Ali 'Imran · Madani · ayah 161 of 200

Ali 'Imran 3:161

وَمَا كَانَ لِنَبِىٍّ أَن يَغُلَّ ۚ وَمَن يَغْلُلْ يَأْتِ بِمَا غَلَّ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ ۚ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ

“It is not [attributable] to any prophet that he would act unfaithfully [in regard to war booty]. And whoever betrays, [taking unlawfully], will come with what he took on the Day of Resurrection. Then will every soul be [fully] compensated for what it earned, and they will not be wronged.”

Saheeh International

Essence

No prophet would take what was not his; whoever does will arrive carrying it, and every soul is paid in full.

A reflection

A clipboard by the door of the tool store

A community woodland group has one member who holds the key to the tool store. He has held it for twelve years and has never been questioned. Then a newcomer asks, quite innocently, how the chainsaws are logged. He could take offence, and nobody would blame him. Instead there is a clipboard screwed to the wall by the door that week, and his own name is the first signature on it.

The commentaries record that something went missing after a battle, and that some people wondered aloud whether the Prophet had taken it. One commentary says it was a red cloak, lost on the day of Uhud. Another places the same incident at Badr, and lists several other accounts of what prompted the verse. They differ, and the honest thing is to say so.

What is not in dispute is the shape of the answer, and it is remarkable.

It does not say: he did not take it. It says mā kāna li-nabiyyin an yaghull. It is not for a prophet to be unfaithful. One commentary paraphrases the force of it: it is not fitting, so do not think it of him.

So the reply is pitched at the level of the office rather than the individual, which is both more dignified and harder to argue with. An individual denial invites a second question. A statement about what the office cannot contain closes the subject.

And then the verse does the thing that proves it is not simply protecting him. It turns straight round and applies the rule to everybody present: and whoever is unfaithful will come with what he took.

Which is the whole lesson for anyone holding a key. Do not be insulted. Be auditable. Then hold everyone to the same standard, starting with your own signature at the top of the sheet.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.