Fatir · Makki · ayah 25 of 45

Fatir 35:25

وَإِن يُكَذِّبُوكَ فَقَدْ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَبِٱلزُّبُرِ وَبِٱلْكِتَـٰبِ ٱلْمُنِيرِ

“And if they deny you - then already have those before them denied. Their messengers came to them with clear proofs and written ordinances and with the enlightening Scripture.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Denial is old and the proofs were always clear; the Book lights up for whoever looks into it, so grief need not win.

A reflection

The instruction this ayah leaves unsaid

Read the ayah slowly and something seems missing. 'If they deny you, then those before them denied.' If they deny you, then what? What are you supposed to do?

One classical commentator supplies the missing words. The real answer to 'if they deny you' is: do not grieve. 'Those before them denied' is the reason for not grieving, set in the place of the instruction itself. The surah had already said it outright: do not let your soul waste away in grief over them (35:8). Here it does not repeat the command. It simply gives the reason, and lets the heart draw the conclusion.

That is a very gentle way to comfort someone. Picture a teenage boy who has just scraped his father's car against a gatepost, the week after passing his test. He is white-faced in the kitchen, waiting for the storm. His grandfather says nothing about it. He just takes him out to the garage. There he shows him a long dent along the door of his own first car, never repaired. Then he goes back inside to finish his tea.

He never said 'do not worry'. Being told not to worry rarely works anyway. He showed him something, and the boy's shoulders came down by themselves.

This ayah does the same. Commands to stop feeling something are hard to obey. A reason is different. It lets the feeling settle at its own pace.

There is a lesson here for how we comfort others. Next time someone you love is crushed by rejection, try leaving 'do not be upset' unsaid. Give them the reason instead, and trust it to do its work.

And when you are the one rejected for doing right, read this ayah as the grandfather's garage. You are being shown the dent.

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.