Az-Zumar · Makki · ayah 36 of 75

Az-Zumar 39:36

أَلَيْسَ ٱللَّهُ بِكَافٍ عَبْدَهُۥ ۖ وَيُخَوِّفُونَكَ بِٱلَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِۦ ۚ وَمَن يُضْلِلِ ٱللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْ هَادٍ

“Is not Allāh sufficient for His Servant [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)]? And [yet], they threaten you with those [they worship] other than Him. And whoever Allāh leaves astray - for him there is no guide.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah is enough for His servant, so threats made in the name of anything besides Him lose their grip on a heart that knows it.

A reflection

A question with only one answer

A-laysa allāhu bi-kāfin ʿabdahu: is not Allah enough for His servant? One commentary explains the grammar. A question placed on a negative turns into a firm affirmation: of course He is. Another adds that His sufficiency is so evident that no one could deny it. No one could even stammer before answering yes.

The ego does not like this question. It prefers to be its own sufficiency. We build savings, contacts, reputations and qualifications, each a small wall against need. None of these is wrong. The pride comes when we start to feel they are what keeps us safe.

Picture a toddler on her father's shoulders, crossing a packed festival crowd at night. Below her are thousands of legs, noise, pushing. She is not afraid. She does not know the route or the exits. She only knows whose shoulders she is on.

The question 'is He not enough?' is not Allah asking to be reassured. He needs no one's praise, and no one's answer adds to Him. It is a question asked for the servant's sake. It invites us to say the answer aloud until our hearts believe it.

And the answer cuts the ego down to its true size. My savings are not enough. My contacts are not enough. My cleverness is not enough. He is.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.