Ash-Shuraa · Makki · ayah 26 of 53

Ash-Shuraa 42:26

وَيَسْتَجِيبُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَيَزِيدُهُم مِّن فَضْلِهِۦ ۚ وَٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ

“And He answers [the supplication of] those who have believed and done righteous deeds and increases [for] them from His bounty. But the disbelievers will have a severe punishment.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Those who answer Allah's call find their own calls answered, and given more than they asked, while those who refuse face a severe punishment.

A reflection

"He called you, and you did not answer"

The opening words can be read two ways, and the commentaries record both. Allah responds to those who believe and do righteous deeds: He answers their prayers. Or: those who believe and do righteous deeds respond, answering Allah when He calls them.

One commentator records a striking exchange about the second reading. The early ascetic Ibrahim ibn Adham was asked: why do we call on Allah and not get an answer? He replied: because He called you, and you did not answer Him. Then he recited: and Allah calls to the Home of Peace (10:25), and those who believe respond.

That turns a common complaint around. We often treat prayer as a service we call and expect to be answered. The ayah, read this way, reminds us that the first call came from the other side.

Picture a university student who has been struggling all term. Her tutor emailed in October offering weekly office hours, and again in November, and again before the exams. She never opened them. In January, after failing two modules, she tells a friend that nobody at the university ever offered to help. Then she scrolls back through her inbox.

Allah does not need our response. He is the Free of need, and people are poor towards Him (35:15). The call is for our benefit: to peace, to guidance, to a life that holds together. Answering it is how the soul comes home. In the remembrance of Allah, hearts find rest (13:28).

The two readings of the ayah meet in one picture. Those who answer His call find their own calls answered. That is the relationship the ayah describes: a conversation, not a vending machine.

If your prayers feel unheard, try Ibrahim ibn Adham's question in reverse. What has Allah been calling you to that you have left unopened?

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.