Az-Zumar · Makki · ayah 55 of 75

Az-Zumar 39:55

وَٱتَّبِعُوٓا۟ أَحْسَنَ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُم مِّن رَّبِّكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَكُمُ ٱلْعَذَابُ بَغْتَةً وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ

“And follow the best of what was revealed to you from your Lord [i.e., the Qur’ān] before the punishment comes upon you suddenly while you do not perceive,”

Saheeh International

Essence

Turning back is followed by walking on: follow the best of what your Lord sent you, before what comes comes suddenly and unnoticed.

A reflection

Is some of the Quran better than the rest?

The phrase 'follow the best of what was sent down' raises an obvious question. Is part of the Quran better than another part? One early commentator raised that objection himself, and answered it.

The Quran is all good, he says. That is not what the phrase means. What was sent down contains commands and prohibitions, reports and parables, stories, arguments, promises and warnings. The best way to follow all of it is to do what it commands and avoid what it forbids. Someone who did the things it prohibits would be following the worst of it, not the best.

Another commentary preserves a saying from an early scholar that sharpens this beautifully. What was revealed comes in three kinds. It mentions what is ugly, so that you avoid it. It mentions what is lesser, so that you do not desire it. And it mentions what is best, so that you prefer it.

Other readings are also recorded. Some say the 'best' is the Quran itself, the best of all revealed books. This surah elsewhere calls it the best of speech (39:23). Some say it means the firmer of two permitted paths over the easier. One suggests it means whatever is safest and most saving, like turning back and keeping to obedience.

The readings differ in detail, but they share a direction. The Quran is not a buffet where any choice is as good as another. It describes a range, and it invites the reader to reach for the top of it.

What remains open is how each person applies that in a given moment. The ayah does not list every 'best'. It trusts the reader, standing before the Book, to ask honestly which option it is pointing towards.

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.