. The halo round the moon is its dāra, and so is a plain ringed by mountains. A home is what surrounds you on every side.

Then comes the verb: najʿaluhā, We make it, We assign it. The home of the Hereafter is not bought, taken or inherited by rank. It is given, by the One who owns it.

Think of an air traffic controller on a busy night. Every aircraft in her sector flies at a height she assigns. No pilot chooses his own altitude because his plane is larger or his airline older. Height belongs to the one who sees the whole sky.

That is the quiet blow to the ego in this ayah. True height belongs to Allah alone: 'He is the Most High, the Most Great' (2:255). For Him, height is simply the truth about Him. For a creature, wanting height over other creatures is a claim. It is a pilot climbing into a level that is not his.

A fair reader might object. Is it not a double standard for a God who is exalted to forbid exaltation to others? Is He hoarding status? But a controller does not keep heights for herself out of vanity. She keeps them so that aircraft do not collide. The ayah pairs the wish for height with fasād, corruption, for the same reason. When everyone climbs for the top, people get hurt.

Allah gains nothing from our lowering ourselves. He only tells us our real size, and offers a home to those who accept it.

The full entry has 7 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.