Ya-Sin · Makki · ayah 76 of 83

Ya-Sin 36:76

فَلَا يَحْزُنكَ قَوْلُهُمْ ۘ إِنَّا نَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ

“So let not their speech grieve you. Indeed, We know what they conceal and what they declare.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Between their words and His there is a compulsory pause: let what they say not roughen your heart, for He knows what is behind it.

A reflection

Known by the only One who matters

Most of the energy people spend on their reputation goes into one anxious question. What do they think of me? A colleague's remark, a relative's hint, a stranger's comment online can occupy a whole evening. We draft replies in our heads. We imagine conversations in which we finally set the record straight.

This ayah speaks to that anxiety at its root, in the voice of Allah to His Messenger ﷺ. So let their words not grieve you. We know what they conceal and what they declare.

The concise commentaries name the words: you are not a messenger, you are a poet, and the rest of their slander. Then comes the reason not to be grieved. Not they are wrong, though they were. Not people will see the truth, though many did. The reason is We know. Nothing of it is hidden from Us, one commentary says, and We will repay them for it.

That is the majesty in the ayah, and it lands squarely on a particular kind of pride: the pride that lives on reputation. We want to be known accurately by people, and we feel unmade when they get us wrong. The ayah moves the centre of gravity. The One whose knowledge of you is complete is not misled by anyone's words. His verdict does not depend on your defence.

One commentator gives advice for this position. Picture your state and theirs on the last Day, until the worry clears and grief no longer weighs you down.

You do not need to be understood by everyone. You are already known, completely, by the only One whose knowing decides anything.

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.