As-Saffat · Makki · ayah 7 of 182

As-Saffat 37:7

وَحِفْظًا مِّن كُلِّ شَيْطَـٰنٍ مَّارِدٍ

“And as protection against every rebellious devil”

Saheeh International

Essence

The same stars that adorn the sky also guard it, against every devil stripped bare of good.

A reflection

A guard with no gaps

A security chief spends six weeks preparing for an international summit. Fences, checkpoints, dogs, rooftop teams. On the first morning a hobbyist's drone drifts over the fence and hovers above the car park. Every human guard has a gap somewhere. The proud ones just have not found it yet.

This ayah says the nearest sky is kept min kulli shayṭān: from every devil. Not most of them. Every one. The commentators read it as Allah guarding the sky, with the stars, from the rebels who would steal what is said there.

Someone may ask: why would an all-powerful God need a guard at all? The guard is not for His safety. It protects His revelation on its way to us, so that no lie is mixed into it. The power is His; the benefit is ours. That leaves no room for the pride that thinks our own small fences keep us safe.

The full entry has 2 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.