Fatir · Makki · ayah 30 of 45

Fatir 35:30

لِيُوَفِّيَهُمْ أُجُورَهُمْ وَيَزِيدَهُم مِّن فَضْلِهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ غَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ

“That He may give them in full their rewards and increase for them of His bounty. Indeed, He is Forgiving and Appreciative.[1250]”

Saheeh International

Essence

He pays His servants their wages to the brim, then adds from His bounty, for He forgives what was flawed and thanks what was small.

A reflection

The Rich who says thank you

The ayah closes with a name that stops the reader: Shakūr. It is usually translated 'Appreciative'. Its root is the same as gratitude. The Owner of everything describes Himself as the One who thanks.

The commentators handle it with care. One says He accepts a little sincere work and repays it with a great deal. An early explanation puts it in a pair: He forgives the great of their sins and thanks the small of their deeds. Another commentary explains His thanks as His rewarding. Whatever the wording, all agree on the plain sense. Nothing done for Him is too small to be noticed, and He repays far beyond its size.

Now hold that up to the human ego. Picture a man who lent his younger brother money for a deposit eleven years ago. It was repaid within two years. Yet at every family gathering he finds a way to mention it. 'When I helped you with the flat.' He gave once, and has been collecting thanks ever since.

Most of us are a little like him. We give a favour and wait for it to be acknowledged. We count the thanks we are owed far more carefully than the thanks we owe. Allah, who owes no one anything, does the reverse. He gives everything, then thanks His servants for the scraps they hand back.

That is where pride has nowhere left to stand. The One who needs no gratitude is the most grateful. The ones who need it most demand it loudest.

Does this mean Allah needs our deeds, or is obliged to us? No. The surah has already said that He is the Rich and we are the poor (35:15). His thanks is not payment of a debt. It is generosity choosing to call itself gratitude. That is a kind of greatness the ego can only bow to.

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.