Al-Jathiyah · Makki · ayah 16 of 37

Al-Jathiyah 45:16

وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحُكْمَ وَٱلنُّبُوَّةَ وَرَزَقْنَـٰهُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ وَفَضَّلْنَـٰهُمْ عَلَى ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

“And We did certainly give the Children of Israel the Scripture and judgement[1471] and prophethood, and We provided them with good things and preferred them over the worlds.”

Saheeh International

Essence

A people were given everything a community could ask for, Book, wisdom, prophets and honour; the next ayah tells what they did with it.

A reflection

'Preferred over the worlds': chosen, or tested?

A modern reader may bristle at the end of this ayah. 'We preferred them over the worlds.' Does God have favourite peoples? And has this phrase not been used, through history, to justify one group's sense of superiority over others?

The commentators were careful here, and their care answers much of the objection. Several say plainly that it means over the people of their own time: in the days of Pharaoh, in Egypt and Syria. Another explains it as preference in particular respects: the sea split for them, clouds shading them, and gifts given to no one else. Not preference in every respect, he adds, and not in rank or reward before Allah. It was a specific grace, at a specific time, for a specific purpose.

And the very next ayah shows how the grace was tested. They were given clear proofs, and they fell into division 'out of envy among themselves' (45:17). One commentator draws the lesson for Muslims directly: it is a warning to this community not to walk the same path.

Picture a head teacher who chooses one class for a rare trip to a national archive. Other parents complain of favouritism. She explains: this year's group earned it, and with it comes responsibility. They will present what they learn to the whole school. If they treat it as a holiday and come back with nothing, the privilege has become an indictment. Next year, another class will go.

That is how the Quran treats 'preference'. It is not a birth certificate of superiority. It is a gift with a question attached: what will you do with it?

What remains open, as always, is the reckoning of individuals, which belongs to Allah alone. But the ayah gives no support to anyone, of any people, who would treat a past grace as a permanent licence. Grace is a trust, and trusts are audited.

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.