An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 172 of 176

An-Nisa 4:172

لَّن يَسْتَنكِفَ ٱلْمَسِيحُ أَن يَكُونَ عَبْدًا لِّلَّهِ وَلَا ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ ٱلْمُقَرَّبُونَ ۚ وَمَن يَسْتَنكِفْ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِۦ وَيَسْتَكْبِرْ فَسَيَحْشُرُهُمْ إِلَيْهِ جَمِيعًا

“Never would the Messiah disdain to be a servant of Allāh, nor would the angels near [to Him]. And whoever disdains His worship and is arrogant - He will gather them to Himself all together.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Neither the Messiah nor the nearest angels disdain being Allah's servants; servanthood crowns the greatest, and the proud are gathered too.

A reflection

The nearest of all do not step out of the row

Lan yastankifa al-Masīḥu an yakūna ʿabdan lillāh: the Messiah would never disdain to be a servant of Allah. Wa-lā al-malāʾikatu al-muqarrabūn: nor would the angels brought near.

The ayah climbs. First the Messiah, honoured with every title in the ayah before. Then the angels nearest to Allah. One classical commentator names them: those around the Throne, such as Jibrīl, Mīkāʾīl and Isrāfīl. A major early commentator explains 'brought near': those Allah drew close and raised above the rest of His creation.

Why add the angels? The commentators give several reasons. Some say they are mightier, and so more able to refuse. Some say they too had been taken as gods, or called Allah's daughters. One adds that they were made with neither father nor mother, a stranger origin still. Commentators differ on whether the order implies rank, and the ayah's purpose does not depend on settling it.

The point stands either way. The greatest beings in creation, the most honoured and the most powerful, all stand in the same row. Not one of them steps out of it.

That is majesty, and it is a mirror for the ego. The ego bristles at the word 'servant'. It prefers 'self-made', 'independent', 'answerable to no one'. Yet those nearest to Allah wear the title gladly.

Then the ayah turns to everyone else: fa-sa-yaḥshuruhum ilayhi jamīʿā. He will gather them all to Himself. The refusers do not escape the gathering by refusing. They simply arrive without having chosen it.

If the Messiah and the angels around the Throne do not refuse, what exactly is my pride protecting?

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.