Al-Ahzab · Madani · ayah 5 of 73

Al-Ahzab 33:5

ٱدْعُوهُمْ لِـَٔابَآئِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ فَإِن لَّمْ تَعْلَمُوٓا۟ ءَابَآءَهُمْ فَإِخْوَٰنُكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَمَوَٰلِيكُمْ ۚ وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَآ أَخْطَأْتُم بِهِۦ وَلَـٰكِن مَّا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

“Call them[1181] by [the names of] their fathers; it is more just in the sight of Allāh. But if you do not know their fathers - then they are [still] your brothers in religion and those entrusted to you. And there is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred but [only for] what your hearts intended. And ever is Allāh Forgiving and Merciful.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Give every person the truth of where they come from, give belonging where the truth is lost, and know that honest mistakes are forgiven.

A reflection

Only the powerful can truly forgive

A print-shop owner checks a run of wedding invitations at closing time. Her newest assistant has set the groom's surname wrong on all three hundred. The couple collect them at nine tomorrow. She could call him back and make him feel it. Instead she stays late, corrects the file, reprints, and leaves a note: caught it, all fine, check names twice. He reads it in the morning and never forgets.

The ayah ends with two names that hold that kind of power: wa kāna Allāhu ghafūran raḥīmā. One theologian explains the pair with care. Maghfira is when one who has power covers the fault of someone under that power. A servant who hides his master's flaw out of fear is not forgiving him. Raḥma is inclining towards someone with goodness because of their weakness, seeking nothing in return. Kindness to a powerful man, in hope of his favour, is not mercy.

So both names rest on majesty. Only the One with full power can truly forgive. Only the One who needs nothing can truly show mercy. His forgiveness costs Him nothing and gains Him nothing. He is not courting our loyalty with it, and He has no need of our praise.

That shrinks the ego from two sides. First, it humbles the part of us that keeps other people's mistakes on file. We have little power and less right to hold every slip over someone. Second, it humbles the pride that cannot admit a slip at all. If the One with all power covers our errors, our refusal to own them is not dignity. It is vanity.

The ayah has just said there is no blame for what you did by mistake. Then it names the One who sets that standard. Mistakes are covered because He is Forgiving. The weak are held gently because He is Merciful. The print-shop owner was a small, borrowed picture of both, and she learned it from Him.

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.