Ad-Dukhan · Makki · ayah 19 of 59

Ad-Dukhan 44:19

وَأَن لَّا تَعْلُوا۟ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنِّىٓ ءَاتِيكُم بِسُلْطَـٰنٍ مُّبِينٍ

“And [saying], "Be not haughty with Allāh. Indeed, I have come to you with clear evidence.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Musa tells a king not to raise himself against Allah, and answers a throne's authority with a clear proof that storms the heart.

A reflection

Do not climb against Him; come up to Him

The verb taʿlū comes from a root the lexicons say means height, with nothing in it straying from that. The top of a mountain is al-ʿalyāʾ. The upper part of a spear is its ʿāliya. The day taʿālā when the sun rose high.

And from the same root comes one of the most common words in Arabic: taʿāla, come. The lexicons explain that it first meant 'come up to me'. Only later did even a man down in a valley say it to someone above him. The Qur'an uses that word again and again as an invitation upward.

So the root holds two movements. One is a person trying to rise above Allah: lā taʿlū ʿalā Allāh, do not exalt yourselves against Him. The other is Allah inviting a person to rise: taʿālaw, come up.

Picture a young climber on a hard rock face. The leader, already at the top, lowers a rope. The young man waves it away; he wants to do this on his own. Twice he slips. Each time the leader calls down 'come up' and lowers the rope again. Pride is the only thing keeping the climber on the ledge.

Pharaoh had made himself the highest point in Egypt. Elsewhere the Qur'an records him claiming to be their lord most high. Musa's words tell him, gently and plainly, that there is only one Most High, and climbing against Him ends in a fall.

This shrinks every ego, not only Pharaoh's. Arrogance is an attempt to reach the summit alone. Humility is taking the rope.

Some hear this as God guarding His rank. But the rope keeps being lowered. The One who forbids rising against Him is the One who keeps saying: come up.

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.