Al-Ahzab · Madani · ayah 47 of 73

Al-Ahzab 33:47

وَبَشِّرِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِأَنَّ لَهُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ فَضْلًا كَبِيرًا

“And give good tidings to the believers that they will have from Allāh great bounty.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah did not leave good news to chance: He told His Prophet to say it aloud, and called what waits a great bounty.

A reflection

More than the deposit back

A young couple move out of a rented flat after four years. They have cleaned it well and replanted the neglected garden. A week later the deposit arrives in full. With it comes a card from the landlord and an extra sum. For leaving the garden better than you found it, the card says. They had expected their money back. They had not expected a gift.

That is the shape of the word faḍl. The lexicons give the root one meaning: an increase. Then comes the key line. Every gift that the giver was not bound to give is called faḍl. It is the part beyond the measure.

One classical commentator draws the conclusion. Faḍl here may be what Allah gives over and above the reward itself. And if the extra is called great, he asks, what do you suppose the reward is?

Another commentator notices how the greatness is stacked. A gift being from Allah already makes it great. Then it is described as kabīr, great, on top of that. One greatness laid upon another.

The word kabīr has its own picture. Its root is plain size, a thing that grew large in body. Size soon became weight: a matter is kabīr when it is too heavy to carry. So the bounty promised here is not a token. It is larger than the hands held out to receive it.

Many believers think of their relationship with Allah as a ledger: deeds in, reward out, the balance struck. This ayah keeps the ledger and then overflows it. What waits is the deposit back, and then the card.

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.