Sad · Makki · ayah 49 of 88

Sad 38:49

هَـٰذَا ذِكْرٌ ۚ وَإِنَّ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ لَحُسْنَ مَـَٔابٍ

“This is a reminder. And indeed, for the righteous is a good place of return -”

Saheeh International

Essence

The portraits end with a pause, and a promise once made to named prophets opens to anyone mindful of Allah: a beautiful return.

A reflection

From 'him' to 'the mindful'

Twice already this surah has used the phrase ḥusna maʾāb, a beautiful return. Each time it was promised to one named man. Of Dāwūd: 'and he has, with Us, nearness and a beautiful return' (38:25). Of Sulaymān, word for word the same (38:40). A reader might assume this is a reward for kings and prophets.

Now the same phrase comes a third time, and the address has changed. Wa inna li-l-muttaqīna la-ḥusna maʾāb: and for the mindful there is a beautiful return. Not 'for him', but for a whole kind of person. One commentator gives two readings. Either the mindful means the prophets just named, praised with the highest quality there is. Or it means everyone mindful of Allah, with the prophets first among them. Either way, a promise made to named men now opens to a description, and a description is something you can grow into.

Follow the phrase through the whole Quran and the widening continues. Its first appearance comes after a list of what people love: spouses, sons, heaps of gold, fine horses, cattle and fields. 'That is the enjoyment of this life, and with Allah is the beautiful return' (3:14). Elsewhere it is promised simply to those who believe and do good: 'joy is theirs, and a beautiful return' (13:29). It begins with Allah, passes through two kings, and ends with anyone who believes, acts well and is mindful.

Picture a young man who stacks supermarket shelves through the night. He prays when he can and misses more prayers than he catches. When he hears a word like muttaqīn, he assumes it describes the men in the front row at dawn, not him.

This ayah was not written to keep him out. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Every child of Ādam errs often, and the best of those who err repent often'. Al-Tirmidhi reports it; it is graded ḥasan, though another grading considers it weaker. Mindfulness is not a rank you hold. It is a direction you keep turning back to. Whoever wills, another ayah says, may take a way back to his Lord (78:39).

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.