An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 67 of 176

An-Nisa 4:67

وَإِذًا لَّـَٔاتَيْنَـٰهُم مِّن لَّدُنَّآ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا

“And then We would have given them from Us a great reward.”

Saheeh International

Essence

For the small obedience asked, the reward comes from right beside Allah Himself, and its size is set by the Giver, not by the deed.

A reflection

A gift sized by the Giver

A classical commentary counts the signs of how great this reward is, all packed into six Arabic words. First, Allah speaks of Himself in the plural of majesty: We would give them. When a wise giver names himself with words of grandeur while promising a gift, the gift is grand. Second, 'from Us', min ladunnā, singles it out as His own. Third, the reward is called 'great' by the One who is greater than all.

The word for great, ʿaẓīm, has a bone in it. The lexicons say its root joins size with strength, and its most physical form is ʿaẓm, bone. Greatness here is not swelling or show. It is frame and weight, the hard thing that holds a body up. Another commentary adds that no one knows where this reward begins or reaches where it ends.

Sahih al-Bukhari records a saying of Allah through the Prophet ﷺ. I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has imagined.

This is where the ego shrinks. We size things by our own effort. I worked this hard, so I deserve this much. The ayah sizes the reward by the Giver. A boy gives his grandfather a crayon drawing of a boat. His grandfather, a joiner, spends a month making him a real wooden one. The drawing did not earn the boat. The grandfather's love sized it.

And the plural 'We' is not a crowd. It is the grammar of majesty, used here not to threaten but to promise. All that greatness is turned towards giving.

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.