As-Saffat · Makki · ayah 28 of 182

As-Saffat 37:28

قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَأْتُونَنَا عَنِ ٱلْيَمِينِ

“They will say, "Indeed, you used to come at us from the right."[1290]”

Saheeh International

Essence

The followers' first accusation is the most revealing: you did not come at us from the dark side, but from the right.

A reflection

The right hand, the oath and the good omen

A used-car seller takes your right hand in both of his. My word on it, he says. Full service history, never been in an accident. You feel the grip and you believe him. A month later the garage tells you the car has been rebuilt after a crash.

The last word of this ayah is al-yamīn, and the lexicons show how much an Arab listener heard in it. Every branch of the root y-m-n grows from the right hand. It is the stronger hand, so yamīn also means strength: a poet praised a hero who caught the banner of glory with the right. An oath is a yamīn, because each party struck his right hand on the other's. Yumn is blessing. The Arabs even read good luck from a bird or deer passing on the right, and bad luck from the left.

So when the followers say, you used to come at us from the right, the phrase opens several doors at once. The commentaries walk through all of them.

You came from the side of goodness and religion, dressing up error as faith. You came with strength, overpowering us because you were mighty and we were weak. You came with oaths, swearing that you were right, so we trusted you. You came from where we felt safe with you. One commentary adds another: you made us feel we were your right hand, your favoured ones.

The commentators say these readings are close in meaning, and they are. Each describes a different handle by which a person is led. Goodness, power, promises, safety, flattery. All of them are things we are right to value. That is exactly why they work.

The most dangerous approach does not come from the left. It comes holding out its right hand.

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.