Sad · Makki · ayah 31 of 88

Sad 38:31

إِذْ عُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ بِٱلْعَشِىِّ ٱلصَّـٰفِنَـٰتُ ٱلْجِيَادُ

“[Mention] when there were exhibited before him in the afternoon the poised [standing] racehorses.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The scene opens in the fading afternoon, fine horses standing poised and ready, and the Quran admires them before it tells you what they cost.

A reflection

Praised for how they stood

The Quran describes these horses with two words, and they point in opposite directions. Al-ṣāfināt: those standing poised. The lexicons picture a fine horse at rest on three legs, the tip of the fourth hoof just touching the ground. Al-jiyād: the swift ones, which give their whole stride.

One commentator explains the pairing. The horses are praised in both their states. Standing, they are calm and settled in their places, in the finest posture. Running, they are fast. When they chase, they catch; when chased, they cannot be caught. Another adds that this way of standing is rarely seen except in pure-bred horses.

Stillness that is really readiness. That is a quality people need as much as horses do.

A community midwife on call sits through her niece's school play. She laughs at the shepherd who forgets his line and claps every song. Her phone lies face up on her knee. When it buzzes, she is out of the hall and in her car within ninety seconds. Her voice on the phone stays calm all the way.

We tend to manage only one of the two states. Some people can rest only by switching off completely. Others can be ready only by being restless: always braced, never present. The horses in this ayah are praised for both at once.

There is a believer's version of this. Settled in prayer, unhurried at the table, gentle at home. Then quick when a duty calls, when someone needs help, when the adhan sounds.

The Arabs admired the horse that stood well. Perhaps the believer worth admiring is the one whose calm is not laziness, and whose speed is not panic.

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.