As-Saffat · Makki · ayah 110 of 182
As-Saffat 37:110
كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
“Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good.”
Saheeh International
Essence
Thus do We reward those who do good: a lasting name and Allah's peace, given to the one who never set out to earn them.
A reflection
The word that was left out
Read this ayah beside 37:105 and something is missing. There, Allah said: innā kadhālika najzī al-muḥsinīn, truly, thus do We reward those who do good. Here it is simply kadhālika najzī al-muḥsinīn. The innā, 'truly We', has gone.
One classical rhetorician noticed and asked why. In the other stories of this surah, the refrain keeps its innā. It does so for Nuh (37:80), for Musa and Harun (37:121), and for Ilyas (37:131). Only here is it dropped. His answer: the phrase had already been said in full once within this same story, at 37:105. So the second time it is lighter, as if the full form were already ringing in the ear.
This is a small detail, but it shows how closely the Quran listens to itself. Nothing is repeated mechanically. Even a refrain adjusts to its setting.
The word that remains carries the weight: kadhālika, thus, like this. Like what? Here it points back to what has just been described: the lasting good name among later generations (37:108), and Allah's peace (37:109). At 37:105 the reward was rescue from the trial. Here it is honour after it.
The root of najzī had a clear picture for the first hearers. The lexicons say it means one thing standing in the place of another and matching it, as a debt is settled in full. In Madina, the debt collector was the one who came to settle accounts. This is an established image. Allah's reward answers the deed fully; nothing owed is left unpaid.
The ayah's lightness hides a promise. The pattern is so certain that it no longer needs to be emphasised. Do good, and the settling is already on its way.
Open As-Saffat 37:110 in Quran Ponder →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.