As-Saffat · Makki · ayah 92 of 182

As-Saffat 37:92

مَا لَكُمْ لَا تَنطِقُونَ

“What is [wrong] with you that you do not speak?"”

Saheeh International

Essence

Ibrahim asks the idols why they do not speak, and their silence shows that a god who cannot answer is no god at all.

A reflection

Speaking wealth and silent wealth

Mā lakum lā tanṭiqūn: what is the matter with you, that you do not speak?

The verb is precise. A classical lexicon defines nuṭq as sounds shaped into units by the tongue and taken in by the ear. It says the word is hardly used except of human beings. Other creatures are said to 'speak' only by extension, as in the 'speech of birds' taught to Sulayman (27:16). So Ibrahim asks the idols for the most human thing there is: articulate words that carry meaning and answer a question.

The lexicons preserve a further picture, and it is established. The Arabs divided a man's wealth into two kinds. His nāṭiq, 'speaking' wealth, was his livestock: camels, sheep, anything with a voice. His ṣāmit, 'silent' wealth, was gold, silver and jewels. 'He has neither speaking nor silent' meant he owned nothing at all.

Now look at the temple. The idols were carved, perhaps gilded, set in rows. By the Arabs' own reckoning they belonged with the silent wealth. Things you own, count and store. Not things that own you.

Ibrahim's question exposes the reversal. The people had taken their silent property and set it up as their lord. The speaking ones knelt before the silent ones.

The word nuṭq is often heard as mere sound. That is too thin. Picture a smart doorbell on a new house. It greets every visitor in a cheerful recorded voice: 'Welcome home.' It says the same to the owner, the postman and the burglar. It makes sound. It does not speak in the sense Ibrahim meant. It cannot hear you, weigh what you said, and answer you.

So the question still bites. Much of what we lean on today has a voice: feeds, notifications, assistants, slogans. Ask of each what Ibrahim asked. Can it truly answer me? Does it know who I am? If it is silent wealth wearing a voice, keep it in your pocket, not on your throne.

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.