As-Sajdah · Makki · ayah 17 of 30

As-Sajdah 32:17

فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّآ أُخْفِىَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ

“And no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes [i.e., satisfaction] as reward for what they used to do.”

Saheeh International

Essence

What waits for those who rose in the dark is hidden even from angels and prophets: a delight for the eye that finally stops searching.

A reflection

Beyond the edge of imagination

A woman has kept a mood board for her dream house for eleven years. Every tap, every tile, every window seat. She knows exactly what would make her happy. Or she believes she does.

This ayah quietly takes that confidence away. Fa-lā taʿlamu nafsun: no soul knows. One commentary presses on the grammar. An indefinite noun after a negation covers everything, it says. No angel brought near, no prophet sent, let alone anyone else. Nobody in creation has seen this mood board.

Sahih Muslim records the Prophet ﷺ describing an exchange. Mūsā (as) asked his Lord about the people of the highest rank in the Garden. Those are the ones I chose, came the answer. I planted their honour with My own hand and set a seal on it. No eye has seen it, no ear has heard it, and it has occurred to no human heart. The narrator adds that its confirmation is in Allah's Book, and recites this ayah.

That is where the ego meets its edge. We are used to being the designers of our own happiness. We choose, compare, upgrade. The ayah says the best of it is something you could not have chosen, because you cannot imagine it.

Someone may ask whether this is a kind of bribe. Does God need to dangle an unimaginable prize to buy our obedience? He needs nothing from us (35:15). One theological commentary reads the word 'reward' here as sheer generosity. He gave first: creation, provision, life. He could have counted our deeds as mere repayment of that debt. Instead He treats them as if we had begun the kindness, and rewards them. That is not a buyer. It is a Giver who will not keep score of His own gifts.

So the humble response to this ayah is not to imagine harder. It is to admit that your imagination is too small, and to trust the One whose knowledge is not. The woman's mood board may be lovely. It is still a board of things she has already seen.

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.