An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 86 of 176

An-Nisa 4:86

وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا۟ بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَآ أَوْ رُدُّوهَآ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ حَسِيبًا

“And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it [in a like manner]. Indeed Allāh is ever, over all things, an Accountant.”

Saheeh International

Essence

A greeting is a small prayer for someone's life; answer it with more warmth than you received, for the Reckoner counts this too.

A reflection

The Reckoner who counts a greeting

The ayah ends with a sentence about Allah that seems almost too large for its subject. Allah is, over all things, a Reckoner.

One great commentary pins the word down. Ḥasīb here means the One who keeps count, from ḥisāb, reckoning. It is not merely 'sufficient', he insists, rejecting a reading some linguists offered. An early authority glossed it as Keeper. Either way, the One who holds the stars in their courses also keeps the tally of how you answered someone's 'peace be upon you'.

That is humbling in two directions. We count what we think matters. Picture a man whose phone tracks his steps, his sleep, his share prices and his followers. He knows each figure to the decimal. He has no idea how many people said salaam to him this week while he looked at the screen. His ego has decided what is worth counting. The ayah overrules it.

A report in Sunan Abi Dawud and Jami' al-Tirmidhi shows the counting at work. A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: peace be upon you. He was answered, and the Prophet ﷺ said: ten. Another added 'and the mercy of Allah': twenty. A third added 'and His blessings': thirty. Al-Tirmidhi graded it ḥasan gharīb. Later graders mostly call it ṣaḥīḥ; one considers it weaker.

Why would Allah count something so small? Not because He needs our courtesy; He is free of all need (35:15). It is the opposite of pettiness. It tells you that nothing kind is too small to register with Him. And it tells the proud that nothing curt is too small either.

The arrogant habit is to save our best manners for people who matter. The ayah removes the category. Everyone who greets you matters, because the One who counts is watching both of you.

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.