Az-Zumar · Makki · ayah 45 of 75

Az-Zumar 39:45

وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ ٱللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ ٱشْمَأَزَّتْ قُلُوبُ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۖ وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ

“And when Allāh is mentioned alone, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with aversion, but when those [worshipped] other than Him are mentioned, immediately they rejoice.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Mention Allah alone and some hearts shrink; mention anything beside Him and their faces light up: the face tells what the heart loves.

A reflection

The whole ayah turns on one word: alone

One commentary makes a sharp observation. The meaning of this ayah, it says, turns on a single word: waḥdahu, alone. The people described here did not mind Allah being mentioned. They accepted Him as Creator (39:38). What made their hearts shrink was hearing Him named alone, with no one beside Him.

That is a surprisingly modern posture. Many people today are comfortable with God as one item on a long list. Picture a school assembly on gratitude. The speaker invites the children to thank the universe, their own hard work, good luck, and God if they like. Everyone nods. Then a twelve-year-old raises her hand and says she thanks Allah alone for everything. There is a small pause. The head teacher smiles a little too quickly and moves on.

Nothing hostile was said. But the room contracted, slightly, at the word 'alone'.

The ayah names that contraction precisely. It is not disagreement after careful thought. It is a reflex. God as one comfort among many is welcome. God as the only One, with a claim on everything, is unsettling, because it leaves no corner of life outside His reach.

The opposite reflex is just as telling. When the other names are mentioned, the ayah says, idhā hum yastabshirūn: suddenly they are delighted. One commentary notes the grammar of surprise. They leap into gladness the moment the others come up, whether Allah is mentioned with them or not.

It is worth asking where we stand. Do we welcome God as a pleasant addition to a crowded life? Or can we hear Him named alone, sovereign over all of it, and feel our hearts open rather than close?

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.