Ad-Dukhan · Makki · ayah 57 of 59

Ad-Dukhan 44:57

فَضْلًا مِّن رَّبِّكَ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ

“As bounty from your Lord. That is what is the great attainment.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Every gift of the Garden, and the rescue from the Fire, is a bounty from your Lord: that is the great triumph.

A reflection

The overflow no one was owed

Faḍlan min rabbika, dhālika huwa al-fawzu al-ʿaẓīm: a bounty from your Lord. That is the great triumph.

The word faḍl has a precise meaning. One lexicon says the root is an increase, something over and above. Another gives the key line. Every gift that the giver was not bound to give is called faḍl.

The commentaries apply that directly. The narration-based commentary says Allah shielded them from the Fire as a grace and kindness. Had He not pardoned their past, its pain would have reached them. One linguistic commentary adds that the word points to this: their deeds did not oblige Allah to reward them.

One theological commentary offers a picture. A great king pays a hired worker his wage. Then he bestows a robe of honour on another man. The robe, it says, is a higher honour than the wage.

An employee receives a bonus far beyond her contract. Instead of simply thanking her manager, she sits at her desk counting the extra hours she worked. She is trying to prove to herself she deserved it. She cannot quite accept that it was a gift.

The ego works like that. It wants to have earned everything. Gratitude feels like owing.

The ayah humbles that pride gently. Everything listed is faḍl. The secure place, the gardens, the springs, the silk, the companions. The fruit, the end of death, the shield from the Fire. Overflow.

Does Allah say this to make us feel indebted? The commentaries read it the other way. It is the generosity of One who needs nothing. He gives beyond measure because He is generous, not because He is owed. Our part is to receive with open hands.

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.