Fussilat · Makki · ayah 42 of 54

Fussilat 41:42

لَّا يَأْتِيهِ ٱلْبَـٰطِلُ مِنۢ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِۦ ۖ تَنزِيلٌ مِّنْ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍ

“Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a [Lord who is] Wise and Praiseworthy.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Falsehood finds no way into this Book from any side; it comes down from One wise in every word and praised for every gift.

A reflection

Wiser than the Wise

The ayah ends by naming the Book's source: a revelation from One who is Ḥakīm, Wise, and Ḥamīd, Praiseworthy. A narration-based commentary explains both. He is wise in His words and in His deeds. And in everything He commands and forbids, the outcomes and purposes are praiseworthy.

The first word has a striking picture behind it. The lexicons trace ḥ-k-m to the ḥakama, the part of a horse's bridle that runs round its jaw. It holds the horse back from bolting and keeps it under its rider. From that bridle came the judge, who holds back wrongdoing, and wisdom, which holds a person back from folly. This is an established sense.

So the One who sent this Book is the One who holds every word in place. Nothing in it bolts. Nothing is there by accident.

Now the ego. Pride rarely says aloud that it is wiser than Allah. It says it quietly, by editing. Picture a man who attends a Quran study circle every week. He is attentive and well read. But he keeps, in the back of his mind, a private list of ayat he would phrase differently if they were his. A line on inheritance that seems old-fashioned to him. A warning he finds too sharp. He never says it. He simply reads those lines a little faster.

That list is the ego's claim to stand beside the Wise and adjust the bridle. The ayah answers without raising its voice. This is a revelation from One who is Wise, whose every command ends in praise.

Humility does not mean pretending every ayah is easy. It means letting the difficult ayah question you, before you question it. The bridle is in wiser hands than yours.

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.