Al-'Ankabut · Makki · ayah 65 of 69

Al-'Ankabut 29:65

فَإِذَا رَكِبُوا۟ فِى ٱلْفُلْكِ دَعَوُا۟ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ فَلَمَّا نَجَّىٰهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْبَرِّ إِذَا هُمْ يُشْرِكُونَ

“And when they board a ship, they supplicate Allāh, sincere to Him in religion [i.e., faith and hope]. But when He delivers them to the land, at once they associate others with Him”

Saheeh International

Essence

On board, they call on Allah alone; once He brings them to land, they set partners beside Him as if the sea never happened.

A reflection

He brought them ashore, knowing

Notice the verb: najjāhum, He delivered them. The ayah does not say they reached land. It says He brought them there. And the very next words say what they did on arrival.

Allah knew, before the first wave struck, how this would end. He answered anyway. The prayer was sincere for an hour, and He honoured that hour in full.

Picture the volunteer crew of a lifeboat station. Their pagers go off at two in the morning. The same yachtsman has gone out again in a forecast gale, for the third time this year. Last time he told a local paper he had never needed rescuing. The crew grumble as they pull on their boots. They launch, because that is who they are. But being human, they keep count.

Allah keeps no such tally before He saves. He gives the rescue first, and leaves the reckoning for its time (29:66).

That should shrink the ego in a particular place. Our generosity is quietly conditional. We help people who will thank us, and slow down for those who did not. We call this wisdom, and sometimes it is. Often it is pride wanting a return.

A fair objection: does Allah rescue people so that they will praise Him? He has no need of their praise. 'O people, you are the ones in need of Allah, and Allah is the Free of need, the Praiseworthy' (35:15). Whoever gives thanks gives thanks for his own soul (31:12). The rescue was entirely for them. Their relapse took nothing from Him.

The question then turns back on us. If He gave you the shore while knowing what you would do there, what are you doing with it?

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.