Al-'Ankabut · Makki · ayah 5 of 69

Al-'Ankabut 29:5

مَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ لِقَآءَ ٱللَّهِ فَإِنَّ أَجَلَ ٱللَّهِ لَـَٔاتٍ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ

“Whoever should hope for the meeting with Allāh - indeed, the term [decreed by] Allāh is coming. And He is the Hearing, the Knowing.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Whoever hopes to meet Allah: His appointed time is surely coming, and He hears every word and knows what lies beneath it.

A reflection

Heard and known before you edit

A woman records a voice note to a friend she has hurt. She listens back. Too defensive. She deletes it and records again. Too cold. Six takes later she sends the one that sounds most sincere. Whether it is the most sincere, even she is not sure.

This ayah ends with two names: He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Why these two, and not others? One classical commentary answers from the passage itself. The surah began with people saying 'we believe' (29:2). That is speech, and speech is heard. Then it spoke of testing, of the truthful and the liars, of deeds. Some deeds are seen; others, like intentions, can only be known. So He hears the claim and knows what stands behind it.

Here the ego meets its limit. So much of our energy goes on managing how we sound. We polish the apology, the reference, the post about our good deed. Before people, the edit works. Before Allah, there is no sixth take. He heard the first five as well, and He knows the heart that chose between them.

Is it a kind of boast to announce, 'I hear everything'? A boast needs an audience to be impressed. Allah needs nothing from us. The names are given so that the hoping heart is not anxious. Nothing you said to Him in secret was lost. No struggle you could not put into words went unnoticed.

So the humbling and the comfort arrive together. You cannot perform for Him. You do not need to. The plain, unedited truth of you is already heard, already known, and still invited to hope.

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.