As-Saffat · Makki · ayah 90 of 182

As-Saffat 37:90

فَتَوَلَّوْا۟ عَنْهُ مُدْبِرِينَ

“So they turned away from him, departing.”

Saheeh International

Essence

They turned and showed him their backs: a whole town hurried off, fearing his illness, and left one believer alone with their gods.

A reflection

Turning the near side away

The ayah uses two words for one movement, and each carries a picture. Tawallaw ʿanhu: they turned away from him. Mudbirīn: showing their backs.

The first comes from a root that means nearness. The lexicons say it is established: walī is what is next to you, close by. A friend, an ally, a neighbour is a walī. So to tawallā ʿan someone is to take the side that was near him and turn it away. The closeness is there in the word, being withdrawn.

The second comes from the root for the back, the hind part of anything. The end of the day is its dubur. A spun thread drawn away from the chest was the dabīr. An arrow that flew past the target and fell behind it was dābir. Mudbir is someone presenting his back as he goes. This too is established in the lexicons.

Put together, the ayah films the scene. Faces that had been turned towards Ibrahim swing away. Then all he can see is the backs of a crowd heading out of town. One early authority glossed it: they recoiled from him and set off. A classical commentary adds that mudbirīn may carry haste, as people do who are fleeing an infection.

The word mudbir often brings soldiers to mind, routed in battle. It is broader than that. Picture a school prize-giving. A girl walks up for her certificate, scanning the hall for her father. He is there, but he has turned round in his chair to talk business with the man behind. She sees the back of his head. He has not left the room, yet he is mudbir.

That is the quieter warning in this ayah. People can turn their backs on truth without walking out. They simply angle their attention elsewhere. Ibrahim had spoken to his people openly (37:85-87). They had already turned their hearts. Now their bodies followed.

Ask where your own back is facing. Towards a person who needs you, or towards a reminder you would rather not hear?

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.