As-Saffat · Makki · ayah 80 of 182

As-Saffat 37:80

إِنَّا كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ

“Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Rescue, family, a lasting line and a guarded name: Allah says this is how He rewards everyone who does good, not Nuh alone.

A reflection

'Like that': a pattern, not a one-off

Innā kadhālika najzī al-muḥsinīn: indeed, like that We reward those who do good. The small word kadhālika, like that, turns a story into a law.

Look at what 'that' contains. Four gifts have just been listed for Nuh. He was rescued from the great distress. His family was saved with him. His descendants were made the ones who remained. His name was left among later generations with peace. Now the ayah says: this is the pattern, and it is not reserved for him.

One classical commentary notes that dhālika, a pointing word for something far away, hints at the height of that reward. It also reads the phrase as 'a reward like that complete one, not anything less'. The concise commentaries say it plainly: as We rewarded Nuh, so We reward every servant who does good in obeying Allah.

Your scale is not Nuh's. You will not ride an ark or father nations. But the shape can be the same. A distress lifted. People you love carried with you. Something good that outlasts you. A name kept with honour. That is what kadhālika promises in small to every muḥsin.

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.